Play Therapy Book Tests

Earn non-contact continuing education credit by completing book tests based on play therapy publications.

ATTENTION: The fee below only includes CE test; book must be purchased separately. 

Continuing Education

NBCC. The Association for Play Therapy (APT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5636. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. APT is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

APT. The Association for Play Therapy (APT) offers continuing education specific to play therapy. APT Approved Provider 95-100 maintains responsibility for the program.

Play Therapy and Expressive Arts in a Complex and Dynamic World

Credits: None available.

This book offers cutting-edge expertise and knowledge in new and developing play therapy, therapeutic play, and expressive arts for families and children in crisis and challenging situations. The book focuses on the use of play therapies in complex and dynamic situations such as pandemics, post-disaster conditions, crisis, migration, poverty, and deprivation. Evidence in the book is rooted in theory and contains examples of direct clinical experiences of play therapy approaches by the authors from across six continents, offering innovative methods to apply expressive arts modalities across different situations. It highlights the need to understand the context and needs of the children and families in their particular situations and provides examples of application of therapeutic principles and techniques in individual and group settings and within schools and communities. With reflections and guidance on how to support children in reaching their potential in a variety of difficult contexts, the book will be key reading for scholars and researchers in the fields of play therapy, expressive arts therapies, and creative psychotherapy, as well as professionals in these areas.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics
  
• Cultural and Social Diversity

• Identify 4 key considerations regarding play therapy and expressive arts within various approaches to crisis work.
• Describe 5 unique settings and corresponding approaches in play therapy and expressive arts.
• Identify 5 applications of play therapy and expressive in field-based work in and professional development.

• Isabella Cassina, MA, TP-S, CAGS (Expressive Arts Therapy), Registered Therapeutic Play Specialist (APTI), INA International Academy for Play Therapy studies and Psychosocial Projects
• Claudio Mochi, MA, RP, RPT-S, APTI Associazione Play Therapy Italia
• Karen Stagnitti, PhD, BOccThy, GCHE

Play Therapy Dimensions Model: A Decision-Making Guide for Therapists

Credits: None available.

This comprehensive guide is designed for the play therapy practitioner. It incorporates a wide variety of play therapy approaches and will appeal to practitioners from diverse theoretical orientations. It is a practical model that guides decision-making and helps answer the Who, What, When, Where and Why of play therapy.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• History
  
• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods

• Describe the two primary dimensions conceptualized in model, along with the four quadrants that relate to therapeutic decision making.
• Identify the commonalities and differences in existing models and approaches to play therapy and map them on the model.
• Identify the advantages of an integrative approach to play therapy that is based on the child's needs and development, as identified through specific child moderating factors.
• Describe ways a therapist might immerse him/herself in the play process, and identify the potential impact and outcome of each type of immersion.
• Identify three stages of therapist development, according to the developmental model of supervision and discuss two primary bridging activities a supervisor may use to facilitate growth in each phase.

• Lorri Yasenik
• Ken Gardner

Play Therapy for Very Young Children

Credits: None available.

Research has shown that a child's social and academic success can be greatly influenced by experiences from infancy and toddlerhood. Despite this knowledge, the importance of infant mental health has only recently been recognized. This book is one of the first to present the major models of play interventions with very young children and their families. In this collection of essays by child development experts, the editors provide a comprehensive guide of the most beneficial effects of play therapy and play for the very young. Regardless of the theoretical orientation of the play therapist, this book will help the clinician to conceptualize the worlds of infants and toddlers, and explain the specific play therapy interventions that can be effectively utilized. Contributors address specific therapies from cultures around the world, including caregiver-toddler play therapy, filial play therapy, mother-infant play, and play based interventions with young children with disabilities and autism. This book is essential for students and professionals who work with very young children.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics

• Identify the major models of play interventions for infants and toddlers.
• Describe a wide variety of therapeutic play strategies for very young children.
• Discuss the importance of early intervention for young children exhibiting behavior problems.
• Articulate the ways parents can become involved in play interventions.
• Cite evidence for the effectiveness of play therapies for very young children.
• Analyze effective play-based prevention programs for very young children.
• Illustrate the role of play in fostering secure attachments in very young children.
• Recognize the challenges of early intervention through illustrative case studies.

