Announcement of The University of Memphis Play Therapy Education, Training, and Research Center and Play Therapy Graduate Certificate
The University of Memphis School of Social Work has earned designation as an Approved Center of Play Therapy Education by the Association of Play Therapy (APT). The University of Memphis Play Therapy Education, Training, and Research Center was formally approved on July 30th, 2022.
With this designation, the University of Memphis will offer a Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy offering play therapy courses and supervisor training programming in addition to generating publications and presentations to benefit students, facutly, and practioners. These programs may be applied to satisfy national requirements to earn the Registered Therapist (RPT) and Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor (RPT-S) credentals conferred by APT. The Association for Play Therapy (APT) is a national professional society established in 1982 to foster contact among mental health professionals interested in exploring and, when developmentally appropriate, applying the therapeutic power of play to communicate with and treat clients, particularly children. For more information about APT, please click this link https://www.a4pt.org/.
The University of Memphis is committed to providing the high quality play therapy training to enable clinicians to better serve the mental health needs of our communities using play therapy practices. The university is honored to be recognized by the Association for Play Therapy as an Approved Center of Play Therapy Education.
The University of Memphis Play Therapy Education, Training, and Research Center is housed in the School of Social Work, which will oversee the training and curriculum, but is a collaborative effort between the University of Memphis School of Social Work and the Counseliing, Education Psychology and Research (CEPR) program. The University of Memphis Play Therapy Education, Training, and Research Center will utilize university training programs such as the SMART Center (https://www/memphis.edu/smartcenter/index.php) and the Interprofessional Community Health Clinic (ICHC) (https://www/memphis.edu/ihc/), in addition to community-based agencies and affiliated programs around the state as practice play sites for this program to support student internships and practicum requirements.
APT, a national professional society, estimates that play therapy is routinely utilized by thousands of licensed psychologists, social workers, counselors, and marriage and family therapists within and outside of the United States. Noting membership has more than doubled during the last decade, nearly 16 percent of accredited universities now offer some combination of play therapy graduate instruction and supervised play therapy experiences.
The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The University of Memphis is one of Tennessee's three comprehensive doctoral-extensive instuitutions of higher learning. It awards more than 3,000 degrees annually. With an enrollment of approximately 21,000 students, the University of Memphis has 25 Chairs of Excellence, more than any other Tennessee university, and five state-approved Centers of Excellence.
As part of the university commitment to the APT Center credentialing, The University of Memphis plans to support the community through annual continuing education events related to play therapy and will also host a university approved Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy.
The University of Memphis was approved to offer the new University of Memphis Play Therapy Graduate Certificate in March 2023. The School of Social Work will launch the Play Therapy Graduate Certificate program in Fall 2023. Admission into the Graduate Certificate program will run from March to June every year. The University of Memphis Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy is a 3 semester 12-hour Graduate Certificate and can be completed fully online or with some campus content, based on student preference. For more information about the admission and program requirements click on this link: Play Therapy Graduate Certificate
