Eliana Gil, PhD, is founding partner of the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education, a private group practice in Fairfax, Virginia. She is also Director of Starbright Training Institute for Child and Family Play Therapy. Dr. Gil has worked in the field of child abuse prevention and treatment since 1973. A licensed marriage, family, and child counselor; an approved marriage and family therapy supervisor; a registered art therapist; and a registered play therapy supervisor, she is a former President of the Association for Play Therapy, which honored her with its Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the author of The Healing Power of Play , Helping Abused and Traumatized Children , and Play in Family Therapy, Second Edition , among many other publications. Originally from Guayaquil, Ecuador, Dr. Gil is bilingual and bicultural.



Jennifer A. Shaw, PsyD, is a founding partner of the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education, and has worked in a number of clinical settings and capacities in metropolitan Washington, D.C. She provides individual, family, and group therapy to children and adolescents with sexual behavior problems, depression, anxiety, adjustment problems, and complex trauma. She has been the coordinator of the Boundary Project family-based program in two clinical settings: Childhelp Children's Center of Virginia and the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education. Dr. Shaw has acquired specialized training and certification in conducting psychosexual risk assessments and treating sexual offending behaviors in adolescents and adults, and is currently working toward certification as a registered play therapist. Dr. Gil and Dr. Shaw are coauthors of A Book for Kids about Private Parts, Touching, Touching Problems, and Other Stuff .