How To Become A Registered Play Therapist: What New Play Therapists Need to Know + FREE RPT Tracking Guide

→ How do I become a Registered Play Therapist™ or an RPT™?

This is one of the top questions I often get asked as a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor and (current) President of the Minnesota Association for Play Therapy!
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A brief history?  In 2020 the process to obtain your RPT™ toootally changed.  Check out more on that HERE! ​

The short version? Prior to 2020 the RPT™ process was summation - you get your training, client hours, and supervision and add it all up at the end to get the totals requirements. Done and done. 

In 2020 RPT™ applicants needed to go through three phases of training, practice, and supervision/consultation to achieve RPT™ status. This meant that an applicant's training, practice, and supervision all happened at an even pace throughout, which prevented clinicians from doing all of their supervised practice before they even took a play therapy training course - which I think we all can agree is a great thing! 

Since 2020 APT has had multiple additional changes to the application process (check out more about the 2024 changes HERE).  

And no surprises 2025 has brought even more cha-cha-cha-changes to the RPT™ process.  

These changes can make it hard for applicants who are working off a printed copy of the application to keep up with everything new that they will be required to do - especially applicants that are coasting on 7-10 years of this process. 

So expert tip?  

Always check out the APT website throughout your RPT™ process to make sure you have the latest updates. AND absolutely use their resources for their email updates or Q and A sessions to stay on top of everything!

The good news? 

Many of the changes APT has made have been in response to applicants and members asking to increase accessibility to becoming an RPT™ while still maintaining high standards for the credential.  

Some of these have included increasing the number of years an applicant can work on the process. Changes have also included increasing the number of non-contact hours for training as well as increasing the amount of group consultation/supervision hours and decreasing individual consultation/supervision hours to offset costs. 
 
Some of the highlights of the 2025 changes: 

• Trainings are only contact or non contact.  There is no more designation for “live webinar”.
  • Applicants need at least 75 Contact hours for training (no maximum) 
  • Applicants can have up to 75 Non-Contact hours (no minimum) 
• Group consultation can be up to 15 hours 
• RPT process can take from 2-10 years

 
SO with the additional changes in 2025 I wanted to add these existing updates to my 2024 tracking guide - with alllll the bells and whistles! 
 
The 2025 Tracking Guide Includes:

• Updated totals for all the latest APT Standers for RPT™: 
  • Group vs. Individual Supervision/Consultation 
  • Contact vs. Non Contact CE totals 
  • Category AND Phase totals for all the Continuing Education requirements 
  • RPT Process timelines 
• Automatic tracking and totals for Experience, Supervision/Consultation, and Continuing Education 
• Automatically calculate and total your Contact and Non-Contact CE hours
• Automatically calculate totals of group vs. individual consultation/supervision  
• Color coded totals to let you know when you have met minimum thresholds and completed phases 
• A place to track your observations for each phase 
• All the resources in one place - competencies, APT Best Practices, APT Paper on Touch, overview of criteria, and direct links to the application, standards, and the CE breakdown
• BONUS: Tracking Guide Tutorial Video - where you will get an overview of the application process AND a step-by-step demonstration for how to fill out the tracking guide

 
And the price for all of this?  Absolutely FREE!! 
 
Don’t let the overwhelm of the process keep you from getting your RPT™ credential.  Let this guide hold your hand through the process and let the tracking be the easiest part of your process! 

Grab your Free updated RPT™ Tracking Guide HERE PLUS the BONUS video guide that walks you through the exact steps and the entire process from start to finish for getting your RPT™! 

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AND if you are looking for some Non-Contact CEs to start filling in that beeauuitful spreadsheet hop on over to my The Meehan Mental Health Services Online Training Center that houses 15+ Play Therapy Courses at the click of a button with topics ranging from regulation, working with teens and families, and interpreting play themes!

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Disclaimer: This document is meant to be a guide designed to aid in tracking and organizing necessary materials and tracking hours, supervision and continuing education towards becoming a Registered Play Therapist™. This guide is not affiliated with the Association for Play Therapy and is not the official application to become a Registered Play Therapist™. It is the sole responsibility of each applicant to ensure they meet the requirements on the APT Webpage and do not solely rely on this guide as criteria may change.  Visit www.a4pt.org for the official application and criteria.  Last updated as of 7/16/2025.