
COUN 7510 Play Therapy I: History, Ethics, and Systems of Play Therapy
Northwest Nazarene University’s Adventure Play Therapy Center begins a new play therapy course rotation by rolling out our monthly play therapy training classes beginning in August. Our first course will be Play Therapy I: History, Ethics, and Systems of Play Therapy. This course will introduce essential people and theorists that have shaped the history of play therapy, as well as the systems in place to certify competent play therapists and play therapy supervisors. The course will deepen the student’s understanding of the developmental stages of children and children’s play, and help students and practitioners identify developmentally appropriate play therapy toys and materials. Students will learn how to evaluate and assess elements of and stages within the play therapy relationship, from intake to termination. And finally, the course will allow the student to appreciate the legal, ethical, and cultural issues unique to play therapy.
With more than 35 years of experience as a play therapist working with children and their families, Dr. Fairgrieve is Chair of the NNU Counselor Education Department and Director of the NNU Play Therapy Training Program and Adventure Play Therapy Center (Dr. Fairgrieve’s bio is available upon request). Dr. Fairgrieve will be facilitating this introductory course on Friday, August 18 from 5:00 – 10:00 pm and Saturday, August 19 from 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. This course serves as an orientation to our program and to the process of becoming a Registered Play Therapist (RPT). This course meets the content requirements for the “History and Ethics ” continuing education hours required by the Association for Play Therapists when applying for certification, as well as the 3 hours of Ethics required annually by IDOPL. This is the first class of twelve we will offer over the course of this upcoming academic year. Since this course kicks off our rotation of courses and is only offered every other year, many have already expressed their intention to attend this initial course in order to complete the required training hours to become an RPT. Due to the number of participants wanting to take this introductory course and our limited classroom space, please be sure to register now and reserve your seat early.