SPECIAL SECTION CREDENTIALING:


Addressing Diversity in Play Therapy Competency


A


PT did not go unaffected as the events of 2020 reverberated throughout the world. The global pandemic, racial unrest,


unprecedented storms, and other events stirred a call for action from members and credentialed registrants alike. We received feedback from members asking APT to reassess our programs and processes to ensure APT’s mission and scope continued to be met, particularly as it applied to the “recognition, incorporation, and preservation of diversity in play and play therapy.” We took this as an opportunity to do better and be better.


APT established the Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Awareness (IDEA) Team, a management committee tasked with providing feedback to APT’s President & CEO to ensure the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are fully integrated into our governance, decision making, policies, and processes. The IDEA Team hit the ground running, developing a needs assessment survey for our membership and by reviewing the Registered Play Therapist™ (RPT) Standards. Working together with the Registration and Continuing Education committee, 


Criteria


Graduate Coursework


Standards. With the endorsement of the APT Board of Directors, the updated RPT Standards will go into effect January 1, 2023, and apply to ALL applications received from that date forward. The table below outlines the changes (in red) to the current Credentialing Standards. For additional information, the 2023 RPT Standards are available on our website under the Play Therapy Credentials tab.


Requirements as of January 1, 2023


Child Development Theories of Personality Principles of Psychotherapy Child and Adolescent Psychopathology Cultural & Social Diversity


Legal, Ethical, and Professional Issues 150 hours of Play Therapy Instruction Play Therapy History – 5 hours


Play Therapy Instruction


Continuing Education


 Play Therapy Skills and Methods – 50 hours Play Therapy Special Topics – 25 hours


Play Therapy Cultural and Social Diversity Topics – 6 hours Applicant’s Choice – 9 hours


Earn at least 24 clock hours of post graduate-level play therapy continuing education (CE) every CE cycle, which is 36-months.


www.a4pt.org | September 2021 | PLAYTHERAPY | 3


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