Do you have:
- A master’s degree in a counselling or mental health field with a supervised practicum?
- Membership with a regulatory college or association such as the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors or the BC College of Social Workers?
- Play therapy training and supervised experience?
If so, you may be eligible to become a BC Registered Play Therapist! For all additional details and application requirements, please read our comprehensive guide below (BCPTA Registration Guide & Policy Guidelines for Credentialing)
We are pleased to be offering registration to those wishing to become registered play therapists. You can become a British Columbia Registered Play Therapist (BCRPT) or a British Columbia Registered Play Therapy Supervisor (BCRPT-S). You will find all the information that you need below for credentialing.
What to submit: application form + applicable fee (see application form) and all accompanying paperwork. See the checklist on the application form to verify all documentation is included. Once received and reviewed, we will send you an invoice for the appropriate fee.
When complete, the form and documents can be emailed to credentialing@bcplaytherapy.ca. If you have any questions, please email credentialing@bcplaytherapy.ca.
Applications are accepted year-round.
Please read the following document before filling out your application.
BCPTA Registration Guide & Policy Guidelines for Credentialing
BCRPT Forms
BCRPT – BC Registered Play Therapist Application
Updates to continuing education hours (CEs) needed for registration as a BCRPT:
BCRPT play therapy training CE requirements now state that the 180 CE hours can be in person or online, with a maximum of 50 of those online hours being non-contact (pre-recorded) training.
Contact hours refer to hours of in-person play therapy training such as at a workshop or a live webinar that requires your video on for the duration of the training and a post-test component.
Non-contact hours are hours of pre-recorded online training that must have a post-test component.
Please see the registration guide to help with the application and you can also visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to commonly asked questions.
Scroll down for a list of eLearning Library courses that can help you meet the requirements for credentialing and renewal.
How to acquire the 180 hours of continuing education required for BCRPT credentialing:
- BCPTA workshops are offered year-round that provide continuing education (CE) hours https://www.bcplaytherapy.ca/all-events/
- Online courses through BCPTA’s eLearning Library: https://www.bcplaytherapy.ca/event-category/elearning-library/
- Or seek out play therapy-specific continuing education hours from institutions of higher education or BCPTA-approved providers which are BCPTA, APT, or CAPT. CEs provided by other institutes or presenters will be considered upon submission of the course description on an individual basis. For a course to be considered, it must contain one or more of the following in the description: play therapy, expressive arts therapy, creative arts therapy, sand tray therapy, or sand play therapy.
BCRPT-S Forms
BCRPT-S – BC Registered Play Therapy Supervisor Application
Updates to Training Hours (CEs) needed for registration as a BCRPT-S:
BCRPT-S supervisor training CE requirements now specify that the 12 hours of supervision training (with a minimum of 2 hours of play therapy-specific supervisor training) can be online training with a maximum of 8 hours being pre-recorded online training.
Please see the registration guide to help with the application and you can also visit our Frequently Asked Questions page for answers to commonly asked questions.
Scroll down for a list of eLearning Library courses that can help you meet the requirements for credentialing and renewal.
CE Renewal Forms
All members holding a BCRPT or BCRPT-S designation are required to submit proof of having completed the necessary number of CEs every three years. Here are the forms needed to submit your hours.
BCRPT CE Renewal Tracking Form
BCRPT-S CE Renewal Tracking Form
eLearning Library courses that can help you meet the requirements for credentialing and renewal:
Play Therapy History: An Introduction to and History of Play Therapy.
Cultural and Social Diversity:
Gathering Our Medicine: Cultural Rituals As Emotional Playgrounds
Empowering Neurodiversity: Dismantling Ableism In and Out of the Playroom
Play Therapy Applications – Special Populations: Healing Medical Trauma in Play Therapy
Play Therapy Theories and Research: Attachment Centered Play Therapy