Hi, I'm Dylan.
Grief therapist and Certified Synergetic Play Therapist for kids and teens ages 5–17 in Montana and Washington.
DYLAN SPRADLIN, MA, MSW, LCSW, LICSW
Healing begins in relationships
Sometimes the pain began before there were words for it. Sometimes it came later, through death, separation, a move, a friendship lost, or a world that suddenly looks nothing like it used to.
My work is relational, nervous-system-informed, and neurodivergent-affirming. I believe behavior makes more sense when we understand what's happening underneath.
That doesn't mean we have to calmly decode every difficult moment. We're human beings, not nervous-system interpreters available 24 hours a day.
Believe me: when a textbook is thrown at your head after some particularly difficult math problems at 7:46 p.m., staying steady is both particularly important and particularly hard.
But understanding what's underneath the behavior creates room for something different. More connection. More choice. And sometimes, a little breathing room.
Why I do this work
Like many therapists, my professional path grew out of my personal one.
I'm AuDHD, and I raised a neurodivergent child into adulthood. I know what it's like to live outside the expected shape, question the systems everyone insists should work, and keep looking for a better way.
My own experiences with early loss led me to explore attachment, early trauma, prenatal and perinatal psychology, and eventually the grief of losing my twin before birth. I learned that our beginnings matter, but they don't determine where we end up.
I've also lived through plenty of grief, complicated relationships, and more personal healing than I ever planned on doing.
All of it shapes how I show up as a therapist: with clinical training, lived experience, humor, humility, and deep respect for the different ways people navigate hard things.
And I've never been particularly good at fitting myself into systems that don't make sense. I'm much more likely to question them—or find another way.
What it’s like to work
with me
I'm warm, curious, playful, and pretty hard to shock. I take my work seriously, but that doesn't mean we have to be serious all the time.
I keep a small caseload intentionally, so I can bring my full attention and energy to each young person and family I work with.
I'm not here to make kids easier to manage, rush them through grief, or teach them to hide their feelings more politely.
I'm here to get to know them, build trust, and help them discover that even the hardest feelings don't have to be faced alone.
And I'm here to support the adults who love them, too. Because understanding what a child is communicating can change how the whole family responds.
MY GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Authenticity.
No performance required. I bring my real self so you have more room to bring yours.
Safety.
Hard feelings, difficult stories, and messy truths deserve steadiness, not shame.
Respect.
Kids are people, not problems to solve. Their voices, boundaries, and choices deserve respect.
Play & Creativity.
Sometimes the most important things happen without words. Play, movement, imagination, and humor open doors that talking alone can't.
TRAINING & EDUCATION
I’m committed to ongoing education and training so my work keeps growing, too.
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Master of Clinical Social Work;
Walla Walla University, Missoula Campus
Master of Clinical Psychology;
Santa Barbara Graduate School
Specialization in Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology (Primary Psychology) & Infant and Child-Centered Play TherapyBachelor of Arts
The Evergreen State College;
focus on Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology.
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Certified Synergetic Play Therapist™
learn about Synergetic Play TherapyCertified NARM™ Therapist
learn about NARMCertified Grief Informed Professional for children, adolescents and adults
Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP)
Certified Clinical LCSW Supervisor
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Play Therapy, Youth & Family Work
Playing Perfectly: A Play Therapist’s Guide to Working with OCD
Working with Siblings in Play Therapy
Infant and Child-Centered Family Therapy
Infant Play Therapy
Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurobiological Approach to Integrating Intensity
Creative Play Therapy Interventions for Grieving Children, Youth, and Families
Grief, Loss & Medical Trauma
Traumatic Grief: Cognitive, Behavioral, and Somatic Approaches
Mastering the Complexities of Traumatic Grief
Cultivating Post-Traumatic Growth
Reproductive, Infant, and Pregnancy Loss
Medical Trauma, Injury, and Illness
Grief in Foster and Adoptive Children and Families
Attachment, Neurobiology & Early Experience
Embodiment & Neurobiology of Secure, Insecure, and Disorganized Attachment and How to HealCultural Responsiveness
Building Cultural Inclusivity in the Playroom
Working with Native People and Communities -
Outside the therapy space
I'm drawn to theater (both sides of the curtain), song, wild water, pollinator gardening, and stories—the ones we tell ourselves, the ones we live, the ones we share, and the ones we sing.
I have a particular fondness for river otters, guinea pigs, and enormous Newfoundland dogs. Although rescue dogs of all shapes and questionable ancestry will always have my heart.
I believe grief and healing both live close to beauty. And I try to make room for plenty of it in my life.
Selected Publications
“Fall of the Fairies”, Mothering Magazine, Mar/Apr 2008 (print edition, under the name Dylan Emrys)
“February 16” (poem) and “Spirit of the Child” (essay), in Our Stories of Miscarriage: Healing with Words, anthology edited by Rachel Faldet and Karen Fitton, 1997 (under the name Dylan Emrys)