• Charles E. Schaefer, PhD, RPT-S
• Judy McCormick
• Sophronia Kelly-Zion

Play Therapy in Asia

Credits: None available.

This edited volume seeks to highlight the development of play therapy in various countries and cities in Asia. The editors discuss how mostly Western play-therapy approaches are adapted for use in Asian countries. Contributors to the volume, who are experts in using play therapy to work with clients from their own cultures, offer unique discussions using a case-study approach to integrate the theory and practice of play therapy across different Asian countries. Having existed for years in the West, play therapy is still in its early stage of development in most Asian countries, including mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. This is the first play-therapy book written by experts from specific Asian cultures for practitioners and students who are working in the mental-health field for Asian groups. Each chapter first describes play-therapy development in that particular culture and then uses a case study to illustrate how play therapy can be adapted to suit specific cultural beliefs and environments in order to connect parents with their children or to address clients' needs.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics

• Describe play therapy development, training, and research in different Asian countries
• Identify the impact of cultural values, beliefs, and communication styles on play therapy treatment process in Asian societies
• Explain the need to modify play therapy treatment approaches when working with children and their families in Asia
• Examine culturally responsive implications for adapting the play therapy process and the toys and play materials from Western cultures

• Angela F. Siu, PhD, RCP, RPT-S
• Alicia K. Pon, PhD, RSW, RPT-S

Play Therapy in Middle Childhood

Credits: None available.

Children ages 6-12 undergo major developmental changes. During this period, known as middle childhood, they develop a more advanced sense of self, emotion regulation skills, and self-confidence. They become less dependent on their parents and learn to form connections with peers. They also learn to follow rules and reach achievements through sustained effort. Because of these social, emotional, and cognitive developments, play therapy with these children looks different than with younger children. This book helps therapists provide developmentally appropriate, effective play therapy for children in middle childhood. It presents a broad range of play interventions, showing how play therapy can be used with school-age children and their parents to address internalizing disorders, externalizing disorders, relational deficits, and autism spectrum disorder. For each intervention presented, the authors explain the theory and research supporting it and provide an illustrative case example. Readers will learn to choose treatment goals and strategies that are informed by the child’s developmental needs.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics

• Identify at least four ways to utilize play therapy with middle childhood children
• Utilize at least 10 different play-based activities for individual therapy
• Utilize at least 10 different play-based activities for use in group therapy
• Identify the therapeutic powers of play in play therapy

• Athena A. Drewes, PsyD, RPT-S
• Charles E. Schaefer, PhD, RPT-S

Play Therapy Interventions to Enhance Resilience

Credits: None available.

The importance of therapeutic play in helping children recover from adversity has long been recognized. This unique volume brings together experts on resilience, trauma, and play therapy to describe effective treatment approaches in this key area. The book begins by providing guiding principles for intervention and describing the specific properties of play that promote resilience. Subsequent chapters delve into clinical applications, including such strategies as storytelling and metaphors, sand play, art therapy, play therapy adaptations for school settings, group interventions, and the use of therapeutic writing. Rich case studies and vignettes demonstrate creative ways to bolster at-risk children's strengths and enhance their natural capacity to thrive.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

• Describe at least six guideposts for nurturing a resilient mindset
• Identify the eight therapeutic mechanisms of Rutter (1999) in their application to Play Therapy (Seymour, 2014) and note their relationship to resilience-based therapy.
• Define resilience-based treatment elements that are particularly important when providing therapy to persons who have experienced significant life trauma as an individual and/or in the context of surviving mass trauma.
• Describe at least three special factors that impact the provision of resilience- based therapy in a school setting.
• Share at least one person’s experience of resilience-based Play Therapy (i.e., one of the case presentations in the book) and share how this inspired them in their own clinical work.

• David Crenshaw
• Robert Brooks
• Sam Goldstein

Play Therapy with Adolescents

Credits: None available.

