Becoming and Being a Play Therapist

Play Therapy in Practice

Peter Ayling, Harriet Armstrong, Lisa Gordon Clark, Peter Ayling, Harriet Armstrong, Lisa Gordon Clark

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781138560963
• eBook ISBN:
  9781351359757
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Education in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Becoming and Being a Play Therapist: Play Therapy in Practice presents a rich and illuminating account of current play therapy practice, with an emphasis on becoming and being a play therapist and on some of the varied clinical contexts in which play therapists work. Written by members of British Association of Play Therapists, this book highlights the current complexity of play therapy practice in the UK and reflects the expertise of the collected authors in working with emotional, behavioural and mental health challenges in children and young people.

Divided into three parts, the book is designed to build on and consolidate the principles and professional/personal competences of play therapy practice. Key topics include:

• Training and establishing oneself as a play therapist in the UK, a comprehensive guide.
• The improvisational practitioner; therapist responses to resistance and aggressive play.
• Systemic considerations in play therapy with birth families and adopters; advantages and challenges.
• Case-study based explorations of play therapy across a range of service user groups, including childhood trauma, bereavement and sexual abuse, and agency contexts, including school and CAMHS settings.

Becoming and Being a Play Therapist will be relevant both for play therapy trainees and for qualified play therapists as well as for related professionals.

Part I

Becoming a play therapist

Chapter 1

Training issues

Before, during and after

Lisa Gordon Clark

Chapter overview

This chapter will explore issues around play therapy training at pre-qualifying, qualifying and post-qualifying stages. I will offer guidance to those interested in pursuing a play therapy training programme with advice on what prior qualifications and experience are sought by admissions teams as well as the personal attributes that contribute to a suitability to train. I will describe core curriculum content of the BAPT-accredited Master’s courses, University-validated programmes, which all integrate crucial strands of theoretical/academic learning, clinical/professional skills and personal development. I will also discuss Continuing Professional Development pathways, and outline various further training avenues which aim to consolidate, deepen and broaden learning for qualified play therapists.

What makes a suitable candidate for training as a play therapist?

I believe that the training providers are the gatekeepers to the play therapy profession and thus careful and conscientious selection of potential trainees is critical to its future integrity. In my own role on the admissions panel at the University of Roehampton I take this responsibility very seriously, as do staff on each of the BAPT-accredited programmes. I am often asked by interested candidates if I think their qualifications and experience make them suitable to apply. I tend to reply that each training applicant’s merits are considered quite holistically and decisions are usually based on all components of the admissions process, including the personal statement and references as well as presentation at interview. Nevertheless, there are stipulations about suitable candidates made in the latest course accreditation criteria produced by the British Association of Play Therapists (2016). First, it is stated therein that the Master’s level programmes are aimed at either:

a professionals with a relevant qualification and/or degree in a related discipline, together with a minimum of two years’ post qualifying experience in, for example, social work, teaching, educational psychology, clinical psychology, nursing

or

b those with a minimum of five years’ relevant prior experience and learning. Relevant experience means working face-to-face with children, young people and their families/carers.

According to these professional body criteria, applicants will normally be required to hold a good undergraduate degree at Honours level (2:1 or above), or its equivalent for overseas applicants. In most cases this degree will be in a relevant discipline such as psychology, education, early childhood studies or social sciences, or perhaps in a creative modality such as art, drama or performing arts. Appropriate clinically related disciplines for graduate-level professional qualifications include teaching, paediatric nursing, mental health nursing, social work and occupational therapy. Further to this baseline academic qualification specification, applicants are expected to have adequate appropriate experience which might include working with children with behavioural or developmental challenges, learning difficulties, child mental health, etc. This can either be on a voluntary or an employed basis, although, because of the inherently competitive nature of the admissions process, regularity and longevity of this work, experience can play a factor; those who can only claim to have done regular babysitting or volunteered at a weekly youth club, for example, are unlikely to be selected at the first stage in the process. Sometimes those who have considerable experience as foster carers or as nannies are also considered if this is combined with an adequate academic qualification. Applicants may need to evidence that they can meet the academic demands of a Master’s degree, and, in certain circumstances, programmes might require candidates to submit a brief written report to support their application.

