I wish I could tell you that I always wanted to be a play therapist. The truth is, the first time I heard about play therapy was in my Master's program. I had one class on communicating with children, and one student chose to present on play therapy. Fifteen minutes: that was the extent of my play therapy education before I graduated.
When I began my first job, my co-workers introduced me to sandtray. I thought it was fun to have the sand and miniatures available for clients, but honestly had no idea what I was doing with them. How did I know this was helpful? As I continued to work with kids, I had a mentor at my job who told me about Garry Landreth, the founder of Child-Centered Play Therapy. She then invited me to read his book: Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship. I couldn't put it down! I resonated with so many of his philosophies. At the same time, I realized I still had much to learn about working with kids.
Fast forward a few years and I am faced with working with a young child who has just suffered a horrible familial trauma. I felt at a loss to provide her the best, most appropriate treatment. I called my mentor, who again encouraged me to get out my Garry Landreth book and apply the concepts. It was soon after that I began seeing the power of play and knew that if I wanted to continue to use play therapy with clients, I needed to make sure I had the training and experience to back me up. I began pursuing credentialing to become a Registered Play Therapist (RPT). For me this was a lengthy process: very few trainings were offered locally as well as supervisors. The good news is that today things have changed! There are now so many resources for play therapy training and supervision available. Obtaining your credentials has become a whole lot easier.
Here are some resources to help you take your next steps to become a credentialed play therapist:
At this point I've had my play therapy credentials for several years and can't imagine not having them. I use my play therapy skills every day in my work with clients. In addition, I have been able to teach, supervise, consult and train in play therapy. The opportunities that I have been able to have in my career I owe in large part to becoming a play therapist.
When I began my first job, my co-workers introduced me to sandtray. I thought it was fun to have the sand and miniatures available for clients, but honestly had no idea what I was doing with them. How did I know this was helpful? As I continued to work with kids, I had a mentor at my job who told me about Garry Landreth, the founder of Child-Centered Play Therapy. She then invited me to read his book: Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship. I couldn't put it down! I resonated with so many of his philosophies. At the same time, I realized I still had much to learn about working with kids.
Fast forward a few years and I am faced with working with a young child who has just suffered a horrible familial trauma. I felt at a loss to provide her the best, most appropriate treatment. I called my mentor, who again encouraged me to get out my Garry Landreth book and apply the concepts. It was soon after that I began seeing the power of play and knew that if I wanted to continue to use play therapy with clients, I needed to make sure I had the training and experience to back me up. I began pursuing credentialing to become a Registered Play Therapist (RPT). For me this was a lengthy process: very few trainings were offered locally as well as supervisors. The good news is that today things have changed! There are now so many resources for play therapy training and supervision available. Obtaining your credentials has become a whole lot easier.
Here are some resources to help you take your next steps to become a credentialed play therapist:
- Want to learn more about play therapy? Visit the Association for Play Therapy (APT)website here for access to research, articles and videos about play therapy.
- Want to learn more about play therapy credentials? Visit APT's guides and FAQs here to learn more about becoming a Registered Play Therapist (RPT), School-Based Registered Play Therapist (SB-RPT) or Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S).
- Want to find APT approved play therapy trainings? APT lists all of its Approved Providers and local and online trainings on their website here.
- Want to learn more about play therapy supervision? Contact me and I can answer your questions about supervision.
At this point I've had my play therapy credentials for several years and can't imagine not having them. I use my play therapy skills every day in my work with clients. In addition, I have been able to teach, supervise, consult and train in play therapy. The opportunities that I have been able to have in my career I owe in large part to becoming a play therapist.
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