Monika Jephcott CEO of PTUK is pleased to announce the latest research results. They show that the average improvement is 77% of children receiving Play Therapy to PTUK/PTI standards and there is no difference worldwide.

For those studying one of our accredited courses Monika Jephcott is pleased to announce that ALMS has been updated with a new look and method of downloading course content and resources.

Post graduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play

‘This is an extremely well organised course. The teaching is clear and straightforward. The materials are available, lots of experiential role play and practice.’ MT

‘A beautiful location with wonderful energy. Superb care was given by all the staff. I am extremely grateful to have attended this life changing course. Many, many thanks to the whole team.’ PW

‘Monika – thank you for being a life example and inspiration, your vision and passion to help children all over the world. I pray and I believe that the seeds that you and Jeff plant will continuously grow, thrive, blossom and be harvested everywhere.’ A

PG Diploma in Play Therapy

‘Fantastic, intensive experience, which is largely experiential meaning your learning is really deep, as is the processing.’ T

‘Thank you for an amazing course which is leading and continuing my journey into becoming a Play Therapist.’ G

Monika Jephcott, APAC CEO, would like to thank all those who attended the Summer School at La Mouline, France this year. All students successfully completed their training and the feedback was excellent on both learning and environment. Many had according to the final feedback was a life changing experience.

Monika Jephcott, Chief Executive of Play Therapy UK announced a major revision of PTUK’s Demand Model for the UK showing the need for 23370 therapists to work with children.

PTUK’s demand model was originally constructed by our Research Department in 2003 with data for 8900 local areas. It has served our Registrants well. Reports for 340 different areas have been produced, some of them used by many different Registrants. They have incorporated the data showing the estimated demand (need) for therapists in their local area into their presentations to school staff and other professionals and commissioners of services with good effect.

In addition to presenting the data by localities it is now also available for your local NHS Commissioning Group and your MP’s constituency.

The overall demand for Play Therapists has risen in England and Wales from 16377 to 19495 an increase of 19%. This is mainly due to an increase in the number of children in the overall population and the average number of sessions required increasing from 12 to 15.17.

Estimated demand for Play Therapists by UK country:

The new model shows a considerable variation in the estimated number of therapists required by each Local Authority because of the idiosyncratic way in which geographical boundaries are set. Some have very much larger populations of children than others. The five LA’s showing the need for the largest number of therapists are:

(London data is broken down into a large number of Local Authorities)

It is not possible to make a direct comparison with the previous model, that dates from 2003, for every Local Authority because of boundary changes. However in the 313 English LAs where it is possible: 288 show an increase with Haringey, Hackney, Hammersmith, Fulham and Halton heading the list, 8 LAs show no change and 16 show a decrease, due to population changes.

We are pleased to announce that all Post Graduate Certificate and Diploma students attending the Summer School at the National University of Ireland (Galway) completed their training successfully.

APAC CEO Monika Jephcott is pleased to announce a brand new one day introductory course at Epiphany House in Truro, Cornwall, on the 5th December 2015. Click for details

Monika Jephcott welcomed students on the Post Graduate Certificate and Diploma courses from 20 countries at La Mouline, France for the Intensive 15 days Play Therapy Summer School training. A truly culturally diverse training group.

There has been excellent progress in our registrants use of Caerus to revalidate in 2015. 69% had submitted their applications by the end of February compared to 10% in 2014. 79% used Caerus, 21% the hard copy Word form.

Play Therapy UK has learnt valuable lessons from the use of Caerus and our registrants’ feedback over the last 12 months. Caerus was originally developed to make the revalidation process more efficient. It has now become obvious that it is the basis of a good record management, reporting and learning tool, which will make it more useful for our registrants. This will be the main driver of future development. There will be only very minor changes for 2016, but we are planning major improvements for you in 2017/18. Please be patient.

The progress upon meeting the new levels of attainment is also most encouraging: 55% of registrants attained the full status; two thirds of the 44% attaining the minimum level met the requirements in three out of four of the sections. The minimum level is that required to meet the PSA standards applied to the accreditation of our register. Less than 1% are in danger of being removed from the Register through failing to meet the minimum standards. These Registrants are being giving a suitable period of time and support to meet the required standards.

The future in the regulation of health and social care is exciting. The accreditation of our Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists by the Professional Standards Authority is a milestone, an important one, but not the whole journey.

Play Therapy UK took part in a recent seminar run by the PSA reviewing the progress and future of Right Touch Regulation. This was attended by State Regulators, the HCPC and a few Accredited Registers. It was heartening to hear that the policies introduced by PTUK in 2014, position us at the forefront of developments across all health and social professions.

Right Touch Regulation (RTR) is a way of thinking – not a set of rules. It is ‘RIGHT’ not ‘LIGHT’ and can be heavy in its demands, at the right time, as we in PTUK know. Proportionality does not mean ‘light’ – but what is necessary to do the job, which may sometimes entail a lot of work, as again we recognise. An important factor is the quantification of the risks to improve the management of them. It is difficult to identify a problem unless we know what’s going on so we need to collect data. The RTR practitioner combines clinical, professional and communication skills.

The PSA standards will change so PTUK policies will change accordingly. The first one to change will be Standard 9 Education and Training. We have been closely involved in these consultations and in PTUK’s 2015 revalidation we trialled the proposed new requirements to help the PSA. Don’t worry! These changes are very unlikely to affect any of our registrants.

Monika Jephcott introduced Dr Joyce Mills who gave the keynote address at this years PTUK conference. She is the world’s ‘guru’ in generating therapeutic metaphors and this was received with rapturous applause. Joyce also presented an afternoon workshop.

Over the years Joyce has developed a unique training model called ‘STORYPLAY’ which she has adjusted to a new 7 day Post Qualifying course to meet Play Therapy UK’s and Play Therapy International’s registrants’ needs. This exciting new programme was launched at the conference.