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Play Therapy graduate-level continuing education training program

marriage, counsellor, counselling, psychology, psychologist, family, child, play, sex, therapy

Did you know that KIN & KiDS provides play therapy education by an Approved Provider of the Association of Play Therapy, USA (APT)? KIN & KiDS is proud to offer the first graduate-level continuing education training program in play therapy for mental health professionals/students in Malaysia. The program will run over a period of two months and participants will earn 40.5 continuing education hours with the APT.

INTRODUCTION TO PLAY THERAPY
COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This graduate-level course is aimed at enhancing the therapeutic relationship with children by utilizing play media to facilitate expression, self-understanding, and personal growth and development. Students will be presented with the history of play therapy, its varying models, as well as a rationale for play therapy, and basic practice skills.A special focus will be on the child-centered play therapy approach (CCPT) as this approach embodies the basic counselling skills required to work therapeutically with children. CCPT provides a basic foundation on which much of the current play therapy theory and practice has evolved because of the emphasis placed on developing the essential characteristics of a play therapist and relationship-building skills, rather than techniques or creative interventions.Observation of and supervised experience in play therapy with children are an integral part of the course.  Each lesson is three hours.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

This course sets out to help students achieve the following objectives:

  1. Students will understand the developmental stages of children and how they affect play.
  2. Students will study the principles and skills of play therapy including:
    1. The historical and theoretical development of play therapy
    2. Understand essential and primary approach to play therapy
    3. Overview of the most widely accepted theoretical models of play therapy and the formats in which they are most commonly offered (individual, group, family, etc.)
    4. The process of play:
      1. Stages of change in play therapy
      2. Understanding the child’s worldview
      3. Play experiences, including common problems in play therapy
    5. The therapeutic elements of play
      1. Play materials, including selection of materials and setting up a playroom
      2. The person of the play therapist and how it impacts on the unfolding relationship with the client.
    6. Basic play therapy skills including:
      1. tracking
      2. reflecting feelings
      3. self-esteem building
      4. therapeutic limit setting
    7. Students will learn to conceptualize a client’s presenting clinical problem(s) developmentally and theoretically.
  3. Appreciate the evolving body of qualitative and quantitative play therapy research.
  4. Be aware of the legal and ethical issues that are both unique to play therapy and shared with other modalities, i.e. documentation, competence, informed consent, confidentiality, boundaries and duty to warn and protect.
  5. Understand the evolving body of qualitative and quantitative play therapy research.
  6. Read and understand the minimal training/supervision and voluntary practice guidelines promulgated by professional associations for play therapy and explore professional credentials related to play therapy.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

  1. Conduct non-directive play therapy sessions for children with mild to moderate presenting problems and apply basic counselling skills during child counseling.
  2. Obtain a basic foundation in play therapy to develop a philosophy and approach to play therapy that is effective.
  3. Conduct an intake assessment for a child client consisting of a parent consult and play assessment and establish a treatment plan for intervention.
  4. Use and teach basic parenting skills such as limit setting, providing choices and enforcing consequences, and using encouragement instead of praise.
  5. Obtain 40.5 clock hours that may be counted towards professional credentials.
COURSE INSTRUCTOR:

Charis Wong, LLB (Hons)(Malaya), BS (Applied Psych)(Upper Iowa), MS (Coun Psych)(North Texas),
Grad.Acad.Cert. (Child Coun/Play Therapy) (North Texas)
Licensed Professional Counselor – Intern (Texas)
Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Associate (Texas)
Licensed and Registered Counselor, Malaysia
Counseling Psychologist, Malaysia

APT-Approved Provider (11-288)

COURSE SPONSOR:

KIN & KiDS Marriage, Family and Child Therapy Center

COURSE REVIEWER:

Dr. Dee C. Ray, PhD (North Texas), M.Ed. (Coun.)(Vanderbilt)
Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor (Texas)
National Certified Counselor (USA)
Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (APT)
Associate Professor in the Counseling Program (University of North Texas)
Director of the Child and Family Resource Clinic (University of North Texas)