Therapeutic Play Skills – September ’23

During this course, you will learn extensively about the role of therapeutic play as a medium to help children work through difficult circumstances they may be enduring. You will learn about the different therapeutic play theories and principles and their relevance in different situations. You will also learn the key practical skills needed to facilitate therapeutic play with children.

At the end of this course, you will be able to;

• Evaluate the key concepts, principles and practice in utilising play as a therapeutic medium in a variety of child settings.
• Appraise therapeutic play theories and their relevance in different settings.
• Demonstrate understanding and awareness of interpersonal communication including one to one and group dynamics.
• Explore the limits in terms of helping children develop self-control and decision-making and also in terms of personal security and ethical relationship.
• Examine the needs of specific individuals such as children who are bereaved, behavioural issues or those experiencing long term illness or medical care in a hospital setting.
• Identify your own personal skills and competencies in terms of practice.
• Contribute as an effective member of a team in an early years, education or healthcare setting by adhering to supervisory or management structures and maintaining appropriate documentation.
• Design and implement a range of practical play techniques to include the creative expressive therapies of art, drama, music and dance activities.
• Manage the planning and preparation of group work to include the facilitation of a range of techniques for children and adolescents.
• Facilitate individual needs by ensuring equal opportunities and best practices to enable children to reach their full potential.
• Demonstrate the academic and vocational language, literacy and numeracy skills relevant to therapeutic play skills.
• Exercise substantial personal autonomy and responsibility.

Personal Academic Tutor

Each student is assigned a personal academic tutor to support you throughout your learning journey. They are available to offer you telephone and email support at any time. You can arrange to meet them for further one to one guidance at a time convenient to you.

Many of our past graduates have found it is the opportunity to ask a simple question, seek direction and submit a draft of their assessment that supported them most to successful completion. Emailing your tutor at any stage during your programme to ask a query or submit a draft of your assessment supports you to achieve your personal best throughout your studies with Portobello.

This level of one to one support is a particular benefit to choosing Portobello as your Institute of choice to complete your studies.

Delivery Mode

This QQI Level 6 award has been specifically designed for delivery by blended learning. It is very suited to you if you want to study from home whilst gaining this qualification. During the induction, you will be given your log-in details to the online portal,  “ePortobello”. Here you will find course notes, reading lists, articles of interest and assessment guidelines. The content is structured in an easy to “find and follow” format. You will need basic computer skills such as searching the internet and typing a word document.

There is one to one expert tutor support available to you throughout your learning journey. You can upload your assessments and your tutor will give you feedback on whether you are on the right track. Blended learning allows you to study at your time with support available when you need it. The practical workshops are delivered by online webinars and designed to give you practical insight into Therapeutic Play Skills from an experienced practitioner. There are two webinars which take place on Saturdays and they are mandatory to attend. You must attend the first webinar to be able to attend and understand the second. Webinars are not recorded or available to watch back for the privacy of those taking part.

Course Structure

Portobello Institute’s Therapeutic Play Skills is a blended learning course, a mix between online learning and webinars. The content is all available on ePortobello and is in an easy to follow “week by week” format.

You can commence this course immediately with the online content and attend the scheduled webinars as and when they arise. You must attend the first webinar before attending the second webinar. If for any reason you are unable to attend the scheduled webinar, you can attend the same webinar on another date. Please contact your assigned programme support manager for details of alternative dates.

What is a Webinar?

A webinar, in the context of online learning, is a lecturer delivering a presentation or class online to a group of students. We use specifically designed e-learning software so you can participate in the class just as if you were present in the same room. You can ask a question of the lecturer at any stage during the class. The software is designed with “break-out rooms” where you can discuss a topic or complete a group exercise with a smaller group from your class. You will need a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone that has an internet connection, an audio facility so you can hear and speak during the class and a camera so your lecturer and fellow class participants can see you. The webinar is a secure online environment and only those permitted entry by the lecturer can gain access to the “classroom”.

Outlined below is the content covered during each webinar.

Webinar 1: Introduction to Therapeutic Play Skills

• Introduce the course aims, and objectives and discuss the assignments.
• Introduce the history of play therapy PowerPoint presentation with general discussions around this.
• Lecture of play and explore the difference between “play” and “therapeutic play”.
• The concept of the therapeutic relationship introduced.
• Introduction to Bowlby and attachment types, then Erik Erikson’s stages of man.
• Webinar 1 wraps up by explaining the mediums we will discuss in webinar 2.
• Question and answer session.

Virtual breakout rooms are used for group discussions throughout the day.

Webinar 2: More insight into the practical elements of Therapeutic Play Skills

• Introduction to sand play and experiential exercises.
• Introduction to art therapy and experiential exercises.
• Introduction to clay/playdough and experiential exercises.
• Introduction to therapeutic stories and discussion/ideas about stories.
• Introduction to puppets and discussion.
• Catch up on Eric Erikson’s stages of man theory and Bowlby’s attachment theory.
• Time allocated to support students with queries about content and assignments.

Virtual breakout rooms are used for group discussions throughout the day.

How will I be assessed?

A variety of assessment methods are used to support students with different learning styles. These vary from written reports to practical case studies to examinations. We encourage you to reflect on your knowledge gained with a number of assignments designed to explore your learning journey. All of these assessment methods are seeking to support you to combine theory with scenario-based learning and how to practically implement these methods into your everyday practice.

Related Courses

Choosing a course that will lead you to your career of choice is a significant decision. Understanding the delivery modes, supports available, career opportunities and further study options are all key considerations when making your choice. Our course adviser team are experts in the courses Portobello offers, the employment prospects and possible progression routes to Masters programmes – they will guide you through the detail and support you with any queries you may have.

It is important you make the right choice for you and choose the Institute and course that will best suit your needs.

Entry to this course is by direct application to the college.

Fees

---

Full Payment