Play Therapy Certification
Play Therapy certification is becoming more popular among new and established mental health professionals. The demand for more play therapists is increasing as the benefits and powers of play therapy are more recognized. Play therapy can be a powerful tool to help all ages, especially children.
The Association for Play Therapy (APT) asserts that only qualified, certified, and licensed professionals can offer play therapy services. The association, established in 1982, provides guidelines on child therapy certification.
Although there is an array of institutions that can offer play therapy training, they provide those services within the approved guidelines from the Association for Play Therapy (APT).
What is Play Therapy Certification?
APT defines play therapy as the systematic use of proven theoretical models to institute an interpersonal process in which certified Play Therapists leverage the therapeutic power of play to help clients resolve or prevent psychological difficulties and attain optimum growth and development.
Play Therapy is not synonymous with regular play. Everyday play is spontaneous, natural, and part of a child’s developmental process. On the other hand, Play Therapy uses a therapeutic and systemic approach. Play therapy also uses toys and other natural play techniques. It incorporates a set of evidence-based strategies and practices.
The certification process involves a set of play therapy certification online lessons, conferences, webinars, and supervision sessions aimed at helping therapists understand the value, power, and function of play therapy. Thus, it is wrong, unethical, and misleading for mental health professionals who incorporate toys while working with children or young adults to brand themselves as play therapists without an ATP accreditation.
Who Is It for?
The Association of Play Therapy has various play therapy certification requirements and guidelines for training qualifications. APT outlines that only graduate-level mental health professionals are eligible for this training and subsequent accreditation.
So, while the whole process aims at increasing your skills and knowledge, it is only for you if you are a graduate or higher in any of the following disciplines —marriage and family therapy, counseling, psychiatry, social work, or psychology. Notably, add-on fields such as art therapy, addictions, and dance therapy, among others, are not part of the qualifications.
Also, you are only viable if your transcripts confirm that you handled coursework in the following areas;
- Child Development
- Principles of Psychotherapy
- Theories of Personality
- Legal, Professional, and Ethical Issues
- Child and Adolescent
Learning play therapy can be a powerful addition to your skill set if you are keen on helping children overcome mental health challenges.
What Should You Expect from The Certification?
The process starts with helping you understand what play therapy is, progressing from there into providing you with the professional tools to apply the principles once credentialed .
You can also expect to grow your practice and expand your knowledge considerably in child play therapy and general therapy. We help private practices acquire essential skills and refine their practice through webinars, group coaching, and one-on-one mentorships.
Our program will make the process of learning to become an RPT easier. We’ll work together to move you toward your goal of getting credentials so you can work with families and children to solve their mental health issues using the power of play therapy.
Play therapy is in many ways connected to other forms of therapy and family relationship dynamics. Students in our program will often discuss broader topics than child therapy. You will also acquire skills to enhance child-parent relationships, for instance. Once you have credentials, you can choose to upgrade to become an APT or Accredited Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S) from a Registered Play Therapist (RPT).
Start Your Journey to Become a Registered Play Therapist Today
Take the first step and connect with us to join a webinar. We’ll work with you to support you during your journey to get a play therapy certification. You can take advantage of the webinars, one-on-one mentorships, coaching to become a certified play therapist, and access play therapy research and publications. Start your journey to become a registered play therapist today.