LEGO Children’s Fund provides gift for child therapy room at Oklahoma State University

Dr. Barbara Carlozzi

STILLWATER – Dr. Barbara Carlozzi, assistant professor of applied health and educational psychology at Oklahoma State University, has received a $10,000 gift from the LEGO Children’s Fund to purchase materials for a child therapy room at OSU, it was announced today.

“We are real excited. It opens up new possibilities for us,” Carlozzi said of the gift.  “We will be able to use the center to serve children locally, and it is also a training opportunity for our students in school and community counseling and our doctoral students in counseling psychology.” 

Plans are underway to enhance a new facility for OSU’s Counseling and Counseling Psychology Clinic with a child therapy room.  Play therapy allows children to communicate, express feelings, modify behavior, develop problem-solving skills and learn a variety of ways of relating to others.

“As adults, we use the medium of talking to work things out. For children, playing allows them to process things that might be troubling them,” Carlozzi explained. “In the plans for our new clinic, we allocated a room for play therapy and with the money from the LEGO Fund, we can purchase materials to use. It’s an ideal situation.” 

The funds were facilitated through the efforts of Jennifer Martin, a manager at LEGO Systems, Inc., in Connecticut and 1994 OSU graduate in arts & sciences (speech communications).  Martin led the charge to submit the successful proposal.

“The play therapy room was a natural fit for the LEGO Children’s Fund,” Martin said. “As a graduate of Oklahoma State, it was great to be part of a process that helped bring two organizations together that share the same commitment to helping children develop their creativity and learning skills through constructive play.”

Oklahoma State’s graduate counseling programs serve local children and adolescents while preparing future Community Counseling, School Counseling and Counseling Psychology professionals.  The gift from LEGO will enhance a child therapy room for these programs and amplify the training experience OSU students receive while providing a service to the community.  

OSU provides the state’s only nationally accredited graduate-level programs in counseling.  

Anyone interested in contributing to the child therapy room is encouraged to contact Dr. Brenda Solomon, Senior Director of Development, at (405) 744-7188.

Read previous news stories.

Last Updated Friday, September 14, 2007 3:38 PM