You could consider your career
planning in three stages of certification: firstly, becoming a
practitioner,
secondly extending your
skills and scope of practice and
thirdly
helping others to develop their practice.
The First Stage
is to become a safe and effective practitioner, mastering the competencies that you have
learnt on a PTUK accredited course and putting them into practice.
As a professional with
therapeutic play skills you will need to complete the Certificate course
and 100 supervised clinical hours, submitting evidence of
clinical
governance (usually using SDQ outcome measures). If you want
the University PG award, you will also have to complete the written
course work to the required standard.
If you wish to become as a Play Therapist you need to complete the Diploma course, after successful
completion of the Certificate, with another 100 hours supervised
clinical work and a project. If you also want the University PG
award you will also need to complete the other written work.
Completion of both courses and
the clinical hours typically takes two years but can be achieved in 18
months by combining a Certificate course in the UK with a Diploma course
at the Summer School.
You’ll then become a PTUK Certified Play Therapist.
could be to extend your skills, knowledge and scope of practice by becoming an
Accredited Play Therapist and/or a
Certified Filial Play
Coach/Mentor.
You’ll need a total of 450 hours supervised clinical
practice to become a PTUK Accredited Play Therapist with appropriate
CPD hours each year to keep up
to date.
You also need to think NOW about where you want to be
in a few years time. If you would you like to work with
parents as well as the children become a PTUK Certified Filial Play
Coach/Mentor. This requires 5 days of training for
Practitioners of Therapeutic Play or Play Therapists.
If you want to enhance your CV further or are interested in
research or are attracted to academic work attract you could consider
obtaining the MA in Practice Based Therapy - by dissertation.
You will need a minimum total of 300 clinical hours. The MA
course may be completed in a year but many students need to take two
years.
Do you enjoy supporting others and helping to solve therapeutic problems?
If so, become a PTUK Certified Supervisor of Play and
Creative Arts Therapists. There’s a big shortage in most parts of the UK.
The training required is 10 days, normally 5 modules, each of two
days.
Would you enjoy training others in play therapy?
To become a PTUK Certified Trainer you will need to be a
PTUK Certified Supervisor and have the MA in Practice Based Play Therapy
or 450 hours of clinical practice - ideally all three
