Beginning Play Therapy - Curiosity over Competence
In a few weeks, QIPT will welcome a new cohort of students to our Introduction to Play Therapy workshop for 2026.
As I prepare to teach this new group, I notice familiar questions beginning to emerge from within myself:
Can I do this?
Am I cut out for this?
What if I say or do something wrong?
What if I don’t know enough?
I want to name this gently and clearly: all of these questions and feelings are valid.
In fact, I believe they are essential.
When these questions arise, it usually means we care. It means we want to grow, to learn, and to show up with integrity. If you’re feeling unsure, activated, or quietly questioning yourself as you begin this journey, I want you to know this:
You are exactly where you need to be.
For me, when these questions appear, it often signals that I’m about to embark on something meaningful, a powerful and wonderful learning process. In Synergetic Play Therapy, we often talk about going down the SPT curve. I sometimes think of it like heading down a rollercoaster (and I’ll be honest - I don’t love rollercoasters!). There’s a moment of uncertainty, a sense of not knowing what’s coming next. And yet this is where curiosity lives.
When we stay curious, we keep our nervous systems online. Certainty, on the other hand, can shut us down.
Curiosity allows us to remain open, flexible, and responsive to what journey is unfolding - rather than trying to control it before it begins.
We don’t need to know everything. We don’t need to feel competent before we start. Competence grows out of the process and the relationship, not before it.
I remember walking into my very first play therapy session and not feeling ready at all. And if I’m honest, even now there are sessions where I don’t know exactly what will unfold. I feel the same way as I prepare to teach a new cohort of students, I don’t know what the group process will bring, or exactly what learning will emerge.
What I do know is this: I will show up authentic, open, and curious.
And that is enough.
When we invite children into the playroom, they don’t know what’s going to happen either. They test safety before they show themselves. In many ways, the process of a child entering the playroom mirrors the process of a student entering play therapy training, and even a teacher standing in front of a new group.
You don’t have to earn your place at QIPT. You already belong, simply because you’re here.
Whatever journey you’re about to embark on, let curiosity take the first step. Competence will follow — slowly, quietly, and in relationship.
If you feel open to reflecting, I invite you to sit with these questions:
What part of me feels curious about this journey?
What would it be like to let curiosity lead, just for this workshop?
There’s no need to rush an answer. Let these questions sit with you, and notice what emerges in your body.
