Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy

Sam Houston State University’s (SHSU) Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy (offered by the Department of Counselor Education housed within the College of Education) provides specialized academic training in therapeutic play modalities for master’s level, degree-seeking students as well as post-master’s practitioners seeking professional training. Students of the certificate will be impressed with our state-of-the-art training facilities. Our main campus is outfitted with 2- play rooms, 3-sandtray rooms, as well as videotaping capabilities. Facilities at the Woodlands Center, Community Counseling Clinic, contains a play room, several portable sandtray carts as well as portable art carts.  Additionally, this facility has digital taping capabilities. There are currently three Registered Play Therapists on faculty.

The 12 semester credit hour Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy is designed for students training in clinical mental health and school counseling and related fields (i.e., psychology, social work, and marriage and family) as well as for post-master’s professionals in counseling and related fields who want to specialize and/or work towards their professional registration through the national organization (Association for Play Therapy, APT). The 12 semester credit hour certificate is designed to focus on one portion (play therapy specific training) of the professional registration requirements.  Additionally APT requires applicants to have taken Child and Adolescent counseling as part of their academic coursework. Therefore, the Certificate requires students to take the 3 credit hour course to meet the APT requirement.  Students should view the total RPT application from APT to understand the full requirements  and keep updated on changes (i.e., academic, PT specific training, license, supervision, clinical experiences).  The Play Therapy Training Institute at SHSU is an Approved Provider by APT; however, APT alone holds the right to accept or deny any continuing education training at its discretion has the final approval of their applications. SHSU is an APT Approved Provider #07211.

This Graduate Certificate is eligible to receive Title IV funding – Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Graduate PLUS loans by request. To be considered for aid, students need to submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Applicants seeking admission to work on their Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy must submit the following directly to the Office of Graduate Admissions:

1. Graduate Application
2. Application fee
3. Official transcript from current program

For information regarding coursework for the Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy, please, contact the Play Therapy Coordinator: Dr. Yvonne Garza-Chaves in the Department of Counselor Education at 936-294-3106.

Students enrolled in the 12 credit hour Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy may be taking courses alongside SHSU students pursuing a Master’s or doctoral degree in Counseling. Course work for the Graduate Certificate in Play Therapy (3 credit hours each) are listed below.