Andrea Vargas, LMHC, RPT-S™

Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor™ & Practice Owner

“It’s a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together”

I was 10 years old when I spotted a book titled Child Abuse at the neighborhood stationery store. As I skimmed through it, my heart sank. Who helps these children? That was the moment I decided I would.

Early experiences shaped everything. Working in a school after 9/11, I watched children build towers and crash them with toys, over and over — not yet knowing what I was witnessing. Tutoring kids in foster care showed me how trauma follows a child into the classroom. My time at a child advocacy center revealed how a safe, welcoming space can help a child navigate even the most painful experiences. And as a case manager, I learned how deeply a child's world shapes their mental health. Each experience reinforced the same truth — to understand the child, you have to understand their world.

Then I walked into a play therapy room during graduate school practicum and everything clicked. My first client was getting into trouble at school — instinctively, I built a puppet classroom to help him role-play new behaviors. My supervisor called it play therapy. I didn't know it had a name, but I was sure that I needed to learn everything about it.

Children don't tell us with words — they show us through behavior, and in the playroom, play is their language. I trained to read that language, gaining insight into how a child sees themselves and their world. Healing might look like practicing new strategies with puppets, working through frustration with a board game, or watching a sandtray “world” slowly shift. As children grow into teens and young adults the modality changes, but the philosophy stays the same — meet them where they are. Including parents in the process is crucial; when they understand what's happening beneath the surface, they feel more confident supporting their child.

For six years I drove to homes and schools with a trunk full of toys, dreaming of a space of my own. In 2012, that dream became reality when I opened my private practice in Weston. In 2018, I earned the Registered Play Therapist™-Supervisor (RPT-S™) credential — a rigorous process that felt like earning a second master's degree, and shows my commitment to this work. I'm proud to be the only bilingual RPT-S™ in West Broward, and I now supervise therapists working toward that same credential.

In 2020, I moved into my dream office, and the following year expanded into a boutique group practice with amazing therapists who share this same passion. Along the way, my work has been featured in Forbes, Romper, Parents Latina, and podcasts. I’ve offered workshops, trainings, consultation, and held leadership roles in the professional community. Two decades in, I still can't believe I get to do this work.

A little more personal…

I was born in Colombia, raised in Queens, and moved to Miami as a teenager — each place shaping how I understand identity, transition, and family life across cultures. I offer sessions in English, Spanish, and Spanglish. I’m married to my best friend, and life has given us two beautiful children who have taught me patience and remind me daily that connection matters more than perfection. I understand how exhausting — and wonderful — parenting can be. You don’t have to do it alone.