The History of the GAPT

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In 1987, Dr. JoAnna White began her tenure as a school counseling professor at Georgia State University (GSU) and was on a mission to advance the educational opportunities for clinicians who desired to counsel children in the southeast of the United States. Fifty students registered for her first play therapy course in 1990 (approved by the department chair, Dr. Pete Smith) and this led to the creation of the Atlanta Association for Play Therapy. In 1993, the Association for Play Therapy asked Atlanta APT to host their national conference, and it was held at the Marriott Marquis with 1,000 people in attendance. 

In July 1992, Trudy Post-Sprunk and Virginia "Ginger" Pogue met at a play therapy training and began gathering “play therapy friends” with the goal of creating a chartered branch. There were eight people present at their first meeting (including Millie Dawson-Hardy, David Drake, Barbara Fisher, Jayne Smith, Janice Turner, and Sharon Wilson). In May of 1995, Dr. White transferred the Atlanta APT to them, and that led to the creation of the Georgia Association for Play Therapy Inc. (GAPT). It became an official chartered branch by the Association for Play Therapy on October 14, 1995. GAPT was incorporated in the state of Georgia shortly thereafter on October 30, 1995 and confirmed as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. 

In May 2022, Trudy chose to retire from the position, and Dr. Yolanda Fountain Hardy was elected President by GAPT members. She and leadership team, Gloria Juliao and Kadesha Adelakun, assisted with the following GAPT achievements: 

• Unifying the Georgia APT and Georgia-South APT branches
• Implementing APT organizational changes, including updating GAPT's bylaws and website, developing a GAPT chapter policy manual, and expanding the number of board members
• Hosting our first fall festival community event with over 100 participants
• Establishing a partnership with the City of Roswell's Nonprofit Parternship Program
• Conducting the first online conference for members
• Tripling the organization's profitability and increasing chapter membership by 30% and social media following by 50%
• Creating an awards program to honor play therapy volunteers and leaders
• Receiving the prestigious Gold Brach Award by APT in 2022, 2023, and 2024

Dr. Fountain Hardy superseded the President's position after being elected as a board member for the national Association for Play Therapy in October 2024.  For GAPT, she served as the treasurer when needed and will serve as Past-President through October 2025.