February 19, 2008
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of Mississippi School of Education is teaming with the university's Division of Outreach and Continuing Education to offer a one-year training program in play therapy.
The sessions, designed for professionals in counseling, education and social work, provide the training necessary to become a Registered Play Therapist. Play therapy, which allows children to work through experiences and issues using toys, has been gaining momentum in schools as a way to treat the mental and emotional issues that some children face.
“Play therapy is a method of counseling children which utilizes toys as words and play as experience,” said Marilyn S. Snow, UM associate professor in leadership and counselor education and executive director of the Oxford Play Therapy Training Institute.
“Children often become intimidated when questioned by adults because they cannot fully understand and communicate their emotions,” adds Jenny Rayner, clinical director at the Oxford Play Therapy Training Institute “Play therapists offer a non-threatening atmosphere in which children can express their emotions in the playroom through toys.”
The training workshops begin March 8 and run through December. They include 10 Saturday sessions, providing 8.5 contact hours per Saturday and an opportunity to enroll at UM for a one-week intensive course in Advanced Play Therapy, which provides 67.5 contact hours. Professionals completing the entire year of workshops, including the Advanced Play Therapy course, will get 152.5 contact hours.
For further clarification of requirements for becoming a Registered Play Therapist, review the information on the Association of Play Therapy Web site at http://www.a4pt.com. Continuing Education Credits are approved for social workers, professional counselors and educators through UM.
Workshops meet on the fourth floor of the UM Student Union. Each workshop costs $175 for professionals and $75 for college or university students.
To register, download a registration form at http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/ProfDev/counselors. For questions about registration, contact Mary Leach at mleach@olemiss.edu or 662-915-7847. For questions about the workshop, contact Marilyn Snow at mssnow@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1363.
For a feature story about play therapy, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/cgi-bin/news2000/display.pl?id=6522&mode=full.
For more news from the University of Mississippi, visit http://www.olemiss.edu/newsdesk.
