Developing competent clinicians begins first and foremost with quality training. As interest in play therapy practice continues to grow along with evidentiary support of play therapy as a valid therapeutic modality, concrete instructional methodology is vital. Limited research exists related to best practices in training play therapists and even less information is available related to multicultural considerations in graduate play therapy course curriculum. The purpose of the present work is to examine identified competencies related to the field of play therapy, review literature related to structuring graduate play therapy courses, and explore multicultural considerations relevant to the training process of multiculturally competent play therapists.

Experiential and contextualized learning experiences are essential for facilitating play therapy supervisees' skills development, understanding of play therapy, and self-insight necessary for growth. University-based training clinics have the capacities to provide such experiential learning opportunities; this setting, which often serves diverse community client populations, offers live supervision opportunities. To date, there is limited information available describing the process and procedure for providing live supervision in university-based play therapy training clinics. Therefore, the authors will discuss the functions of live supervision, the process and formats of live supervision, developmental stages of play therapy supervisees in live supervision, theoretical orientation and its impact on the play therapy live supervision process, additional considerations, and advantages and disadvantages of providing live supervision in this chapter all within the context of university-based training programs.