CERTIFICATE TRACK TRAINING

Foundations in Play Therapy

The Child-Centered Approach

Self-Paced • Previously Recorded • 12 Continuing Education Credits

Build essential skills. Connect with children. Create healing through play.

Learn the foundational skills of child-centered play therapy from Jodi Mullen, PhD, LMHC, RPT-S, an internationally recognized speaker, author, counselor educator, and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor with nearly 30 years of experience.

Course at a Glance

Required Course Manual

Participants must obtain the course training manual. You may purchase either the physical or digital edition.

Physical Copy: $29.99 plus shipping and handling
Purchase the Physical Manual

International participants who would like a physical copy should email [email protected] for ordering assistance.

Digital Copy: $16.99
Purchase the Digital Manual

Certification Prerequisite: Completion of this workshop is a prerequisite for application to NIRE’s Certification Program in Child-Centered Play Therapy. View certification information.

Course Overview

Mental health and educational professionals who work with children can benefit from formal training in play therapy. Foundational skills such as child-centered communication, reflective listening, tracking, and therapeutic limit setting can strengthen rapport and improve professional relationships with children.

This course introduces practical play therapy skills for working with children from infancy through the elementary grades. Participants will explore child-centered play therapy from phenomenological and humanistic perspectives, consider developmental and cultural factors, and observe practical clinical interventions and demonstrations.

What You Will Learn

• Explain the foundations and philosophy of child-centered play therapy.
• Identify and apply Axline’s eight basic principles.
• Use reflective listening and tracking responses effectively.
• Understand the purpose and process of therapeutic limit setting.
• Adapt play therapy skills to developmental and cultural considerations.
• Apply clinical skills through recorded demonstrations and learning activities.
• Respond thoughtfully to common challenges in child-centered play therapy.

Who Should Attend

• Social workers
• Professional counselors
• Therapists and psychologists
• Licensed mental health practitioners
• Physicians and other behavioral health professionals
• Educators and professionals who work with children

Course Days

The program includes a foundational introduction and four comprehensive recorded modules.

Day 1: Understanding Play Therapy and the Child’s Perspective

• What play therapy is and how it developed
• Major theories and approaches in play therapy
• Conceptualizing the child’s perspective
• Understanding childhood through a cultural lens
• Recognizing play as a form of communication

Day 2: Foundations of Child-Centered Play Therapy

• The child-centered philosophy
• Axline’s eight basic principles
• Recognizing child-centered play therapy in practice
• Applying foundational skills
• The purpose and structure of therapeutic limit setting

Day 3: Applying Core Play Therapy Skills

• Reflective listening with children
• Tracking responses
• Reviewing and evaluating sample sessions
• Assessing fidelity to the child-centered model
• Addressing common challenges and difficult play behaviors
• Examining how clinical knowledge can support or hinder practice

Day 4: Limit Setting, Integration, and Skills Review

• Applying therapeutic limit-setting skills
• Considering developmental and contextual factors
• Reviewing essential play therapy skills
• Identifying strengths and gaps in foundational knowledge
• Integrating course concepts into clinical practice

About the Presenter

Jodi Mullen, PhD, LMHC, RPT-S

International Speaker • Author • Registered Play Therapist Supervisor

Dr. Mullen is a professor in the Counseling and Psychological Services Department at SUNY Oswego, where she has served as a counselor educator for nearly 30 years. She is the Director of Integrative Counseling Services, an international speaker, author, credentialed play therapist, and play therapy supervisor. Dr. Mullen provides training, consultation, and supervision to professional helpers around the world.

Selected Books by Dr. Mullen

• Child-Centered Play Therapy Workbook
• Counseling Children and Adolescents Through Grief and Loss
• Supervision Can Be Playful: Techniques for Child and Play Therapist Supervisors

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