ABC’s of Play Therapy

Play Therapy International

PTI is the international organization for professional play therapists and child psychotherapists. This association leads many training programs each year in the field of child psychology, play therapy, education, and child guidance that feature a variety of speakers in many regions of the world. Programs offered by the Play Therapy International are fully accredited by the International Board of Examiners of Certified Child and Play Therapists (IBECPT) internationally and the Ontario Play Therapy Association (OPTA) for play therapy training credit and continuing education credit in play therapy. To learn more about PTI and their credentialing process go to http://www.playtherapy.org/pti/standards.htm. Several APT members belong to PTI including, Risa Mandell, a member of VAPT. Read on to learn more about PTI and Risa’s experiences at the 2004 PTI World Congress for Play Therapy, an international program which featured 70 presenters and 450 delegates from 28 countries.

PLAY THERAPY PROGRAMS: 2004 PTI World Congress for Play Therapy

It’s six weeks now since I’ve returned from the Play Therapy International (PTI) Congress in Chichester, West Sussex, England. The whirl of the Congress has receded and I want to catch the experience for you on paper before it fades.

The force behind the PTI organization radiates from two people: Monika Jephcott and Jeff Thomas, who are married to one another. Their banter demonstrates this when presenting together. And it’s a very useful presentation, the Certified Play Therapist Training Model. Would that there were more Monikas and Jeffs running around this world; and I mean running. Monika runs, literally, from workshop to workshop helping with administrative loose ends. Jeff is communications and continuing education director and had an interesting bit of history to share with us, especially as the Congress coincided with the 60th anniversary of D-Day. Roosevelt and Churchhill met to plan D-Day in the basement of the theater in which we were then sitting on the Bishop Otter University campus of Chichester University. I find that to be a compelling bit of history.

If you are CEU-differenced, as I was, attend the entire program; the pre Congress five-day Intensive Training Play Therapy Toolkit, workshops for one day, three days for the Congress proper, and the three-day post Congress presented by a prominent play therapy therapist. If attended entirely, you will receive a lovely Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills. You’re on your way, but be sure not to represent yourself as a play therapist. As the Certificate states, you are a therapist with play therapy skills. Congratulations! Monika and Jeff have done a lot of work to get the organization ready for the government to inspect similar, to state visits in the US for certification in clinics, hospitals, etc.

Most of the workshops are experientially-based and/or interactive. For example: You will create you own sand play tray world. You will "talk" with one another using bells, bongos and maracas. I can’t wait to resume our Social Skills group in the fall and try these exercises with the kids.

The following are resources that contain helpful information about brain development that can be found online.

Ten Things Every Child Needs

Ten Things Every Child Needs is a one-hour documentary that explains how our earliest interactions with children influence brain development and help children develop social, emotional and intellectual skills. A simple 10-point checklist is offered to parents, teachers and child care providers to provide children with the best start in life. Ten Things Every Child Needs brochures are also available and highlight a parent’s role in child development, and folds out to display a poster of the "Ten Things Every Child Needs" in playful rhymes.

Brochures can be purchased individually for $1.00, or in a 50 pack for $12.00 (limit 4 packs). There is no additional charge for shipping and handling. Brochures can be ordered from McCormick Tribune Foundation, Attn: 10 Things, 435 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 790, Chicago, IL 60611.

The Ten Things Every Child Needs video is no longer available through the McCormick Tribune Foundation. You may order it at www.amazon.com by typing in "Ten Things Every Child Needs" under VHS, or by calling Consumer Vision at 1-800-756-8792. A used video can be purchased for $12.94, and a new video can be purchased for $14.95.

For further information on purchasing these resources, please visit http://www.rrmtf.org/education/resources_pubsandprods.htm.