Tara McDonnell (she/her/hers), LCSW, RPT-S, QS

Meet Tara

Tara McDonnell is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, a Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor® and a Qualified Supervisor in the state of Florida. She also provides Animal-Assisted Play Therapy with her canine co-therapist, Fiona.

“When I came to view problematic behaviors as adaptive responses and not purposeful misbehavior I shifted nearly all of my beliefs about how to help children and families.”

Mona Delahooke, Ph.D.

Passion

I began my work as a therapist when neuroscience research was becoming widely available to the mental health field, and what it has taught us has revolutionized the way we work. We can now assess, diagnose and treat clients with knowledge of how the brain functions, particularly in relationships. For many years, we believed that when young children experienced trauma, the effects would be minimal because they were too young to remember. We now know the opposite of this is true—the younger a child experiences trauma, the more detrimental the consequences can be.

I founded Rising Lotus in 2018 because I saw a lack of resources for young children, particularly those of preschool age. I now focus on working with children under 6 who have experienced trauma. With tools like Child-Centered Play Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), we can work together to treat trauma more effectively, and mitigate the long-term effects on young children.

Promoting the power of Play Therapy is very important to me and I am currently the Chair of the Southeast Chapter of the Florida Association for Play Therapy, and am active with the International Consortium of Play Therapy Associations. You can also find me on the Board of Directors for the Human Trafficking Coalition of the Palm Beaches.

Expertise

I have worked successfully with children who have experienced adoption trauma, anxiety, attachment disruptions, depression, divorce, grief and loss, sensory processing challenges, sexual abuse, and trauma.

Approaches

  • Child-Centered Play Therapy

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)

  • Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

Working with Tara Means

Working with me means working with a experienced, authentic therapist who will provide you and your child with warm, professional, non-judgmental support and guidance. I look forward to meeting you!

Tara also provides Animal-Assisted Play Therapy with her Canine Co-Therapist, Fiona.

Fiona (a.k.a. Princess Fiona)

My name is Fiona and I am a Therapy Dog. As a young rescue dog, I have learned really important skills during my training like “sit,” “stay” and “leave it.” I really love people—kids, adults, everyone—and I can’t wait to help take care of the families that come through our door.

I am planning to be in the office a few days a week because work can be hard and I do get tired. It’s important for me to rest when I need to so I can be the best Therapy Dog possible. Tara McDonnell is my human co-Therapist and we can’t wait to meet you!