Apprenticeship training course
Play therapist (level 7)
Work to improve children’s mental health, emotional well-being, learning capabilities and social relationships.
- Qualification level
-
7
Equivalent to master’s degree. - Typical duration
- 36 months
- Apprenticeship category
- Care services
- Maximum funding
-
£20,000
Maximum amount government will fund
for apprenticeship training. - Also known as
-
- Accredited play therapist
- Certified play therapist
- Practitioners in therapeutic play skills
- Skills
-
Skills an apprentice will learn
- Apply in practice play in child development with children and early adolescents
- Identify, acquire and manage the safe use of materials and equipment for use in the playroom for therapeutic purposes these are: paper, art materials, clay, sand, sand trays with symbols, musical instruments, puppets, dressing-up clothes, water, movements items, this is an example of the minimum therapeutic media required which would be adapted to meet the physical needs of the children
- Recognise personal issues that arise as a result of sessions with children, clinical supervision and training; takes actions such as personal therapy or CPD to deal with these
- Apply neurobiology to work with children in observation, assessment, during sessions and reporting upon clinical outcomes
- Manages the consultation process through interview and discussion skills, adequate assessment of client needs, obtaining consent, agreeing a therapy contract including therapeutic objectives or making a referral to another professional concerned with children’s well-being if the case is outside their competence or resources
- Make clinical assessments using psychometric tools such as the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)
- Applies a theoretical framework to play therapy practice including child development and attachment theory
- Use the Integrative Holistic Model of Play Therpay: therapeutic stories, clay, role play, drawing and painting, puppets, games, sand-play, music, movement, creative visualisations, masks, dressing up, blocks/lego, water, messy play, relaxation
- Decide and practice when to work indirectly or directly, and with unconscious or conscious processes using the Play Therapy Dimensions Model as a guide to session activities
- Plan and use play therapy for groups of children
- Establish, agree and enforce boundaries to keep the children safe
- Respond to different children’s behaviours such as aggressive/acting out or passive children in play therapy sessions
- Assess and deliver play therapy interventions with a variety of conditions on a spectrum of needs from low risk to high risk as measured by the SDQ and other factors
- Apply ethical principles to ensure personal safety within individual or group play therapy sessions.
- Manages the handling of sensitive clinical data in practice
- Ability to effectively communicate to stakeholders, parents and professionals identifying the on-going needs of the child
Full information on Play therapist (level 7) is available from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.