The Academy has developed a dynamic and innovative online training program consisting of learning tools aimed at catering for different learning needs. We use an online training platform with a range of interactive features that allow us to deliver our training in an engaging, personalised manner. Our self-paced online training platform is easy to navigate and allows you the flexibility and convenience of viewing presentations, taking notes, and completing the course material activities in a way that works best for you. The self-paced nature of the online training format also allows you to reflect on the course content in a deeper more considered way than in a time-limited, live format.

In terms of engaging in practical art and play therapy activities, when enrolling in any of the Academy’s workshops or courses, you will receive a Welcome Starter Pack in the mail with the art and play materials required to participate in the art and play therapy activities covered in the training. 

All our training provides opportunities to engage with the presenter and fellow students individually or in a group format (see below for more details).

The nature and level of learning support differs depending on whether you are enrolled in an introductory workshop or the postgraduate certificate course, postgraduate diploma course or master class electives.

If you enrol in any of the three introductory workshops, you have the option of interacting with the presenter by asking questions or leaving comments via the online discussion tab or via email (whichever you prefer) and the presenter will respond to you typically within 24 hours (excluding weekends and public holidays). We also provide you with the option of using video emails if you prefer a more visual interface with the presenter. Additionally, you have the option of participating in individual supervision (at an additional cost) where you can explore the introductory workshop content as it relates to your workplace and client needs.

If you enrol in the Academy’s postgraduate certificate course, postgraduate diploma course or master class elective subjects, you receive the online support offered in the introductory workshops as well as fortnightly individual supervision sessions. The regular individual supervision sessions are an integral part of the course structure and are included in the fees. These regular individual supervision sessions are an opportunity for you to further explore any aspect of the coursework you wish, to discuss your client cases, and to receive support with how to customise the training material to meet your specific workplace and client needs. Additionally, you have the option of participating in group supervision if you wish to explore the training material with colleagues in a group format.

More information about individual and group supervision can be found in the Academy’s Student Handbook.

Yes! We appreciate that for many people, social interaction with fellow students is an important aspect of learning. We also understand that not all students require high levels of social interaction to optimise their learning experience. As a qualified practitioner, we recognise that you are an experienced learner, as such, we allow you to decide on the level of social engagement you wish to have with fellow students at the Academy.

Social aspects of learning with other students are facilitated in a few different ways. We have an online discussion tab available for each training workshop/course which allows you to engage with other students by discussing training topics and exchanging ideas. The discussion tab also allows you to upload images and files if you have something to share with others. Additionally, you can send a private message to the presenter or other students via the Academy’s inbox option.

The Academy also has a student community page which is accessible to all enrolled students. Private groups can also be created on the community page where you can participate in groups based on a specific topic of interest, your geographic location, or any other another point of interest relevant to art and play therapy practice. 

If you enrol in the postgraduate certificate course, postgraduate diploma course, or master electives, you also have the option of attending group supervision sessions. Depending on your location, group supervision can also be offered in a face-to-face format.

There are two types of assessment used to determine completion of the Academy’s training. The first type is participation assessment. This simply involves completing activities that demonstrate your participation and basic understanding of the online training material. Participation assessments typically include quizzes, reflective questions and other activities designed to assist you revise the training material and verify you have engaged with the online content provided. If you enrol in any of the 3 introductory workshops, you will only be required to complete participation assessment activities to be awarded your certificate of completion.

The second type of assessment is workplace assessment. This involves demonstrating how you apply the training material to your specific workplace (e.g., with your clients). If you enrol in the postgraduate certificate course, postgraduate diploma course, or master elective subjects, you will be required to compete workplace assessment activities which vary depending on the subject you are completing.

Historically, the Academy’s has always delivered face-to-face training however, in recent years, in response to global pandemic restrictions on national and international travel, the Academy has transformed its training to online delivery. The Academy will continue to offer face-to-face training as an in-service option to counselling teams located in Australia, Asia, Europe, New Zealand, and the UK. For more information regarding this option, please contact the Academy.