Adolescents are often resistant, hostile, moody, and difficult, but they can also be fascinating, creative, spontaneous, and passionate. How do mental health professionals get past the facade? Play Therapy with Adolescents is the first book to offer a complete variety of play therapy approaches specifically geared toward adolescents. The chapters, written by experts in the field, offer readers entry into the world of adolescents, showing how to make connections and alliances.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• History
  
• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics
  

• Identify the unique characteristics and needs of adolescents in treatment and identify play therapy techniques to effectively meet those needs.
• Explain the rationale for and advantages of using play therapy with adolescent clients, and will learn some of the special considerations for the use of this modality when working with this population.
• Identify strategies for utilizing play therapy to establish trust and build therapeutic relationships with adolescent clients.
• Describe strategies for adapting play therapy approaches typically utilized with younger children such as Theraplay and Filial Therapy, to provide a developmentally appropriate approach to therapy with adolescents.
• Identify play therapy approaches and playful therapeutic techniques that have been found to be useful for working with adolescents. This includes review of historical and theoretical foundations as well as practical applications.
• Describe the use of play therapy and some specific approaches with adolescents in specific populations, such as those in foster care or those diagnosed with eating disorders.
• Identify the unique benefits of both directive and non-directive play therapy approaches with adolescents and describe specific adolescent populations or issues that might warrant one approach over another.

• Charles E. Schaefer, PhD, RPT-S
• Loretta Gallo-Lopez

Play Therapy with Adults

Credits: None available.

In the Western world there has been a widening belief that play is not a trivial or childish pursuit but rather a prime pillar of mental health, along with love and work. Play Therapy with Adults presents original chapters written by a collection of international experts who examine the diverse approaches and clinical strategies available for successfully incorporating play therapy into adult-client sessions.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• History
  
• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics
  

• Identify and describe various play therapy modalities that can be used with adults.
• List reasons why various play therapy methods would be used with adults in conjunction with or as an alternative to traditional talk therapy.
• Describe the training requirements needed to practice at least 2 modalities of play therapy.
• Speak on the healing potential of adults at play.
• Integrate humor into adult psychotherapy.
• Apply play interventions with the elderly.
• Utilize sandplay therapy with adults.

• Charles E. Schaefer, PhD, RPT-S

Play Therapy With Children: Modalities for Change

Credits: None available.

Play therapy is the treatment of choice for children because it allows children to express their troubles through a natural healing process. This book explains why play therapy works and how to deliver it in the most direct and efficient manner. Each chapter covers a different play therapy modality, including a description of the therapeutic benefits, core techniques, empirical support, and a case study. Fifteen modalities are covered in all: sand play, doll play, block play, drawing, bibliotherapy, storytelling, puppet play, guided imagery, drama, sensory play, clay play, music and movement, board games, electronic games, and virtual reality. Edited by two acknowledged leaders in the field of play therapy, Heidi Gerard Kaduson and Charles E. Schaefer, this volume was written for front line child therapists, including psychologists, counselors, social workers, and other health professionals; it will be an asset to any beginning child and play therapists as well as to experienced child clinicians who wish to expand their therapeutic tool kit.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• History
• Seminal and Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods

• Identify the contributions of 8 key pioneers/contributors to the field of play therapy.
• Identify terms and concepts associated with each of the 15 modalities presented in the book.
• Compare the difference between directive and nondirective play therapy techniques.
• Assess the therapeutic benefits of each modality with cultural, environmental, familial, diagnosis, and treatment planning considerations.

• Heidi G. Kaduson, PhD, Clinical Psychologist, RPT-S
• Charles E. Schaefer, PhD, RPT-S

Play Therapy with Preteens

Credits: None available.

Play Therapy with Preteens presents integrative models of play therapy that incorporate expressive arts and evidence-informed interventions into working with preadolescents. The current research demonstrates treatment efficacy in incorporating creative, dynamic interventions into work with preadolescents and their families. This unique book is written specifically on play therapy with preadolescents, presenting a comprehensive yet practical approach that integrates expressive arts like music, movement, play, sand, and poetry into treatment, along with familial involvement.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics

• Describe the most current research and literature involving preadolescents and play therapy interventions.
• Discuss varying treatment modalities that is appropriate for preteen’s psychosocial challenges.
• List specific examples of creative interventions when working with preteens and their families.

• Eric J. Green, Ph.D., LPC-S, RPT-S
• Jennifer Baggerly, PhD
• Amie C. Myrick, MS, LCPC