Meet Our Team

Each provider offers a unique set of skills to support children, adolescents, and families. You can learn  more about our providers here. Each provider offers a free 15 minute phone consult to answer questions and to help you find the best fit!

Sarah Barnes
​MS, LMHP, LPC, RPT
sarah@playtherapyomaha.com


A mother of three and with over 15 years working in a variety of mental health and educational settings, Sarah knows kids. She is passionate about helping children & adolescents find their voice in this world through healing, empowerment, & development of a positive self-concept.

Sarah also understands the joy parenting brings, along with pressure, isolation, and anxiety at times. She works with adults, utilizing a cognitive-behavioral approach (CBT) & EMDR, to find balance with parenting and one's self to live a more fulfilled and authentic life.

Sarah holds Bachelor Degrees in Psychology & Education, and earned a Master's in Counseling from UNO in 2008. Her credentials include: Licensed Mental Health Practitioner, Licensed Professional Counselor, Registered Play Therapist, Certified Teacher, Certified School Counselor, and a Certificate of Play Therapy.
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Sarah believes passionately in the power of play and that all children are valuable, capable, & worthy of love & opportunity. 

Child/Adolescent Specialties include: trauma, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, school-related problems, anxiety, depression, low-self esteem, impulse control, anger, self-regulation, divorce, & attachment

Adult Specialties include: Stress management, anxiety, parenting issues, & parent training

Sarah has completed training in:
Theraplay, Level 1
EMDR, Level 1 and Level 2 
PCIT (Parent Child Interaction Therapy)
Play Therapy including:
early childhood mental health, inner child for adults, attachment, anxiety, grief, sand tray, and trauma-informed care, play therapy and EMDR
ERP (Exposure Response Prevention)-trained through BTTI 
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Insurances Accepted: BCBS, Midlands Choice, Cigna, Aetna, Medica, United Health Care, UMR, Optum, and Private Pay 


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Katie Tessin
​MS, PLMHP, RYT-200
katie@playtherapyomaha.com​
 Katie believes therapy is a place to be heard and understood, as well as a place for growth and change.  She is enthusiastic about providing youth the tools to develop an awareness of their inner and outer experiences, to recognize their thoughts as just thoughts, and to understand how emotions manifest in their bodies.  Drawing on her training with emotional intelligence and mindfulness, Katie helps to arm children with effective life skills and self/social awareness.  

Katie has over 15 years of experience working with youth, as a classroom teacher, school counselor, children’s yoga teacher, and a provisionally licensed mental health practioner (PLMHP).   

Katie holds a Bachelor Degree in Education, and earned a Master's in Counseling from UNO.  Her credentials include: Certified Teacher, Certified School Counselor, Registered Yoga Teacher-200 hour, Certified Mindfulness Educator, Social Emotional Learning program trainer, PLMHP, and trained in Play Therapy.
She enjoys working with youth to understand and reduce anxiety, cope with change, grow self-love, structure enriching and dynamic self-compassion practices, and explore the rich internal world that resides within each of us.
Katie strives to create a safe and welcoming atmosphere for youth. She utilizes a variety of therapeutic approaches including child-centered play, Mindfulness based, solution-focused and strength-based.  
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A key component to her practice is in developing a collaborative, compassionate, authentic and comfortable therapeutic relationship with youth clients and families. Therapy is a safe place in which Katie will assist you in exploring the past, creating peace in the present and feeling hope for the future.

Child/Adolescent Specialties Include: working withchildren ages 3-12

Katie's additional trainings include:
Play Therapy (holds a Certificate in Play Therapy)
​Sandtray
​Mindfulness Certification
Yoga
Social/Emotional Learning

Insurances accepted: BCBS and private pay

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Mariah Wessel-Draper
​MS, LIMHP, RPT
mariah@playtherapyomaha.com
“When one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence, one is instantly empowered.” 
This quote by Wes Angelozzi describes the feeling Mariah strives to create in the therapy setting for children and the adults who care for them.  An emphasis is placed on the importance of the relationship in therapy. Mariah also works with adults individually, utilizing a humanistic approach to find connection with clients and meaning in this world.
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Mariah has worked as a trauma-informed therapist with children and their biological, foster, and adoptive families; as a program mental health therapist assisting children discharged from the in-patient and partial hospital units to address issues that are affecting their emotional well-being and functioning in school and home; and as an in-home therapist in the Omaha and surrounding communities.  Mariah utilizes client-centered therapy, play therapy, solution focused therapy, art therapy activities and mindfulness based exercises in her practice.

