Foundation Course in Play Therapy 2020
October 2020
| Duration | 20 weeks |
| Pattern of Delivery | 18 x two hour evening classes plus two Saturdays |
| Start Date | 24 October 2020 |
| End Date | 20 March 2021 |
| Course Fee | £1150 |
Course Outline
Experiential Workshops
These workshops will be facilitated by a qualified and experienced BAPT-registered Play Therapist. Experiential activities form the core of the course, providing students with an opportunity to explore and reflect on the process of Play Therapy on a personal level. Connections and links will be made to the theories that underpin Play Therapy as this emerges from the practical component, enabling students to learn from theory that directly relates to their experience. Please note that whilst the emphasis of the workshops is on an educational not a therapeutic experience, students should be aware of potential tensions between their personal and professional responses and should be prepared for a degree of self-exposure.
Seminars and Lectures
The seminars and lectures are integrated into the workshop experiences. Each workshop will be part experiential play therapy and part seminar/lecture. The seminars will often comprise presentations of clinical / therapeutic work and opportunity for group discussions. Visiting experts from different fields will lead seminars/lectures on particular specialist areas of play therapy practice.
Assessment
Course attendees will be expected to keep a Reflective Log of their experiences while on the course which constitutes a record of their personal psychological journey including photographs of images created in the experiential workshops. As such the Log itself will be a highly personal manuscript and will not be assessed. In the last workshop of the course students will present a dramatised, artistic or narrative Story of this journey to share with the class. The Journey Story will be approximately 3 minutes long and may be presented in the play media of the student's choice.
Participants will need to complete a minimum of 80% of the course and a satisfactory final Journey Story in order to receive an attendance certificate. This will not automatically ensure a student’s entry to the Roehampton University MA in Play Therapy; however, individuals considering applying for Professional training are encouraged to complete a Foundation Course.
A programme of experiential workshops led by the course facilitators and seminars given by visiting Play Therapists from a wide range of fields.
One full-day Induction (Saturday) and introductory workshop to begin the course to be held in October 2020 with weekly evening classes to follow; finishing with a full Plenary Day to close in March 2021.
Suggested Reading List
The suggeted reading list is available here.
Course timetable and dates
This timetable is provisional - dates and times may be subject to change. The sequence of some of these work shops may be subject to change, due to availability of visiting specialist lecturers.
| Date | Time | Title |
| 24 October | 1000-1630 | INDUCTION DAY Introduction to the course and to one another. Course overview, boundaries and expectations Discussion of the Play Therapy profession and entry into training and the professional organisation: the British Association of Play Therapists (BAPT) |
| 28 October | 1900-2100 | Workshop 1 Why Play? The central importance of play in child development |
| 4 November | 1900-2100 | Workshop 2 Historical overview of the development of Play Therapy in the UK. Comparison of different models of Play Therapy, including Non-Directive Play Therapy, Social Constructionist and Narrative Therapy appraoches |
| 11 November | 1900-2100 | Workshop 3 Sensory or embodiment play in Play Therapy - using clay, play-dough, slime, sand and other sensory materials |
| 18 November | 1900-2100 | Workshop 4 Projective or symbolic play in Play Therapy - using toy figures etc to create symbolic stories |
| 25 November | 1900-2100 | Workshop 5 Dramatic role-play in Play Therapy |
| 2 December | 1900-2100 | Workshop 6 Using art in Play Therapy |
| 9 December | 1900-2100 | Workshop 7 Providing a therapeutic environment – the therapist’s role. Developing reflective listening skills etc |
| 16 December | 1900-2100 | Workshop 8 Building self-esteem through Play Therapy |
| 13 January | 1900-2100 | Workshop 9 Where are we now? Review of the journey so far |
| 20 January | 1900-2100 | Workshop 10 Attachment and Loss part 1 |
| 27 January | 1900-2100 | Workshop 11 Attachment and Loss part 2 |
| 3 February | 1900-2100 | Workshop 12 Sand play therapy & Mosaics - An introduction to Lowenfield Techniques |
| 10 February | 1900-2100 | Workshop 13 Using Stories in Play Therapy |
| 17 February | 1900-2100 | Workshop 14 Trauma and abuse in relation to Play Therapy |
| 24 February | 1900-2100 | Workshop 15 Limit-setting |
| 3 March | 1900-2100 | Workshop 16 Therapeutic play with children with special needs |
| 10 March | 1900-2100 | Workshop 17 Play Therapy and the Bereaved Child |
| 17 March | 1900-2100 | Workshop 18 Play Therapy and Looked After Children |
| 20 March | 1000-1630 | PLENARY DAY Endings Including shared presentations of ‘Journey stories’ |