The Association for Play Therapy (APT) is a national professional society established in 1982 to foster contact among mental health professionals interested in exploring and, when developmentally appropriate, applying the therapeutic power of play to communicate with and treat clients, particularly children.

APT believes that children’s physical, emotional, and psychological well-being is promoted by ensuring their fundamental needs are met.  Research demonstrates the importance of supporting children’s need to develop and preserve their attachment to their parents, helping to ensure children’s sense of their family as accessible, intact, and whole.  

APT encourages play therapists to use the national association aligned with their primary discipline to advocate for vulnerable children as they continue to use their knowledge of the therapeutic value of play to provide high quality mental health services.

Resources for Children and Parents with Trauma History

American Counseling Association:

• Disaster and Trauma Responses of Children
• Disaster and Trauma Effects on Parents

National Association of School Psychologists:

• NASP Position Paper on Child Rights
• Supporting Vulnerable Children in Stressful Time: Tips for Parents
  
• Treating Toxic Stress in Immigrant Children

Attachment and Trauma-Related Articles from Play Therapy™ Magazine:

• The Crisis of Connection: Addressing Attachment Problems
• Playful Strategies to Alleviate Shame within Traumatized Children
• Play Therapy and EMDR: A Conversation
• Fostering Resiliency in Traumatized Adolescents: Integrating Play and Evidenced-Based Interventions
• Exploring Puppetry as a Treatment Option with Children and Adolescents Following Exposure to a Traumatic Event
  

Association News

Congratulations to this year’s Membership Campaign winners: Nohemi Maciel, LMSW (AZ), Erin Nicolas, LPC, CPCS, RPT-S (GA), and Dawn Williamson, LCSW, RPT-S (OR). For every new member referred, these APT members were entered into a raffle for a chance to win one of three prizes:

• Apple Watch
• Amazon Echo
• $200 Visa gift card
  

As a result of this campaign, APT welcomes 131 new members! Thank you to everyone who participated and made the Membership Campaign a success.

You can contribute to the Foundation for Play Therapy every time you shop with Amazon! The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate .5% of your purchase price. These donations are used to fund play therapy research and resources for public awareness.

To support the foundation, simply log in to AmazonSmile with your usual Amazon account information and select Foundation for Play Therapy. Spread the word and give today!

• September 5, 2018: APT Conference early bird registration ends
• September 6, 2018: ASCA call for proposals due