thewillowscrown.com

What It Is

The Willows Crown: Center for Creative Training is a continuing education training organization located in Lansdowne, Virginia, USA. It primarily serves creative therapists, play therapists, and trauma-informed clinicians. Its training emphasizes the use of play therapy principles, creative expression, neuroscience, reflection, and therapist self-care to support therapeutic work with children, adolescents, and adults.

Core Courses and Formats

The website lists three learning pathways: experiential CE workshops, the Book Club CE series, and On-Demand CE courses. Experiential workshops emphasize small, supportive groups, research combined with reflection and hands-on practice, and can be attended in person or via Zoom. The Book Club format turns theory into therapeutic practice through reading clinical books and participating in guided discussions. On-demand courses are suitable for self-paced learning; some are based on recorded experiential workshops, while others include reflective book-based study.

Accreditation and Organizational Background

The organization is an approved continuing education provider of the Association for Play Therapy, listed as APT Approved Provider 19-587. It is also an NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7308. The organization is connected with the Family Therapy Center in Northern Virginia, which also provides counseling for children, adolescents, and adults, and serves as a training site for interns. The leadership information includes Gabrielle Anderson, LMFT, RPT-S, who is listed as the contact for grievances and support.

Pricing and Policies

Pricing disclosure is not especially comprehensive. The site clearly states that the Book Club CE can be paid in two installments of $124.50 each. On-Demand courses support bundle purchases, with savings of up to $45. Specific single-course fees, CE hours, and full course outlines need to be confirmed on the individual course pages. The refund policy is relatively strict: all training purchases are final sale, and no full refunds are offered. If a live event is canceled at least 48 hours in advance, 50% of the payment can be converted into credit for a future course.

Pros and Cons

Its strengths are its professional positioning, especially for therapists within the U.S. system who need APT or NBCC continuing education hours. The learning formats are flexible, combining in-person interaction, live online sessions, and on-demand options. It also offers accessibility accommodations, Zoom captions, and multiple assessment methods. Its drawbacks are that the publicly available information lacks detail, with limited transparency around pricing and course hours; the refund restrictions are fairly extensive; and the pages also include a somewhat generic yoga studio description, making the brand presentation feel slightly inconsistent.

Who It’s For and Access from China

It is better suited to professionals who already have a foundation in counseling, play therapy, or creative therapy and who need English-language continuing education resources. Learners in China may use it as a reference for technical learning, but if they intend to apply it toward professional licensure or continuing education credits, they should first verify whether APT/NBCC hours are recognized locally or by their affiliated institution. Access from mainland China cannot be determined from the text, so it is marked as unknown.