Sophia Ansari, LPCC, is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and is the Co-founder of the Let’s Play Therapy Institute. She has worked with children, adolescents, adults, couples and families. She provides workshops on play therapy to mental health professionals and educates parents and teachers on the importance of play as it relates to development and learning in the school setting. She is a passionate research trainer who has bridged her knowledge of neuroscience and creative therapies to provide in-depth, highly experiential trainings at local, state and national events and conferences.

Sophia co-hosts Hero Nation, a podcast on the Geek Therapy Network, which celebrates diversity in the media and explores how to use geek culture in therapy. She co-authored the chapter, “Flourishing After the Origin Story: Using Positive Psychology to Explore Well-being in Superheroes and Supervillains” in the book, Using Superheroes and Villains in Counseling and Play Therapy: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals (edited by Lawrence C. Rubin).

Sophia earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Wright State University and her Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Cincinnati.

Josué Cardona, MS, earned a master’s in mental health counseling and trained in Rational Emotional Behavior Therapy (REBT) at the Albert Ellis Institute in New York City. He has worked with clients ages 4 to 84 through in-home, community, and outpatient counseling.  As an educator, Josué has designed curriculum for social-emotional skills, technology, and language learning for K-12. At the university level, he co-created the course Geek Culture in Psychotherapy, taught at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and co-authored Gamification: A Pilot Study in a Community College. Josué also acts as a diversity and inclusion Design Researcher for the Office of the Provost at the University of Chicago.  Josué is the founder of Geek Therapy, a therapeutic approach that believes the best way to understand people is through the things they care about. He created the Geek Therapy Network and community to educate parents, teachers, and helping professionals on how to use their favorite hobbies, pastimes, and interests to connect with others. Since 2011, Josué has presented on Geek Therapy through podcasts, blogs, book chapters, and presentations around the world. For more information on Geek Therapy, visit geektherapy.com.