Our model of care

Care that shows up where you already are.

The Therapeutic Play Foundation is more than a nonprofit. We are a community wellness ecosystem where play, clinical care, and everyday essentials like diapers and food come together, in the neighborhoods that need them.

Community Wellness

Resilience, healing, and prevention where people gather

Community Care

Whole-person care coordination with healthcare partners

Capacity Building

Training and technical assistance for schools and agencies

Community Engagement

Partnerships, volunteers, and advocacy

Learning Resources

Books, toolkits, and supplies for families

What we believe

Healing is not individual. It is communal.

Nakeya T. Fields, LCSW · Founder & Executive Director

TPF began in 2015 with a simple idea: bring trauma-informed, play-based care into communities that had been asked to come find help, instead of receiving it where they were. Wellness lives in the community, not behind an intake form.

Collective Care in action

Four moves that turn care into something a neighborhood can hold.

Collective Care means no one carries their well-being alone. Here is how it works day to day.

Reach

Wellness Labs, Community Play Dates, and ARTGard happen in schools, churches, clinics, and neighborhoods. Low-barrier and open to everyone.

Coordinate

Our Support Squad builds whole-person care plans with you, through CalAIM Enhanced Care Management and Community Health Worker support.

Provide

With partners like Baby2Baby and LA Regional Food Bank, families get diapers, food, and other essentials alongside their care.

Sustain

Community Wellness Leaders, workforce training, and technical assistance help neighborhoods keep well-being going long after we leave the room.

Our framework

The Brain Well-Being Model® looks at the whole person in four ways.

Developed by Nakeya T. Fields, the model shapes every Wellness Lab, Community Play Date, and Play Now. Thrive Later. experience.

STEP - 1

Somatic

How does my body feel safe?

Our Support Squad builds whole-person care plans with you, through CalAIM Enhanced Care Management and Community Health Worker support.

STEP - 2

Perceptual

How do I see myself and my community?

How people see themselves and their neighbors. We challenge deficit-based stories and make room for strengths.

STEP - 3

Relational

Who do I belong with?

How connection, trust, and belonging support healing. Relationships are the foundation of wellness.

STEP - 4

Aspirational

What am I growing toward?

How hope, vision, and a sense of the future build resilience and agency.

Meeting basic needs

Healing starts with having what you need.

It is hard to focus on well-being when you are out of diapers or short on groceries. Through our partners, we get essentials into the hands of families, and connect them to care.

Diapers and baby essentials

Diapers and supplies for families with young children, so parents can focus on their family.

Food for families

Groceries and food distribution connected to our programs and events.

Housing Resources

Help finding, applying for, and keeping stable housing through CalAIM.

Wellness Kits

If you are impacted by the LA wildfires and have completed a comprehensive assessment with your LCM, please contact your LCM to learn more about available resources.

Healthcare Access Support

We will help you with healthcare linkages and connections to available services.

The Support Squad

Clinical expertise and community knowledge, in every interaction.

Our care team brings licensed clinicians together with people from the community. They speak your language and understand your neighborhood.

We bring care into the community, rather than asking the community to come to care.

Licensed clinicians

Licensed and Board of Behavioral Sciences-registered professionals who guide care plans.

Community Health Workers

Trusted neighbors who help you navigate healthcare, housing, and community resources.

Lead Care Managers

Coordinators who keep your goals, providers, and services aligned.

Programs in practice

two ways the model comes to life.

Community Wellness

ARTGard

Therapeutic art and gardening that combine creativity, cultural expression, and social emotional learning.

Community Care

CalAIM Collective Care

Enhanced Care Management and Community Health Worker support for Medi-Cal members across Los Angeles.

Stronger together

Our partners help us reach every part of a family's life.

No single organization can meet every need. TPF works alongside providers, funders, and neighborhood institutions so that each family finds what they need in one place.