Certification & Career Development in the UK
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.
The Second Stage
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.
The Third Stage
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.