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College of Education
Dept of Counseling, Leadership, Adult Education & School Psychology

Helping Children Succeed Practitioner Application

superhero children

Thank you for your interest in serving as a practitioner for the Helping Children Succeed (HCS) study. This is an online practitioner application for the HCS study. We are looking for four practitioners for this project.

The purpose of the HCS study is to explore the influence of two forms of play therapy on social-emotional competencies of children. Potential clients for this study are children ages 3 to 5 who struggle with disruptive behavior and social-emotional skills. Children will participate in 10 sessions of play therapy at the Texas State University Child Development Center or Community Counseling and Wellness Center in San Marcos, TX. 

Practitioners can be current internship students in the TXST Professional Counseling Program or graduates of the program who are LPC/LMFT Associates or LPCs/LMFTs. Practitioners must be trained in play therapy (COUN 5369 and 5373) in order to participate in this project. Practitioners for this study will need to be able to commit to the following guidelines:

  • See play therapy clients weekly on Mondays or Tuesdays from 1-5p for 10 sessions per client
  • Utilize solution-focused play therapy (SFPT) or child-centered play therapy (CCPT) exclusively
  • Complete documentation of client sessions
  • Facilitate three 30-minute parent consultations per client
  • Participate in one hour of supervision per week with Dr. Hartwig

There are several benefits of serving as an HCS Study Practitioner. They include:

  • Helping preschool children improve their social-emotional skills
  • Providing support to parents and caregivers
  • Honing play therapy skills
  • Getting direct play therapy experience, which counts toward becoming a Registered Play Therapist (RPT)
  • Receiving play therapy supervision from an RPT-S, which also counts toward becoming an RPT
  • Contributing to research on play therapy with young children

This is a volunteer position. Once practitioners are selected, Dr. Hartwig will host a meeting to discuss the study and an additional training on SFPT and CCPT. 

If you are interested in serving as a practitioner in this study, please complete the application below.

Are you currently a student in the Texas State Professional Counseling Program? *
If yes, indicate your degree track.
Are you a graduate of the TXST Professional Counseling Program *
If you are a graduate from the program, what is you current licensure status? *
Check all that apply
Please include name, phone, and email address
All practitioners must have completed training in play therapy for this study. Check the courses you have completed at Texas State that are relevant to this study. *
Child and Adolescent Counseling Methods
Intermediate Methods in Play Therapy
Type N/A if none.
This study involves being available for one of two 4-hour time frames. Indicate your availability with the following timeframes: *
You must be available for one of these timeframes.
Two forms of play therapy will be used in this study: Solution-Focused Play Therapy and Child-Centered Play Therapy. You will receive additional training on your selected form of play therapy. Indicate which form of play therapy fits best for you. *
Strengths-based directive and nondirective play therapy
Relationship-based nondirective play therapy

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