Therapist for grief, parents, and the earliest relationships that shape us.
Dylan Spradlin, MA, MSW, LCSW, LICSW
sERVING CLIENTS VIRTUALLY ACROSS Montana, IDAHO and WASHINGTON
My work is deeply relational, grounded in nervous system science, and the belief that behavior always has a story behind it.
Healing begins in relationships.
Sometimes the pain began before there were words for it,
but the nervous system remembers.
I work with:
grieving parents and adults
pregnancy, infant, and child loss
birth trauma and difficult beginnings
overwhelmed parents
babies and toddlers struggling with excessive crying, sleep refusal, feeding issues, and bonding struggles
adults carrying the impact of what they lived through as children
I don’t believe people are broken.
I believe our nervous systems adapt brilliantly to what we survive — and that many symptoms make sense once we understand the story underneath them.
Sometimes those stories are loud and obvious.
Sometimes they live quietly in the body:
through anxiety, shutdown, grief, overwhelm, perfectionism, disconnection, sleeplessness, or the constant feeling of bracing for something hard.
Therapy is not about becoming someone entirely new.
It’s about creating enough safety to reconnect with who you already are beneath survival.
Why I do this work
Like many therapists, my professional path grew out of my personal one.
My own experiences with grief, motherhood, loss and healing shaped not only who I became, but how I sit with others now.
Over the years, I’ve written publicly about motherhood, miscarriage, grief, and healing. My writing has appeared in Mothering Magazine and the anthology Our Stories of Miscarriage: Healing with Words.
I know firsthand that loss changes people.
So does being deeply seen.
So does finally no longer carrying something you thought would be with you forever.
What it’s like to work with me
Clients often describe me as warm, grounded, deeply attuned, and authentic.
I keep a smaller caseload intentionally so I can bring steadiness, presence, and emotional capacity to the people I work with.
This is not rushed work.
It is thoughtful, relational work.
I’m not interested in perfection, surface-level parenting strategies, or forcing people to “move on.”
I’m interested in helping people understand themselves and each other more deeply — so new patterns of connection, safety, and healing can emerge.
MY GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Authenticity.
When I am not behaving as I truly am, I betray myself. I have learned and spent many years devoted to bringing my whole self into the room, and helping you to learn to do the same. This is how I remain regulated, and congruent and able to do work at this depth.
Safety.
Safety is the foundation of healing. In therapy I work intentionally to create emotional safety — a place where children and caregivers can express feelings, explore difficult experiences, and know they will be met with steadiness and respect.
Respect.
I have come to understand that we are conscious and aware even before we are born, and have opinions, and feelings, and develop beliefs about ourselves as early as our earliest experiences. With that understanding, I treat all people - no matter their age - with respect and dignity, and afford them agency in our work together.
Play.
Play is one of the great healers and often is unrecognized as such. In play, we can be activated and regulated at the same time, offering a singular place to safely transform nervous system patterns that drive behavior. Through playfulness, it is possible to develop connections that weren’t able to be forged any other way.
TRAINING & EDUCATION
I’m committed to ongoing education & training to best support your family.
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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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REIKI Level I and II
EFT Tapping technique with children
Tapas Acupressure Technique - Certified Professional (Pending)
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
Building Cultural Inclusivity in the Playroom
Creative Play Therapy Interventions for Grieving Children, Youth and Families
Brain Injuries and Suicide Risk
Working With Native People and
CommunitiesInfant and Child-Centered Family Therapy
Infant Play Therapy
Aggression in Play Therapy: A Neurobiological Approach To Integrating Intensity
Embodiment & Neurobiology of Secure, Insecure and Disorganized Attachment & How To Heal
Grief in Foster and Adoptive Children and Families
Playing Perfectly: A Play Therapists Guide to Working with OCD
Working With Siblings in Play Therapy
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Outside the therapy space
Outside of my work, I’m drawn to wild water, pollinator gardening, stories—the ones we tell ourselves, the ones we live, and the ones we share—and long conversations about what it means to be human.
I love dogs and am particularly drawn to Newfoundlands, but will always have rescue dogs.
I believe healing and grief both live close to beauty.
I believe relationships matter.
I believe nervous systems speak constantly.
And I believe people deserve spaces where they can tell the truth without fear of judgment.
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)
