Play Therapy

All eligible applicants to the programme will be interviewed/ auditioned by the Programme Convener with programme staff. Selection will be based on the following admissions criteria:
applicants will normally be required to hold a first degree at Honours level; in most cases this will be in a modality specific discipline or a clinically related discipline such as Psychology, Education, Early Childhood Studies, Mental Health (Psychiatric) Nursing or Social Work etc. Graduate level professional qualifications in appropriate disciplines such as Teaching, Nursing, Social Work, Visual Art, Drama, Performing Arts, Occupational Therapy, or Probation Officers, etc. are also accepted;
applicants will be expected to have appropriate clinical experience of having worked within a setting and with clients relevant to the programme; this might include working with children with behavioural or developmental challenges, learning difficulties, child mental health, etc.; this work can either be done on a voluntary or employed basis;
Play Therapy: it is recognised that this is a postgraduate training where students are qualified, experienced and valued practitioners in their fields; students are encouraged to bring prior learning and experience to the training, thus enhancing the breadth and depth of the programme learning; the capacity for playfulness and creativity will be assessed at interview;
applicants should demonstrate a maturity of personality and self-awareness compatible with training as a therapist. Applicants need an appropriate degree of psychological mindfulness including the capacity to form and maintain appropriate empathic relationships with clients. They should also demonstrate emotional literacy, robustness and an ability to be self-reflective;
applicants need to evidence that they can meet the academic demands of a Masters degree and in certain circumstances may be required to prepare and submit a brief written report to support their application following interview;
applicants whose first language is not English will need to provide evidence that they can achieve an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with no less than 5.5 in any band;
applicants will be required to supply the names of two referees, normally one of these should be able to comment on the applicant\'s academic suitability and the other the applicant\'s clinical suitability for the programme;
in addition to these requirements, all students must be prepared to enter mandatory on-going personal therapy for the duration of the programme; such therapy can be individual or group and students should attend no fewer than 30 regular sessions within any calendar year; payment for therapy is separate to course fees;
all successful applicants will need to complete an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau CRB check;
Full details of entry criteria, application and interview processes, along with details of CRB checks, personal therapy and fees are disseminated at open and introductory days, interview as well as being available on the Roehampton website and in information packs.