We also host optional periodic residential training programs, where you can meet with and learn from other counselling clinicians from around the world.

The Academy’s director, Dr Rosa Bologna, is an experienced conference presenter and has presented as both a keynote presenter at large conferences as well as presenting at more intimate conference gatherings. The Academy also has a number of Registered Clinical Art & Play Therapists (ClinATPs)™ who specialise in different aspects of clinical art and play therapy practice who may be interested and available to present at your conference. To discuss your needs further, please contact the Academy.

There are 3 main reasons why the Academy’s training is only offered to qualified counselling clinicians:

1. To ensure therapeutically safe and ethical client outcomes, we feel it is imperative that our students have foundational qualifications in counselling practice, which includes but is not limited to working within the therapeutic frame. The therapeutic frame includes working with clients in an appropriate confidential space that is emotionally and physically contained, developing and working with a counselling or treatment plan, working with transference and counter-transference issues, and working with the guidance of regular clinical supervision.

2. The Academy’s training is postgraduate training meaning that it is not designed for entry level practitioners. Rather, it is designed for those who have foundational knowledge and skills in counselling or psychotherapy and wish to develop specialised skills in clinical art and play therapy. As such, applicants are required to hold the relevant registration or membership with a clinical body associated with regulating the practice of counselling, mental health/clinical social work, psychology, psychotherapy, or psychiatry in their country of work.

3. Registration or membership with a clinical body ensures that all Academy students are responsible for adhering to a high standard of professional practice. Specifically, registration or membership with a clinical body requires students adhere to an established ethical code of conduct in their clinical field of practice. It also requires that students maintain, improve, and broaden their skills, knowledge, and expertise via participating in requisite annual continuous professional development (CPD) activities governed by their clinical body.

The Academy’s training materials and assessment tasks are specifically designed and developed for clinicians who are actively working with clients in a counselling setting. To complete the Academy’s participatory assessment tasks and workplace assessment tasks, you will need to have an active counselling load.   

To ensure a high-quality student cohort, we require participants in our training to be accountable to the clinical body governing their profession and demonstrate they have committed to upholding the clinical body’s code of conduct and continuous professional development requirements. Eligibility does not demonstrate this level of accountability and commitment and therefore we are only able to accept those who have registration or membership with a relevant clinical body.

Absolutely not! No fine arts experience or skills are necessary to complete the Academy’s training as the Academy’s emphasis is on developing clinical skills rather than art skills. Some of the Academy’s training does involve practical and technical training in the use of various art mediums and is conducted by experienced fine artists however, the training is designed to assist you understand the properties and multiple uses of these mediums rather than developing your fine arts skills.

RPL is applicable to types of training that are standardised across training providers; for example, training that is delivered from a training package developed by a government authority. Given the Academy’s training program is unique to the Academy and is not part of a wider training package delivered by other providers, we do not recognise prior learning with other training providers.

Yes, absolutely! We love to work with and explore complex cases and will assist you navigate your specific client issues and needs through individual supervision. In fact, based on over 25 years’ experience, we contend that art and play therapy is one of the most powerful and effective therapeutic interventions in terms of cutting through complexity, addressing multi-faceted presentations, and working with challenging transference and countertransference issues. We also present many complex client case examples in our training to illustrate how case complexity can be approached and addressed.

The Academy’s training covers working with clients of all ages and at all stages of the therapeutic process. This includes using art and play therapy in the intake assessment stage of therapy. In the case of children, we feel it is essential to include their adult caregivers and/or other relevant parties in the intake process, even if this is for a brief period of time. As such, it is important that therapists can use relevant art and play therapy mediums, methods, and modalities with adults to effectively conduct and include them in this stage of the therapeutic process. We also find it to be a powerful way to engage with the adults in children’s lives and in turn minimise the probability of them prematurely taking children out of therapy.