But suitability to train as a play therapist is more than possessing a strong academic CV and having an extensive work experience record. In addition to meeting these quantifiable criteria, applicants to the BAPT-accredited programmes need to demonstrate a maturity of personality and self-awareness compatible with training as a therapist. Admissions teams therefore seek to ascertain an appropriate measure of emotional literacy, robustness and an ability to be self-reflective. I often advise that the personal statement on the application form is not just about what the candidate has done prior to applying to train, but what they have learned and gleaned from what they have done, i.e. how their qualification(s) and experiences have helped them better understand children, and themselves. A cursorily written personal statement which does not contain adequate evidence of a capacity to be thoughtful and reflective may take the candidate no further in the applications process.

There are other factors that may determine whether a candidate is successful in being invited to the interview stage, and beyond. One is the standard requirement for two references, normally: one that comments on the applicant’s academic suitability, and another on their clinical/personal suitability for the programme. Mature candidates who have been out of education for many years before deciding to retrain may find it impossible to track down university lecturers, etc., who can vouch for their academic prowess. In such circumstances, recent or current employers typically supply an appropriate reference instead. Very out-of-date references, written generically, may lead to a request for a more recent or programme-specific document. It can be rather off-putting to admissions teams when the reference alludes to applying for a different course of study altogether!

Finally, again in line with BAPT criteria, the minimum level of competence in the English language at the point of application is an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of 6.5, with no component score below 5.5. This baseline competence and confidence in English means that not only are students able to follow complex theoretical content in lectures and their academic reading and to write coherently in course assignments, but that on clinical placements – which start early in the programme – they can communicate with assurance with referrers, placement managers, parents and carers, as well as, of course, the children themselves. Being able to engage constructively with those around the child at the assessment stage and beyond, understanding their concerns and articulating clearly what play therapy is would be hampered if speaking and listening skills were inadequate from the outset of the training.

If these various entry conditions have been evidenced with the written application, we will invite applicants to a face-to-face interview. In the case of overseas candidates this may be via a video link, but, whenever possible, physical attendance is preferred. On the interview day, which typically contains both group and individual components, admissions teams will look more at the personal qualities, values and attitudes of the applicants, such as empathy and acceptance; at their existing knowledge base of play therapy and of the therapeutic relationship (although this is not expected to be comprehensive); and at evidence of the nascent skills required to be a student play therapist. Some programmes may ask the interviewees to talk in detail about a child that they have worked with, including background information, details of the work carried out with the child, the outcome of the support and reflections on the work undertaken. The way in which the candidate thinks about children, their ability to form relationships with children, and their understanding of the significance of this, are crucial. Other programmes may send out a play therapy-themed article in advance of the interview or provide a moral tale to read on the day, and may ask candidates to discuss in a small group their response to the paper or examine the attitudes and issues in the tale. The purpose is to discern their capacity to think critically, but also to observe their contribution to the group discussion: we on the interview panel will be trying to perceive whether candidates can listen to others and express and tolerate different opinions, and hope to get a sense of whether potential trainees are able to make their own voice heard without dominating the discussion.

Interview panels will also examine applicants’ preparedness for embarking on this demanding course, not only with regard to their academic readiness but also emotionally, financially and in terms of their time. Deeper questioning may explore the emotional robustness and resilience of candidates, with sensitive exploration of how they have handled and resolved past traumas or dealt with mental health challenges, and consideration of the support networks around them. It is essential for a professional training of this nature, which prepares students to become grounded and secure therapists working with vulnerable client groups, that applicants are not still struggling themselves with unresolved issues likely to be triggered by aspects of the course. Sometimes a suggestion may be made following interview that an applicant takes time to make use of personal therapy before reapplying for the programme another year, once feelings are less raw and overwhelming. In any case, all students must be prepared to enter mandatory ongoing personal therapy for the duration of the programme: another crucial aspect of the BAPT-accredited training courses.

