TARA MOSER, LCSW, RPT-S, CAAPT-S

Tara Moser, LCSW, RPT-S, CAAPT-S, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Florida, Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, and Certified Animal Assisted Play Therapist Supervisor.  She owns a private practice that specializes in play therapy and Animal-Assisted Play Therapy®.  Tara is the founder of Pawsitive Kids Camp, a non-profit that integrates play therapy and Animal-Assisted Play Therapy® with rescue dogs and children.  She has served in a variety of therapeutic capacities, including non-profit individual and family counseling, foster care, elementary school-based counseling programs, behavioral therapy for autism, drug intervention and prevention, supervised visitation, and domestic violence counseling.

Tara has created play therapy courses for local universities and taught as an adjunct professor.  She travels the country training on play therapy and Animal-Assisted Play Therapy® to mental health, rehab and medical professionals, educators and parents.  Tara is a graduate and past chair of APT’s Leadership Academy and has served on numerous APT committees, including Ethics and Practice, Nominations Board, Conference Program, Leadership Program, and Key Awards.  She is the President for the Florida Association for Play Therapy.  She has served locally and most recently as vice president for NASW-Florida, in which retaining members was a goal along with retention.  Tara’s professional excellence has been recognized by the SW Florida Unit of NASW as 2009 Social Worker of the Year and 2017 Field Educator of the Year.  She was also awarded the 2009 Viola Brody Award by FAPT.  Tara and her team of therapists are often called for debriefing on Animal-Assisted Play Therapy® across the state, since they are the only credentialed therapists in this modality.  She is the co-author of an award-winning children’s book, Bode the Beach Dog: Life is RUFF!, a book to help children overcome fear.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial: Tara Moser maintains a private practice and has an employment relationship with the Florida Gulf Coast University. She receives a speaking honorarium from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Non-financial: Tara Moser is a member of the National Association of Social Work, the Animal Assisted Intervention International, the International Institute for Animal Assisted Play Therapy, Association for Play Therapy, and the Association for Professional Dog Trainers. She is the task force president for the Association for Play Therapy and the president for the Florida Association for Play Therapy.