No, not at all! Art and play therapy can be used in conjunction with any theoretical orientation or model developed for counselling or psychotherapy. One of the Academy’s main objectives is to give you the tools to deepen your existing work as well as assist you expand your current knowledge and skills by utilising a broad range of theoretical orientations and models applicable to art and play therapy practice. We will take you through a tried and tested process of combining theoretical frameworks with art and play therapy and assist you tailor this process to your individual needs and preferences.

It is important to note that the title “play therapist” is not a legally protected title in Australia, Europe, New Zealand, the UK, the United States, and most countries in the world; therefore, no one organisation or body governs the use of the title “play therapist.” As such, you can become registered with any association or organisation that provides a play therapist registration service. This can be somewhat confusing as there may be a number of associations or organisations in any given country providing a registration service using the title “play therapist” however, they may not represent clinicians who use play therapy in a counselling context. The Academy maintains its own international Register of Clinical Art & Play Therapists Clinical Art & Play Therapists (ClinAPTs)™ (see below for more details).

Like the title “play therapist” the title “art therapist” is not a legally protected title in most countries including Australia, New Zealand, and many countries in Asia and Europe; therefore, in these countries where “art therapist” is not a legally protected title, no one organisation or body governs the use of the title “art therapist.” In these countries, a person may become registered with any association or organisation that provides an art therapist registration service.

The title “art therapist” is however a protected title in the UK and some states/jurisdictions in the United States. The title typically refers to practitioners trained in fine arts (i.e., artists) who have been trained to use art therapeutically but not necessarily use art in therapy. That is, they do not necessarily have qualifications in counselling or psychotherapy, and they are not typically required to hold registration or membership with a clinical board and therefore they do not necessarily practice art therapy in a clinical counselling context. The Academy maintains its own international Register of Clinical Art & Play Therapists Clinical Art & Play Therapists (ClinAPTs)™ (see below for more details).

The Academy maintains its own international Register of Clinical Art & Play Therapists (ClinAPTs)™ to reflect the high-quality training and supervision Academy graduates have received in both art therapy and play therapy practice within a clinical counselling context. We emphasise clinical use of art and play therapy to distinguish it from others who use art and/or play in non-clinical settings and who are not qualified counselling clinicians.

You can become a Registered Clinical Art & Play Therapist (ClinAPT)™ with the Academy once you have completed the Academy’s Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Art & Play Therapy and commit to meeting the annual CPD requirements for ClinAPT™ registration. This allows you to use the title of Registered Clinical Art & Play Therapist (ClinAPT)™ with the Academy of Art & Play Therapy along with the Academy’s digital registration badge that includes the Academy’s trademarked logo.

Please note: You must confirm with the relevant regulator in your jurisdiction that you can use or refer to yourself as a Registered Clinical Art & Play Therapist to avoid any conflict with the use of protected titles in that jurisdiction.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation National Law forbids registered health practitioners such as psychologists to use testimonials or purported testimonials about their service or business. For this reason, the Academy does not use testimonials in its advertising. We do however feature discussions with previous students of the Academy’s courses in our training presentations. These former students are also Registered Clinical Art & Play Therapists (ClinAPTs)™ with the Academy and have over 10 years’ experience since graduating from the Academy’s courses and generously share their insights and experiences about the training they received and how they have applied it and tailored it to their practice. 

1. Be sure you meet our entry criteria

Prior to applying for any of our training, be sure you meet our entry criteria which are outlined in each of the workshop/course sections of the Student Handbook. If you are just starting with the Academy, you will need to first apply for An Introduction to Clinical Art & Play Therapy workshop.

2. Complete and submit your application form

Training application forms are completed online and can be found by clicking on the application form link found at the end of each of the training workshop/course descriptions in the Student Handbook. If applications have not yet opened for specific workshops/courses, you will not find a link in the Student Handbook but you will be notified via our mailing list when applications open.