Highlighting Heather Orenstein

By Melanie Froemke, LCSW, RPT-S, eRYT

It feels even more appropriate as we highlight International Play Therapy Week, February 1-7, 2026, to highlight Heather Orenstein. Heather came to us with vast experience working with children. Heather loves working across the lifespan, and is finding a particular niche in her love of play therapy.

At River Grove Therapy, we're so grateful to have Heather Orenstein on our team. She's experienced, kind, compassionate, and extremely knowledgeable. We took some time to get to know more about her, and we'd love for you to get to know her, too!

Melanie: You're a career changer and a social worker-  Can you share with us some of your relevant experiences, and how  & why you came to become a therapist?

Heather: I've wanted to be a therapist since my first psychology course as an undergrad. However, personal circumstances kept me from applying to grad school, and my journey was instead filled with other adventures that have added incredible value to my practice. Being a social worker who helped people with disabilities find jobs reinforced the importance of focusing on strengths versus weaknesses and offered a daily example of human resilience. My time in corporate Human Resources honed my professional expertise but also offered context as I work with adults in therapy and parents of young clients who are trying to juggle their personal lives and professional careers. My work both as a preschool teacher and with the public school system has been instrumental in my understanding of child development and the breadth of resources that are available to families. Finally, my experience as a wife and mom to four children provides me with a personal understanding of the infinite trials and tribulations of marriage and child raising. Throughout my journey, my heart always pulled back to the notion that I really wanted to be a therapist, so here I am - finally doing the thing I was always meant to do!

Melanie: What have you learned in your own experience that shapes you as a therapist?

Heather: Gosh, too many things to list. I feel that every experience I've had and continue to have each day shapes me in some way. I used to wish I had gone to graduate school sooner, but if I had, the experience and insights I bring into the therapy room would be so different - and I'm eternally grateful for the ways in which all of my experiences help me build connections, gain understanding, empathize with, and support both adults and children. I think one of the most important things I've learned is that we are all doing the best we can with what we have. Our foundational tool boxes are built during childhood, but we all have the ability to develop our tools, no matter our age. I'm here to help people achieve that.  

Melanie: You have some unique specializations; can you share more with us about those specializations & how your experiences have helped guide who you love to work with? 

Heather: I love working with both adults and children. As a mother of four children, each of whom has their own strengths and differences, I have a special interest in working with perinatal and postpartum mothers and honestly parents with children of any age! I discovered this during my specialization internship in graduate school. Becoming a parent and raising children is certainly wonderful in many ways, but it's not easy. Social media has added even more pressure to make everything look perfect when working parents are already spread incredibly thin. Parents and spouses, as caregivers themselves, need their own source of support. I also love engaging in play therapy with young children. I have lots of experience working with children both as a mother and as a preschool/kindergarten teacher, which translates into my engagement with children in the playroom and really helped me hit the ground running after training to be a play therapist. I just love the energy children bring into the playroom, and I love finding out what their interests and strengths are, while helping build their self-esteem, self-confidence, and resilience. Of course play therapy always includes work with parents, so these specializations work well together. 

Melanie: What do you love about being a therapist?

Heather: I love the human connection that's required as a therapist. I love getting to know my clients, building relationships, discovering root causes for feelings or behaviors, and helping each of them realize the strengths within them that have actually been there the whole time. Every person is different, and so is every experience as a therapist - but I often leave a therapy session feeling overwhelmed with pride in the work my clients are doing, beginning with realizing their need for support and simply showing up. I truly feel grateful and honored to do this work.