For other creative arts therapies, such as music therapy or art psychotherapy, proficiency in the focus discipline is an essential criterion in assessing suitability for postgraduate training. A portfolio of artwork or a musical audition may form part of the application process for those programmes. Play skills are evidently harder to evaluate for potential play therapy trainees. Nevertheless, some programmes do seek to ascertain playfulness and creativity at interview, with an activity which aims to evaluate applicants’ capacity to use metaphor: a key tool of the play therapy approach.

Feedback from the interview panel may suggest that an applicant who shows potential but is perceived to be not quite ‘ready’ for the Master’s training first completes an Introductory Day, Summer School or Foundation Course in Play Therapy, where this is available. Such preliminary-level, non-qualifying courses offer students a valuable insight into many of the core skills and basic theory of the play therapy approach. Such insight will not only serve to enhance their subsequent application but will ensure that they have a really clear concept of the nature of the training and are genuinely committed to pursuing it before investing the considerable time, energy and finances the full training entails. Those students who have first undertaken one of these preliminary courses have anecdotally expressed to me that it really helped them to ‘hit the ground running’ when it came to commencing study at Master’s level.

What the training entails and what to expect

Once students have been successful in gaining entry to a BAPT-accredited training, demands are intense and rigorous. The present course accreditation documentation from the British Association of Play Therapists is at Master’s level, comprising of a two-year, full-time academic programme or a block or part-time delivery programme carried out over three years. BAPT also specifies a minimum 100 hours of clinical play therapy practice overall during the course, plus a minimum of 50 hours of clinical supervision and 60 hours of personal therapy.

BAPT-accredited courses are expected to provide a balanced learning experience for trainees, of which approximately 60 per cent should be theoretical and 40 per cent experiential. The latter will include hands-on familiarity with a range of toys and play resources, for example, the use of clay, sensory materials, sand worlds, miniatures, art and role-play. In addition to the specified contact hours, trainees are expected to undertake a minimum of 1,200 hours of independent study over the duration of the programme. Independent study includes assessed work, child observations, written records associated with clinical practice and preparation for supervision. This all adds up to a demanding training experience, and the impact on the student is not to be underestimated – but, those who are fully committed to the course and prepared to invest substantial time, energy and effort will reap the rewards. For some, it is a ‘rollercoaster’, but one they consider very well worth the ride once they reach the end of track. For those who do wobble on the rails or encounter some unexpectedly steep inclines, there is a benefit to being on an accredited programme where the staff are practising therapists: we do aspire to role-model excellent pastoral care for our students and ensure that we provide nurturing support and sensitive, empathic containment throughout their journey. Certainly, a well-supported trainee makes for a more resilient practitioner.

Whilst BAPT states it does not wish to be prescriptive about the exact format of the courses that it accredits, it is a requirement of accreditation that each Master’s programme can evidence that the Core Competences are all met within the curriculum (see Appendix 1 for the full list of these). It proposes that the following subject areas be used as a baseline in the syllabus, learning outcomes that cover BAPT’s essential Knowledge and Understanding competences.

Child development

By the end of their training, Play Therapy Master’s students should understand some of the key theories of typical child developmental processes within the context of familial and social diversity. They should also demonstrate an understanding of how life events and circumstances, including family and ethnicity, the experience of trauma, physical and mental health/ill-health may impact on development.

The core syllabus stipulated by BAPT covers the following aspects of child development:

• an introduction to theory of child development and normal developmental processes;
• attachment the...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• List of contributors
• Abbreviations
• Foreword
• Introduction
• PART I: Becoming a play therapist
• PART II: Being a play therapist
• PART III: Play therapy in practice
• Appendix 1: BAPT play therapy core competences
• Appendix 2: BAPT’s ethical basis for good practice in play therapy
• Appendix 3: Sample contract
• Index