Janelle Ford

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Behind Progressive Play® is more than two decades of clinical practice, professional education, continued learning and a genuine belief that better professional education can help create better experiences for the people we support.

Janelle Ford is the Founder and Director of Progressive Play®, a Registered Nurse, clinical nurse educator, qualified trainer and assessor, highly experienced mental health practitioner, and Master Trainer in LEGO® Based Therapy and LEGO® Serious Play®.

Holding a Bachelor of Nursing, Janelle began her career in general nursing before developing extensive experience across mental health, disability and other specialist areas of clinical practice.

Her mental health experience has included child and youth mental health, intellectual disability, mental health assessment and triage, crisis intervention, suicide prevention, addiction and alcohol and other drug practice, psychiatric liaison and emergency mental health, complex case coordination and recovery-oriented practice.

Janelle also completed postgraduate training in mental health triage through the University of Melbourne and previously held an appointment as an Authorised Mental Health Practitioner with Queensland Health.

But clinical practice is only one part of her professional story.

Throughout her nursing career, Janelle developed a strong interest in education and supporting other professionals to develop their knowledge, skills and confidence.

She began precepting and facilitating undergraduate nursing students, including students from Griffith University, before completing the nationally recognised Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, together with subsequent required updates.

What began in clinical education ultimately became an important part of Janelle’s professional identity.

She had seen first-hand that good professional education could influence what happened well beyond the training environment. When professionals understand not only what to do, but why they are doing it and how to apply that knowledge appropriately, that learning can flow directly into the quality of support they provide.

That principle would eventually become central to Progressive Play®.

Throughout years of working across health, mental health and disability, Janelle repeatedly saw gaps between what people needed and what services were able to provide.

Those gaps weren’t something she observed only as a clinician. Personal experiences supporting people close to her also provided another perspective on just how difficult it could be to find support that was accessible, engaging and appropriate to the individual.

It raised a question that has remained with Janelle ever since:

How do we help fill the gaps?

Part of the answer, she believed, was quality professional education.

Give professionals access to contemporary knowledge. Give them practical tools and resources. Help them understand different approaches. Encourage them to continue learning, and importantly, give them the confidence to think critically about how, why and when something should be applied.

That philosophy became the foundation for Progressive Play®.

The idea for Progressive Play® began taking shape in 2019.

Drawing on years of experience across health, mental health, disability and professional education, Janelle began developing an approach to professional learning that would bring together evidence, practical application and play-based methodologies in a way that professionals could meaningfully apply within their own practice.

Her growing interest in play-based methodologies was driven by a search for approaches that could create meaningful opportunities for engagement, communication, reflection and connection.

LEGO® based methodologies stood out.

There was something powerful about providing another way for people to communicate, explore ideas and work together - particularly when conventional, heavily verbal approaches were not always engaging or accessible for the individual.

That became a lightbulb moment.

Over the following two years, the idea was developed, researched and refined.

In early 2021, Progressive Play® came to fruition with the release of its first professional training programs.

Since then, the organisation has continued to grow, but the philosophy behind it has remained firmly connected to the professional experiences that inspired it in the first place.

Today, Janelle is a Master Trainer in LEGO® Based Therapy and the LEGO® Serious Play® method, bringing together her specialist methodology expertise with more than two decades of experience across clinical practice, mental health and professional education to lead the development and ongoing direction of Progressive Play®.

What began as an idea in 2019 has grown into an internationally accessed professional-learning organisation, with more than 5,700 professionals trained by 2026 across 21+ countries and territories.

Janelle believes that someone who develops professional education should remain committed to learning themselves.

Alongside her formal nursing and nationally recognised training and assessment qualifications, she has maintained an extensive record of continuing professional development throughout her career.

Her professional learning has included areas such as mental health assessment and triage, suicide prevention and risk management, child and youth mental health, alcohol and other drugs, recovery-oriented practice, disability and the NDIS, child and family practice, trauma, sensory approaches, neurodiversity, clinical education and professional training and assessment.

Her broader nursing career has also included additional specialist clinical qualifications and areas of practice.

This commitment to continued learning influences the way Progressive Play® approaches professional education today.

While Janelle leads the development and ongoing direction of Progressive Play®, our training programs are not developed in isolation. We collaborate with professionals, contributors and organisations with relevant expertise and seek feedback as our training and resources are reviewed and developed.

Our courses are not created once and left unchanged.

Proposed updates are considered carefully, informed by relevant evidence, professional practice, collaboration and feedback, and reviewed before they are implemented.

As research develops, professional environments change and new resources are created, Progressive Play® training continues to evolve.

The person developing professional education should remain a learner too.

Janelle’s professional contribution and the work of Progressive Play® have received recognition across autism, mental health, health and disability, education, innovation, social impact and business.

In 2023, Janelle won the Autism Queensland Professional Achievement Award, recognising professional achievement within the autism field.

Her work has also contributed to Progressive Play® receiving numerous national and international awards and honours, including recognition for mental health advocacy, business excellence, social change, innovation in health and disability, professional education and business growth.

In 2024, Progressive Play® was awarded Gold - ROAR Business of the Year, alongside four additional ROAR Award placings.

A complete record of Progressive Play®’s awards and independent recognition can be found on our Awards & Recognition page.

Janelle’s professional journey and the work of Progressive Play® have attracted media attention in Australia and internationally.

In 2023, The Courier-Mail / Quest News profiled Janelle as part of its International Women’s Day coverage recognising inspirational women across South East Queensland.

She has appeared on the front cover of Moreton Life, with a feature exploring her work and the development of Progressive Play®, and has been profiled by Moreton Daily, including recognition among the region’s Inspiring People.

In 2024, following Progressive Play® receiving a Global Recognition Award for its contributions across education and healthcare, the organisation was also featured on Markets Insider.

For Janelle, however, recognition has never been the reason for doing the work. It is evidence that the work is being noticed - but the impact behind it remains far more important.

Progressive Play® was never intended to measure success solely by enrolments.

Giving back has become an important part of the organisation Janelle has built.

Progressive Play® delivers the Rise Up Recovery Program free of charge, providing people wishing to engage in addiction recovery with access to a facilitated program using the LEGO® Serious Play® method.

The organisation has also delivered other no-cost community programming and supported community organisations and initiatives through sponsorships and donations, including programs supporting children with disability and families experiencing disadvantage.

That same philosophy extends to the professionals who choose to train with Progressive Play®.

As our training evolves and new supporting resources are developed, we continue to make selected updated resources available to eligible past learners without requiring an ongoing annual membership.

We believe supporting our facilitator community should extend beyond issuing a certificate.

The philosophy behind Progressive Play® remains remarkably simple:

Learn deeply

Understand why

Apply responsibly

Keep improving

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Use what you learn to create meaningful impact beyond the training itself.