Ireland's longest established and foremost provider of Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy and Play Therapy training

Play Therapy is a powerful form of therapy that recognises children’s play as more than just fun; it is a language through which they communicate and develop. Rather than seeking to apply standard adult talk-therapy methods to children, play therapy seeks to engage with them at their own level, developing a strong relationship with the child through the medium of play, and through that help children prevent or resolve a wide array of psychosocial difficulties so they can achieve their potential.

A play therapist is someone trained to communicate with children through the medium of play. A psychotherapist is a mental health professional who is accredited and/or registered to provide psychological treatment to clients with complex emotional needs.

A play therapist that is not also a psychotherapist, or other mental health professional, uses play therapy to work with children who do not have clinical issues, for instance, they may work with children with developmental challenges and those who are struggling with changes in their lives. The aim is to promote emotional wellbeing and help children adjust to new situations so that they can regain the happiness and security that may have been lost due to a difficult experience such as a bereavement, illness, or single incident trauma.

At CTC we believe it is best for play therapists to also be psychotherapists. This means that they are trained mental health professionals able to provide developmental and therapeutic play, play therapy, and psychological treatment to clients across the spectrum of need including those with significant clinical issues and those with complex histories including multiple traumas

CTC run four types of courses: a wide array of short courses, QQI validated courses in Therapeutic Play Skills and Principles of Art Therapy, our full QQI Level 9 Masters in Creative Psychotherapy which includes a postgraduate diploma in Play Therapy and also a Diploma in Creative Supervision for therapists looking to become supervisors.

Our short courses include great introductions for those new to play therapy, providing opportunities to learn more therapeutic play to incorporate it into your work or parenting, or prepare you for more in-depth training. We also have short courses for play therapists, psychotherapists and othe professionals wishing to expand their knowledge and skill set and continue their professional development. These can vary from one-day to week-long events.

Our QQI Certificates build on the content of the one-day courses and provide a recognised academic award in either therapeutic play or art therapy. They equip participants to provide individual and group play or art interventions that support children’s development and enhances the general skill set of professionals including teachers, child care workers, social workers, so that they can provide therapeutic play experiences within their current professional role.

Our Masters programme is a four-year part time course that qualifies you as both a Play Therapist and Psychotherapist, and is fully recognised by professional bodies such as IAHIP and IAPTP, while our Diploma in Creative Supervision is a one year course for those who wish to become qualified supervisors.

The information below gives you the opportunity to familiarise yourself with CTC’s online learning platform and to check that you have the necessary basic skills and technical resources to successfully engage with the online components. In general, participants on a blended or fully online course will need access to a computer or other suitable device that can use Zoom (e.g. iPad, desktop, laptop), with built-in or external microphone, speaker and camera. Suitable devices will generally have screen size that facilitate clear viewing of course material and participants, and engagement and interaction with peers. We recommend that you complete the following tasks to ensure that you have adequate technology and basic skills and read the guidance about preparing to join an online session and making the most of your course.

1. Linking to CTC’s Moodle page
Moodle is our learning platform. You can access our Moodle home page by copy and pasting into your browser: https://www.moodle.childrenstherapycentre.ie/ and explore the documents that are available for public view.
e.g. Take a look at “CTC Approaches and Views” to familiarise yourself with CTC’s views on Play; Children’s Rights and Needs, and Child Centred Work.
Once you are enrolled on a course which has a Moodle page you will have full access to relevant online materials related to being a CTC student as well as materials specifically relevant to your chosen course of study.

2. Searching for a document if your course has a Moodle page
CTC’s Moodle pages are packed with information stored as documents. When you see a description in blue text (i.e. a ‘live link’), this indicates that if you click on it, you will be directed to the document, which may in turn have ‘live links’ within it that you can explore.
e.g. CTC Policies & Procedures
These can be accessed via the “Quality Assurance” live link on our Moodle home page.
Information about our approach to Teaching and Learning online can be found if you follow the following links:
Quality Assurance > A7 Teaching Learning & Assessment > A7.1a Teaching Learning and Assessment for Online and Blended Learning – available to download by clicking on the arrow/underscore symbol in the top right corner.

3. Finding the meaning for a word or phrase
If you come across a word or phrase that you are not familiar with, use a search engine e.g. Google search https://www.google.co.uk/ and ask for a definition.
Try this out with the following:

• What is ‘online learning’?

• Define ‘onomatopoeia’.
  You can use Wikipedia, an open source encyclopaedia to explore different concepts and ideas https://www.wikipedia.org/
  e.g.

• What is a ‘transitional object’?

• How far is the Earth from the Sun?

4. Setting up a Zoom account
CTC uses Zoom for all online teaching sessions. https://us02web.zoom.us
Students are required to set up their own free Zoom account. Here is a short video tutorial that walks you through setting up your own account: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKFPQNMtmZw

5. Hosting a Zoom meeting with a friend
When you have set up your own Zoom account you are ready to host your first Zoom meeting. Here is a video tutorial that shows you how to do this step by step: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeCzXoU0RIM

6. Typing a word document
Practice typing and saving a word document. Include use of copy and paste functions, as well as deleting text, use of spell check and word count. Create a folder on your computer and save the document in it. Close your computer and then reopen it and find the document again. Make some amendments and save it again.

7. Preparing to join an online Zoom session
Make sure that you give yourself enough time to go through any material that is sent to you in advance of the course start date and familiarise yourself with any information provided.
You may be asked to ensure you have creative arts, play supplies, and/or other materials available for the specific session.
If you have any specific learning needs, do let your course tutor know in advance of the course beginning so that we are aware and can accommodate your needs if possible.
You will be provided with a Zoom link which gives you access to join the online classroom. Make sure that you are in a confidential space without interruptions or distractions. Make sure that your name is visible on Zoom, and have your camera on and audio muted, unless you are speaking. It is important that you consider your background is appropriate and that you are not inadvertently sharing personal or sensitive information, or images. It may be useful for you to use Zoom’s virtual background options whilst engaging in online learning.

8. Making the most of your course
As well as preparing yourself for each session 10 minutes before the start time and allowing yourself 10 minutes after the session to reflect on your learning, you need to check on the requirements for your particular course with regards engagement in between sessions.
e.g. Some tutors may require learners to engage in a directed study task in between sessions and report back to their peers in the next session.
There may be advanced reading required for learners to make the most of the session content. For every course, whether online or in situ, there will be relevant learning materials and vital information provided on Moodle or by email for you to access in your own time.
Information about learner support and CTC policies and procedures relevant to the learner experience are also available on the website.