achieved through a video of a play therapy session demonstrating a certain skill, theory, or presenting problem or by conducting a live demonstration. Participants are then able to connect what they’ve learned with actual application, envision how they might navigate a similar situation, consider new dynamics, and recall of visual memory of the learning.
“Do It” At this stage, participants implement and practice the application of their growing knowledge and skills. This aspect is a critical element for retaining information, integrating new learning, and deepening stage may involve practicing play therapy skills or interventions in pairs or groups, working through a case study, identifying skills and understanding that the participant may not have been aware of prior to practicing the concepts.
“Process It” exercises, describing the learning as it applies to professional context and work, analyzing the content regarding questions and of the experiential learning sequence is critical for synthesizing the
12 | PLAYTHERAPY | June 2026 |
www.a4pt.org
Principle 2: Focus Instruction
Training competent, skilled play therapists requires organizational and conceptual thinking from the instructor. Instructors should avoid more depth than breadth in content delivery. Emerging play therapists need a strong foundation of knowledge to build upon for the complex understanding of the play therapy process, not a string of creative the focus of their content and learning objectives in conjunction with play therapy instruction as well as with the play therapy competencies
Focused play therapy instruction also considers the professional of teaching proposes that instruction should not be too elementary or too advanced for the learners in the room. APT’s phase model provides a strong framework for this conceptual goal so that instructors know exactly how to tailor their instruction to meet Developmental Model of Supervision outlines eight learning domains that are easily adapted to play therapy practice, which include play therapy skills, play therapy assessment techniques, aspects of the play therapy relationship, client conceptualization, culturally-sensitive play therapy, seminal theories in play therapy, play therapy document and treatment planning, and unique play therapy professional ethics instructors mindfully select one of these targeted domains and then adapt the content of the learning to match the developmental level of the participants. As a result, the process of learning becomes
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