Leslie W. Baker, MA, MFT, NCC, RPT-S™ has over 30+ years of experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist, National Board Certified Counselor, and a Registered Play Therapist - Supervisor™. She is also a Certified Gottman Therapist. She is the Owner/Executive Director of Therapy2Thrive® Ruby Hill Marriage & Family Counseling Center, Inc. in California, where she provides counseling services, supervision & training. Previous to creating her group practice, Leslie spent over 20 years providing graduate level education as a faculty, associate professor and retired as Lead Area Chair in Master University of Phoenix in San Jose, CA. Leslie is a Certified Gottman Therapist since 2016 and became a certified Suicide Bereavement Clinician in 2017. Her work with families focuses on topics of loss & grief, suicide, homicide and grief and virtual reality in therapy.Leslie presents locally, nationally, and internationally. She is an author. She is a guest author in these edited books; Baker, L. (2022). Expressive Therapies in Telemental Play. In Stone, J. (Ed.), Play Therapy and Telemental Health: Foundations, Populations, and Interventions (pp. 201-216). Routledge. Baker, L. (2019). Therapy in the Digital Age. In Stone, J. (Ed.), Integrating Technology into Modern Therapies (pp. 37-47). Routledge. Leslie is the author of “Healing Feelings: A Healing Story for Children Coping with a Grownup's Mental Illness'' and is the co-author of "Snug and Rug and the No Good Very Bad Thing: A Story of Coping, Calming and Courage for Children". Leslie is an active member of Mental Health Virtual Reality (MHVR). She is a member of the Association for Play Therapy, California Association for Play Therapy, California Association for Marriage, and Family Therapists (CAMFT), and East Bay CAMFT and World Association of Sand Therapy Professionals®.My passion for working with youth began in late high school, working as a camp counselor for the local YMCA’s, it developed over the years into my work in youth based group homes and ultimately working as a therapist in the method of Play Therapy. My initial writings developed in poetry and my love of children’s books. These passions came to together in Healing Feelings: A healing story for children coping with a grownup’s mental illness. According to the NMIH 4.0%—experiences a serious mental illness in a given year that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. This may include depression, alcohol or drug use, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety or other mental health issues. The message of Healing Feelings: A healing story for children coping with a grownup’s mental illness is hope for healing. Mental Illness can be treated, it can be managed and people do get better. Children often feel responsible for the emotions and difficulties with the grownups and families in their lives; the purpose of this story is to help children know that they are not at fault for adult’s mental health and that with help their caregivers and family members may get better with help and time. Thank you for taking the time to share this book with a child or family who may find the message healing for them.The second book Snug and Rug and the 'No Good Very Bad Thing': A story of coping, calming & courage for children is a book to helps children who experience unexpected difficulties or trauma and realize that even when a ‘no good very bad thing’ blows through they can feel better. This book includes an activity with tips for parents, caregivers and counselors to create a soothing blanket with a child that can remind the child that they are courageous and resilient no matter when a ‘no good very bad thing’ blows through. Read more about this authorRead less about this author