The post graduate programs at the Family and Play Therapy Center allow therapists to acquire professional credentials. These courses are extensive, in-depth treatments of both theory and practice. Therapists find that they offer frameworks that are reliable when applied to their work with clients. The programs are generally taken part time, in conjunction with the therapists' ongoing professional practice. Besides the important course material, participants benefit from regular contact with a community of professionals who are both diverse and like-minded.

Our website has descriptions of each program at the Center, noting how the courses count for both CEU's and professional credentials. Graduate students who are enrolled in clinical training programs may also participate in course work here.

Through iLOC, our Interactive Live Online classroom, our student body includes therapists from many countries. We encourage the participation of mental health professionals around the world, and we offer some scholarships in recognition of international economic disparities.

Advanced Child Development Course
with Components in Mindfulness-Based Play-Family Therapy & Supervision

*** Leads to becoming a Registered Play Therapist ***

The Advanced Child Development Course (ACDC) is based on the philosophy that understanding the emotional causes and effects that occur in the child's developmental history greatly enhances a therapist's effectiveness in guiding a child's healing beyond temporary symptom relief into deep and lasting personal change. In addition to the major theme of Mindfulness Based Play-Family Therapy, this program is a strong post graduate training in child development, rooted in the work of Margaret Mahler. A group of parents with their babies and toddlers, from infancy to three, visits the class four times through the year. The theories we are reading about come alive in the classroom as we get to observe the developmental changes happening in this diverse group with eight one hour and fifteen minute observations over the two years. Also included are attachment theory, Interpersonal Neurobiology (IPNB), affect regulation, and trauma theories and much more.

The training includes a strong emphasis on developing a solid multifaceted framework that links the problems of early development to the issues that bring children to play-family therapy at later ages. Therapists learn how to explain these links to the parent and how to include this knowledge in the basis of the treatment. Therapists report a dramatic improvement in their ability to engage the child and parent in one-on-one interactions as well as in being able to communicate separately at regularly scheduled parent feedback meetings. Attention is given to working mindfully with the parents who are encouraged to understand how their own issues have contributed to the problems that the child is presenting.

The ACDC is a two-year course which meets every other Friday for three hours, from September to May, seventeen weeks per year, and also includes twenty hours of supervision. See the brochure for a description of the multiple classes in play therapy that are the foundation of this course. The ACDC is for therapists who want to be very grounded working with children and families, and it is particularly recommended for therapists seeking the credential of Registered Play Therapist (RPT) with the Association for Play Therapy.

All courses taken at the Family and Play Therapy Center to meet the RPT credential. Requirements for the RPT credential can be completely fulfilled by taking courses at the Family and Play Therapy Center. We also welcome RPT and RPT-S therapists, psychologists, family therapists, counselors, art therapists and all who desire a stronger child development foundation combined with play therapy, family therapy and parenting. There are no term papers or examinations.

The Contextual Therapy Certificate Program is a 220-hour course of study that was designed by a committee of five senior contextual therapists, all of whom studied extensively, in person with Dr. Ivan Nagy, one of the pioneers of Family Therapy, and with his early associates. They have each been practicing Contextual Family Therapy for more than thirty years. Participants receive a Certificate of Accomplishment on successful completion of the requirements. The program is offered in conjunction with the Family & Play Therapy Center Inc., in Philadelphia. Classes are held here at the Center, and are also simultaneously available across the country and internationally through the Center's Interactive Live Online Classroom (iLOC).

The training prepares the therapist to work with individual adults, parents and children together, teens, couples, and families, including intergenerational family therapy. Therapists describe learning Contextual Therapy as occurring in layers. This part-time, long-term program allows gradual learning to happen, while therapists apply the knowledge to their work with client families, as well as using the theories to reflect on their own lives. Course content includes the presentation and demonstration of concrete interventions. The classes are fun, meaningful and deep. The entire program can be achieved either in person or online with a part time schedule, over a five year period.

Core courses are scheduled in Philadelphia once a month, from September to June for three hours (9:00 AM–12:00 PM ET; 6:00 AM–9:00 AM in California; 2:00 PM–5:00 PM in London). In addition, we offer occasional half-day, one-day, and two-day courses (see Advanced Seminars) and occasional movie discussions through a Contextual lens. All of the classes may be taken separately, independent of a certificate program.

Credit Applications of the courses. All of our Contextual Therapy courses are approved for CE credits by the Social Work Board of PA (for Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, and Professional Counselors). Approval in PA is recognized by many other states. Course hours may count toward certification renewal for the American Nurses Credentialing Center. They may also count toward both the play therapy specific and the mental health hours required by the Association for Play Therapy. Course and supervision hours may count simultaneously toward multiple credentials and may be used to meet yearly requirements for licensing and for credentialing with AAMFT and APT.

A Selection of Contextual Therapy Concepts:

• the Five Dimensions of Contextual Therapy
• Emphasizing Strengths rather than Pathology
• Multi-directed Partiality
• Dialogue and Asking Questions
• Trust, Love, and Care
• Fairness – Keeping Relationships in Balance
• Giving, Taking, and Receiving
• Acknowledgement
• Parentification
• Loyalty and Split Loyalty
• Constructive and Destructive Entitlement
• Scapegoating Family Members and Family Monsters (Is compassion possible?)
• Exoneration and Forgiveness
• Revolving Slate: Issues over Generations
• Concern about Future Generations
• Self of the Therapist