A room where the children play with therapists
The Child Advocacy Play Therapy Institute (CAPTI), now located in the new Insight Park at The University of Mississippi, is a mental health counseling institute that provides services for children, adolescents and adults coping with emotional stress and developmental difficulties.
The center consists of three branches: play therapy, education and expert witness consultation. CAPTI also offers the only specialist degree in play therapy in the country.
Lacy Crumrine, a graduate assistant and play therapist, said the center is a place of comfort and privacy for children of all ages.
“Our mission is the goal and interest of the child’s well-being,” Crumrine said.
“We have interns that can take clients who don’t have insurance to pay for therapy. We take all children.”
CAPTI used to be located downstairs in Guyton Hall with only two playrooms available for clients. With the new center in Insight Park, CAPTI has four playrooms, two counseling rooms, an adolescent room and more offices.
“We were filling up at our office in Guyton Hall, and it was getting to the point that we would have to put children on waiting lists,” Crumrine said.
Marilyn Snow, CAPTI’s director, is confident the new facility will benefit more children.
“We will be able to provide more services for about 120 children a week,” Snow said.
The new location also offers more privacy than the previous location.
“It was difficult because we did not have our own lobby for children to sit and wait,” Crumrine said. “With the new location, others won’t know that the children are there for therapy.”
Crumrine expects CAPTI to grow in its bigger building.
“We will be able to have more interns and more publicity, such as handing out flyers to pediatricians’ offices,” she said. “We hope to get more people aware of what we are doing.”
