The two main professional organisations supporting play therapy are the (American) Association for Play Therapy (APT) and Play Therapy International (PTI).
There had been a co-operative relationship for many years, where PTI was an accredited APT training provider.
This was ended in August 2010 by mutual and friendly agreement because of the divergence of views about the development of the profession in a number of areas, as shown below.
The traditional model is exemplified by APT – developed in the United States by pioneers such as Axline, Landreth, Schaeffer and O’Connor
The evolutionary model is exemplified by PTI – building on the traditional model, emerging from the work of Oaklander, Mark Barnes in Canada, and subsequently developed further in the UK and internationally led by Jephcott and Thomas.