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Play Therapist resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what play therapists actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most play therapists should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Compassionate and dedicated Play Therapist with experience supporting children's emotional and developmental needs through play-based interventions. Skilled in conducting assessments, facilitating individual and group sessions, and collaborating with families and multidisciplinary teams. Committed to creating a safe and nurturing therapeutic environment that fosters healing and growth.
Key skills
- Therapeutic play techniques
- Child-centred assessment
- Trauma-informed care
- Treatment planning
- Family support and education
- Group facilitation
- Session documentation and reporting
- Cliniko
- Halaxy
- Power Diary
- Sand tray therapy
- Art-based interventions
- Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)
- Empathy and active listening
- Written communication
- Problem solving
- Attention to detail
Experience: example bullet points
- Conducted play-based assessments for children aged 3 to 12, identifying emotional and behavioural needs to inform individualised therapy plans.
- Facilitated weekly individual and group play therapy sessions, using sand tray and art materials to help children express feelings and develop coping strategies.
- Collaborated with parents and carers to provide strategies for supporting children's emotional regulation at home, leading to improved family communication.
- Maintained detailed session notes and progress reports using Cliniko, ensuring accurate records for referrers and allied health teams.
- Managed a welcoming and well-stocked play therapy space, ensuring safety and hygiene standards were met.
Education
Bachelor degree in psychology, social work, counselling or education, followed by postgraduate training in play therapy.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Play Therapy
- Child-Centred Play Therapy
- Australian Play Therapists Association (APTA)
- Medicare
- NDIS
- mental health care plan
- child development
- trauma-informed care
- therapeutic play
- child protection
- Working with Children Check
- First Aid
- Cliniko
- Halaxy
- Power Diary
- SDQ
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.