THERAPEUTIC PLAY

This course comprises of a series of six one day sessions. The aim of the course is to enable students to effectively and safely integrate creative play therapy skills into their practice with clients. The course has been designed to enhance professional skills, increase understanding and knowledge of the creative play process in a therapeutic practice, develop the skills necessary to support clients in their quest for emotional healing, provide the skills needed to help alleviate behaviour and mental health problems, assist students personal process and development. The programme is integrative in design allowing for both non directive and directive approaches to the creative play therapeutic process. The course content is integrative and based upon the theory and practice of humanistic, person centred and integrative approaches.

• To provide an understanding of children’s play and play needs from a developmental perspective.
• To explore children’s use of play as a means of processing life experiences.

(This course does not provide a qualification in working therapeutically through play, but will provide an introduction to an understanding of the power of play as a therapeutic tool.)

OBJECTIVES

• To provide an understanding of the normal sequence of play development from birth onwards.
• To give a brief introduction to theories of developmental play.
• To examine ways of supporting normal play development and enhancing play development in children who are experiencing difficulties.
• To introduce basic therapeutic play skills.

All modules will have a strong experiential component. A reading list will be provided with suggested readings relevant to each module.

WHO SHOULD APPLY

The course is suitable for counsellors and psychotherapists, social workers, psychologists, teachers, community workers and others working within the caring professions.

COURSE STRUCTURE:

The core ethos of IICP is to provide a student centred, warm and supportive learning environment. The programme is highly interactive, experiential and taught through lectures, small group work and role-play.

MODULE 1

Introduction: What is play?

Infancy: Playful attachment

Communication, empathic attunement and the growth of attachment; the role of play in infant development.

MODULE 2

The early years: sensory play and embodiment.

The child’s use of the senses to learn about himself and his world.

MODULE 3

Social play and expanding horizons.

Children’s social development through play from the pre school years to middle and late childhood.

MODULE 4

Creative Play: Let’s Pretend.

The growth of imagination, the use of drama and stories. The value of pretend play as a coping skill.

MODULE 5

Creative Play: Art Activities

Exploring developmentally appropriate art activities. How to support creativity through art.

MODULE 6

Creative Play: Music and Movement

The use of music and movement as a non verbal means of exploration and expression of emotion.

MODULE 7

Playing to Heal

Introduction to therapeutic play skills: how to support children’s play.

This module will draw together all the strands of developmental play covered in the previous modules.

MODULE 8

Introduction to therapeutic play skills cont’d.

Using a non directive approach when playing with children.

Working with special populations.

AWARD:

Foundation Certificate in the Power of Therapeutic Play Therapy and transcript detailing continuing professional development hours accumulated and a list of the modules covered.

VENUE

IICP Education and Training, Killinarden Enterprise Park, Killinarden, Dublin 24

COST: €850.00