Violet Oaklander has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology; a Master of Arts in Marriage, Family and Child Counseling; and a Master of Science in Special Education with emotionally disturbed children. She completed three years of training with the Los Angeles Gestalt Therapy Institute and has been certified since 1973. She taught emotionally disturbed children in the Long Beach, CA school district for six years, and from 1972 until 1999 maintained a full time private practice in Long Beach, Hermosa Beach and later in Santa Barbara, CA. She is certified by the Play Therapy Association as a play therapist supervisor, as well as with Play Therapy International. Dr Oaklander spent many years as an instructor for the extension program of the University of California at the campuses in Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and San Diego and has been an adjunct faculty member of Pacifica Graduate Institute located in Carpenteria, CA as well as the California Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara. She has traveled extensively throughout the country and the world giving training seminars on her approach to working with children and adolescents. Dr Oaklander's unique approach to working with children - which combines Gestalt Therapy theory, philosophy, and practice with a variety of expressive techniques - has won international recognition and she has received several awards for her cotribution to the mental health field.
