Ireland's foremost provider of training in Play Therapy
Whether you're expanding your skills, or starting a new career as a Play Therapist and Psychotherapist, we have the training for you. From short courses to a full Masters, we have professionally and academically recognised training for all levels across the country.
Academically & Professionally recognised
We are the only institution in Ireland where you can gain a dual qualification as a Play Therapist and Psychotherapist with full academic and professional validation. We offer QQI awards at both Level 6 and Masters Level 9 and have professional recognition with IAPTP. We are also a European Accredited Psychotherapy Training Institute.
Courses for all levels and all localities
We run courses across the country, and for all levels. From short introductory and professional development courses, to our QQI Level 6 Theraputic Play Skills Certificate all the way to our Masters-level professional qualification, we ensure our courses are accessible to everyone regardless of where they are based in Ireland.
Expand your employment potential
There is a large and growing demand for people with play therapy training. Our short courses and QQI Level 6 Certificate provides new skills to incorporate into your current work, while our Masters Level course opens up a whole new profession as a much sought-after Psychotherapist with a specialisation in Play Therapy with statutory services, NGO’s, or working in private practice
Frequently Asked Questions
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. >> Read More >>
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. >> Read More >>
- CTC offer a number of programmes ranging from short online webinars to
a full 4-year MA. Read ‘What is the Right Course for me’ in the FAQ’s on
the CTC home page to explore your options. - Some courses are fully face-to-face in a physical location and others are
either fully, or partially online. - Each course leaflet, and/or information section on the website, gives
details of who the course is suitable for and what to expect in terms of
attendance, course requirements,
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. i pad, 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 your 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 you 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.
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