Mariah holds a Bachelor Degree in Art and Education with a minor in Psychology and earned a Master's Degree in Clinical Counseling from Bellevue University in 2012. Her credentials include: Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Registered Play Therapist, and a Certificate of Play Therapy.
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Mariah believes that each of us have within our selves the power to heal.  Sometimes we just need someone to walk beside us for a bit to help the healing begin. 

Child Specialties include: trauma, challenges at school, anxiety, depression, self-worth, impulse control, anger, self-regulation, and attachment.

Adult Specialties include: Stress management, anxiety, parenting issues, childhood trauma, and mindfulness.

Mariah has completed training in:
-EMDR, Level 1 and Level 2 
-Play Therapy including:  early childhood mental health, inner child for adults, attachment, anxiety, grief, sand tray, and trauma-informed care 
-Mindfulness Fundamentals

​Insurances Accepted: BCBS, Midlands Choice, Cigna, Aetna, United Health Care, Private Pay 
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Jen Ortmeier
MS, LIMHP
jen@playtherapyomaha.com


​Jen has always had a heart focused on the well-being and healthy development of children and adolescents. Jen started her career as a middle school English teacher, and her passion for supporting the emotional health of students grew from there. Now as a therapist, Jen sits with her clients as they journey through these developing years, highlighting strengths, and understanding emotions, guiding clients in learning to communicate these emotions and build skills to improve their daily living. Jen's hope is to provide a safe environment for children and adolescents to heal and grow and support them in achieving their goals. She believes she is an intermediate resource to equip and empower both the client and family unit into building deep-rooted strengths within themselves.

Experience includes four years of teaching, play therapy and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training at the Children’s Advocacy Training Center in Plano, TX, and four years working in a collaborative team approach with medication prescribers and community resources. 

Jen holds a Bachelor’s degree in education and earned Master’s degree in counseling in 2013. She is a Licensed Independent Mental Health Practitioner.  

Child/Adolescent Specialties include: school-related problem solving, divorce, grief, ADHD, stress, behavioral issues including anger, low self-esteem, anxiety, and self-regulation. 
Adult Specialties include: Parent-child relationship issues, stress management, life transitions, anxiety and grief

Jen has completed additional training in:
​Play Therapy (ongoing)
PCIT (Parent Child Interaction Therapy)
TF-CBT (Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
ACT ( Acceptance & Commitment Training)

Insurances Accepted: BCBS, Midlands Choice, Cigna, Aetna, Medica, UHC, UMR, Optum, and Private Pay


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Kaleigh Paben
​MS, LMHP
kaleigh@playtherapyomaha.com

Kaleigh’s passion is helping children discover their unique gifts, talents, and abilities.​
Her extensive knowledge working with children, families, and the educational system will allow her to support you in meeting your child’s needs. 

Kaleigh knows that through opportunity, experience, and play, children build coping skills and resiliency; empowering them to see themselves as capable, worthy and loved. 
She will consider your whole child to ensure his/her social-emotional, behavioral, and academic needs are met, allowing for healing, learning, and growth to reach their highest potential. 
 
Kaleigh holds a Bachelor’s degree in Education, a Master’s in Counseling and a Masters in Educational Leadership. She is a Licensed Mental Health Practitioner, Certified School Counselor, and is currently working towards obtaining certifications in Play Therapy (RPT) and Behavior Analysis (BCBA).
 
Child/Adolescent Specialties include: school-related problem solving, divorce, grief, stress, behavioral issues including anger, handling overwhelming emotion, anxiety, opposition

Kaleigh has completed training in:
Play Therapy (ongoing)
Sandtray
​Advanced Behavioral Analysis (ongoing)

Insurances Accepted: BCBS, Midlands Choice, Cigna, Aetna, Medica, UHC, UMR, Optum and private pay 


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Jessica Farber
​MS, PLMHP
jessica@playtherapyomaha.com
Jessica has always had a passion for working with children, and knows that the developmental process can present challenges along the way for both the child and the parents. Jessica believes in helping children discover their voice and feeling empowered to process their emotions during those challenges, as well as being a source of support to parents. 

Jessica believes ‘play’ is the universal language for a child, and with the use of play therapy, it gives the child the opportunity to ‘play out’ their feelings and difficulties about a problem. Jessica is greatly enthused to be able to provide a safe space, and that opportunity for a child to ‘play out’ their problems, as well as being able to facilitate the growth and learning of all the children she works with. 

Jessica holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Northwest Missouri State and a Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from UNO. Her credentials include: PLMHP, National Board Certified Counselor (NCC), and a Certificate in Play Therapy.  

Child/Adolescent Specialties: Working with children ages 3-12

Insurance Accepted: BCBS, private pay
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