Retraining as a Play Therapist while working, anyone with experience?

[Prowlerchick1]

Has anyone on here retrained or working towards a career in Play Therapy?

I'm a mum, primary school teacher of 20+ years but currently only tutor and work full time in a role connected to local government and early years.

I'm thinking of training as a Play Therapist as this was something I've been interested in for a few years but whilst teaching did not have the mental capacity to even contemplate studying.

I don't know any Play Therapists and wondered if there are any on here?
If so, please could you let me know how you find it, about any training you completed, how difficult or not it is to find clients to work with and anything else really!

I'm thinking of working full time whilst studying as my work can be quite flexible to fit in around placements and blocks of training. I was looking at the APAC / PTUK courses as they seem the most flexible.

Thank you in advance!

Hi, I did exactly this. Primary teacher 15+ years retrained and loved it.

The training can be quite intense emotionally so always a good idea to try and book off the following Monday for rest and emotional recovery.

There’s a large network of us here there and everywhere with smaller WhatsApp groups of local PTs.

There are so many children in need of PT and the work is there but unsurprisingly we’re often limited by what funding is available. There is work though and most of it is word of mouth.

Fee free to ask away here or DM me for ongoing support.

ooh can I jump on here? I would love to be a play therapist but haven’t worked with children or in a remotely related field for about 17 years!! I’m guessing this would leave me at a disadvantage. @ThePlayLadyhave you seen anyone become a PT with no previous relevant background?

Tbh I haven’t! Everyone I know has a background working with kids in some capacity. Doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Worth exploring if you really want to do it. You could try and gain some voluntary experience in a school?
Is your background in mental health or healthcare at all?

What has inspired you to consider play therapy?

I would go for educational psychology in your shoes

Thank you so much for replying! That's really good to know. I really love the idea of play therapy and supporting children in a different capacity to teaching.

Did you train through PTUK? How did you find the courses? Presumably you did certificate then diploma?

Thank you for your comment. I did look into educational psychology but it would be a long route and not something that would pay enough to cover our bills whilst retraining unfortunately. With a child potentially off to university next year too I'm a bit limited to part time study, something that'll fit around my full time job for now.

I'm also considering this. 20 years as a primary school teacher, still love it but need something new. Have recently done a semi-related short course and loved getting my teeth into something and the academic side of it too. But unsure of the job prospects afterwards and need it to be worth the investment, both in time and money.

My friend left teaching and did Play Therapy but it didn’t pay enough.

Many schools can’t afford to pay them and parent can’t either.

I think this is the issue depending on the area you live in. I'm not sure if it's something I'd do full time anyway, I'd probably want to fit it around a more stable job, unless I found I had plenty of private work or managed to get a job in a school or for a charity. I'd ideally like to support children from financially disadvantaged backgrounds and other vulnerable children but of course that could only be through a school or similar.

Supporting mental health is so important but there just aren't the funds in schools to pay for this sort of extra support. 😞

You’d be surprised how much funding is available through charities and Local Authorities.

Yes I studied through PTUK/APAC and it was very insightful and a good learning pace. There’s plenty of support and you really discover a lot about yourself in the process. I did certificate then diploma. Started in 2022 and I worked alongside a part time job (teacher) until I took the plunge last Easter to go full time. I have had plenty of work and make a decent wage.