Play Therapy
Play Therapy Graduate Certificate Program
Overview
Play therapy has a long tradition as a key therapeutic technique, especially with children. The Play Therapy Certificate is designed to provide students in the mental health professions with the foundational knowledge of the role of play as a therapeutic technique within a human development and family framework.
This certificate has been structured such that those in mental health fields can gain specialized training in play therapy along with critical coursework to support that training. Students may be able to use part of the required coursework in this certificate as part of the process to become a certified play therapist.
Target Audience
The target audience for this certificate program includes:
- Graduate students who are currently enrolled in an academic program specific to the mental health field (e.g., clinical psychology, counseling psychology, professional counseling, clinical social work, psychiatry, or couple and family therapy) and would like additional training specific to the practice of play therapy
- Professionals who are already licensed in a mental health profession and would like to gain specialized training
Those who do not meet these qualifications are encouraged to consider our Couple & Family Therapy master's program, through which this and the Family Financial Therapy certificate can be earned as part of the master's degree program.
Online vs. Face-to-Face
Dual-modality instruction allows students to complete this certificate online or face-to-face. All students take classes together, with online students remotely joining the face-to-face students in the classroom.
Instruction will take place in a classroom equipped with the technology necessary to ensure all students will have a similarly engaging experience, both with the instructor and with one another.
This provides opportunities for the online students to work with each other as well as students in the classroom, and ensures both online and face-to-face students receive the same training.
Curriculum
The 12-credit-hour curriculum was designed to provide students a deeper understanding of family dynamics, couple and family therapy, family financial theory, and how to blend these fields together in the form of family financial therapy.
- FAM 686: Theory and Methods in Couple and Family Therapy
- FAM 658: Adolescent Development
- FAM 745: Family and Children in Play Therapy
- EDP 600: Life Span Development [not available to fully online students]
- IEC 659: Advanced Child Development
- FAM 678: Family Processes
- FAM 652: Theories and Frameworks in Family Science
- FAM 654: The Life Course Perspective on Families and Individuals
Timeline
If starting in the fall semester of an even-numbered year (e.g., fall 2024), the certificate can be completed in as few as two semesters (or more slowly, if preferred). The anticipated upcoming offerings of the certificate courses is as follows (optional courses from which you must choose one have asterisks):
- FAM 686
- FAM 652*
- FAM 654*
- EDP 600*
- FAM 658
- FAM 686
- FAM 678*
- FAM 654*
- IEC 659*
- FAM 745
- EDP 600*
Cost
Generally speaking, the cost is roughly $2,250 per course x 4 courses = $9,000 for the certificate.
Questions?
Dr. Nathan Wood advises all Play Therapy Certificate students and will be happy to answer your questions via email.
Ready to Apply?
You will need:
- Curriculum vitae
- Personal statement that addresses:
- What led you to consider pursing this additional training at the University of Kentucky
- Your educational/professional goals
- How this certificate fits into your career and/or practice goals
- A writing sample that you believe is representative of graduate level work
- A copy of your clinical license/permit
If only seeking the certificate (i.e., not a master's or doctoral degree) then apply as a post-baccalaureate student. Current UK graduate students do not have to pay the application fee. Successful program applicants must:
- Be either a licensed mental-health professional or be actively working toward a master's or doctorate in a mental health specialization
- Have a minimum 3.0 GPA on all previous graduate-level courses
Note: Some (but not all) courses in the Play Therapy curriculum can be taken prior to formal admission into the program.
