The Home Of Play Therapy Training

Big Enough To Deliver Small Enough To Care

10

students trained

70

courses run every year

92

of graduates find a job

Welcome

Academy of Play and Child Psychotherapy (APAC) is the largest, most experienced and dedicated Creative Arts and Play Therapy training organisation in the world.

At APAC, we deliver the Integrative Holistic Model of Play Therapy — a distinctive, evidence-informed approach validated by outstanding clinical outcomes.

Our training goes beyond theory. It is immersive, experiential, and deeply transformative. We equip our students with the confidence, clinical competence, and creative skills needed to work therapeutically with children, young people, and adults using play and the creative arts.

Effective therapy requires more than techniques — it requires presence, insight, and integration.

Our model brings together developmental psychology, attachment theory, neuroscience, trauma-informed practice, and expressive arts into one cohesive, powerful framework. Students graduate not only qualified, but ready — ready to hold complex therapeutic work, ready to build meaningful client relationships, and ready to make a measurable difference.

Whether you are beginning your therapeutic journey or advancing your professional practice, APAC provides the knowledge, skills, and lived experience to help you thrive as a play and creative arts therapist.

Enabling Potential Brochure

Training for careers in play and creative arts therapies

Our Courses

Online Intro Sessions

Online Introduction sessions are open to everyone regardless of previous experience or qualifications.
2-hour online Introduction Session ‘Playful Beginnings’ provides an ideal opportunity to learn more about the interventions and media used in therapeutic play, as well as APAC’s experiential based training methods.
Participants will learn how Play Therapy sessions with children are delivered, as well as hearing vignettes and examples of how Play Therapy works.
There will also be time at the end of the session to ask the Course Director and Administrative team any questions you may have about Play Therapy and progression to the next stage of training.

Start Your Journey

The Postgraduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills course is the first part of the programme leading to an MA in Practice Based Play Therapy. This course may also be undertaken as a ‘stand alone’ course. On completion, it allows you to practice as a Certified Practitioner in Therapeutic Play Skills. The purpose of this course is to enable participants to practice safely and effectively using therapeutic play skills in a variety of settings to provide emotional support to individual children with slight to moderate problems.

The PG Diploma

The Post Graduate Diploma in Play Therapy follows on from the Postgraduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills (Stage I) material and builds upon the theory and practice of humanistic psychology, particularly that of Virginia Axline (“Dibs In Search of Self”) and Carl Rogers and gestalt Play Therapy developed by Violet Oaklander.

The course is experiential in nature and will be specifically rooted in non-directive Play Therapy whilst looking at working with the conscious/unconscious and non-directive/directive in response to the client’s process.

Certified Play Therapist

Successful completion of the Diploma leads to eligibility for certification as a Certified Play Therapist with Play Therapy UK (PTUK), enabling them to work with individuals and groups of children who have moderate to severe problems. The course also teaches students how to deal with more difficult problems and using the Play Therapy Dimensions Model (PTDM) as an assessment tool.

The next steps would be:

MA in Practice-Based Play Therapy (Stage III)

Happy Customers

“very good academic achievements… The average academic mark achieved by trainees over the last four years for all assignments has been 64.15% where 50% is a pass and 70% is a distinction. We had only six failures out of 2371 trainees.”
APAC Annual Monitoring Report

“…one that has a superb record of trainee satisfaction…
The programme has been rated by the trainees at 91.6%. 97% would recommend it to others without any reservations.”
APAC Annual Monitoring Report

“The overall effectiveness of the Integrative Holistic model of Play Therapy when measured by the SDQ Total Difficulties domain shows that a positive change was observed by referrers of 77% to 84% as observed by parents is shown to be statistically reliable.”
The International Journal of Play and Creative Arts Therapies Research 2017.

“The next day I received an email from my head teacher and she said “It was very well received by all the head teachers and I was so proud of you, and from the feedback I received I think you are going to be very busy.”
Diploma Trainee