Centre for Play Therapy and Training

Gestalt Play Therapy

The Gestalt Approach forms the underlying foundation of our play intervention training programmes.

The Gestalt approach with its strong emphasis on bringing the child into awareness of his situation, empowers the child most successfully to understand his situation, accepting and building a new awareness and to change his behaviour accordingly. The child is supported by the practitioner to express and communicate by means of play. In doing this the practitioner will make use of different awareness techniques and mediums such as for example sand and clay. The child will express and communicate their needs in form of thoughts, wishes, dreams and fears.
They also like to demonstrate their foreground needs by playing with toys like for example puppets or clay figures.

The following awareness techniques are important in the training:
• The dream technique.
• The wish technique,
• The rosebush technique;
• The object technique;
• The monster technique
• Technique of exploration

The emphasis during these training courses is on an experiential and practical level. Learning objectives are based on safe and effective practice with children and in the framework of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC).

• The emphasis is upon experiential work underpinned by theory. Course member’s work in two’s during the exercises.
• The environment is therapeutically safe to participate being able to deal with their personal psychological issues that rise in the experiment. They make contact with their inner child by applying awareness exercises onto the self.
• Practical assistance in helping trainees to master the techniques.

Accredited Gestalt Play Therapy Courses

The Centre for Play Therapy and Training has developed the following courses:

Play Therapy Level 1, Level 2 and the Sand and Clay workshop are CPD accredited with SACSSP,  SAAP and we are awaiting HPCSA specified accreditation numbers and accreditation which are assigned on a yearly basis.

Upon completion of every course or workshop the course members receive certificates originally signed by Dr Hannie Schoeman, with their names printed, the CPD points and accreditation number as well as the date and venue of the course.

The Centre for Play Therapy and Training courses are aimed at Social Workers, Psychologists and Counsellors, Educationalists and Occupational Therapists working with children that are referred to them for assistance, intervention and therapy.Different disciplines deal with traumatised children. With the skills they integrate as part of their equipment they use the power of play not only to communicate with the child but to engender them to optimal use their own potential of what they can be. With the knowledge that course members gained in their pre studies and also in the level one course they will be able to channel the underlying meanings for needs, wishes and behaviour both inside and outside the play room. The practitioner will understand and respect the uniqueness of the child in a natural way without any pretentions from the child’s side. Interpretation and assumptions will be lessened by the mutual awareness of just playing. In doing this the practitioner will be able to bring the child and him/herself into the present moment. – What a gift! Children always play for and with a reason. It will be in this moment that the child can get the message or the permission from the practitioner just to be.

Forty eight hours of training is not enough to give the practitioner the equipment of practical experience. For this reason the SLP (Service Learning Programme) was introduced. For the course member it is offering that extra mile to have hands on learning experience in real life.