Presentations: 1
Starting with the January 2018 issue, earn non-contact continuing education credit by completing tests based upon the International Journal of Play Therapy®.
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Implementing Play and Language Therapy (PAL) to Work with Preschool Children with Language and Behavioral Issues
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Credits: None available.
Communicating thoughts and needs is one of the most essential components of beinghuman. In the United States, 6.4 million preschool-age children are diagnosed with alanguage disorder (Reed, 2012). Many of these children also exhibit co-morbidbehavior issues. Difficulties with effective communication and behavior can result inacademic, social, and personal issues for these children (Balch & Ray, 2015). Whilespeech-language pathologists are well versed in providing communicationinterventions, there is a lack of specific knowledge related to behavioral aspects.Relationship-based play therapy interventions such as Child Teacher RelationshipTherapy have proven to be effective at helping to develop positive relationships andbehaviors (Soccaros et al., 2015). The purpose of this manuscript is to discuss thedevelopment and application of a relationship-based play therapy intervention knownas Play and Language Therapy (PAL) for speech-language pathologists working withpreschool children with language disorders and behavioral issues.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Transgender and Gender Expansive Affirming Child Centered Play Therapy
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Credits: None available.
Play therapists will inevitably work with transgender and gender expansive (TGE)individuals and need to develop competence in order to effectively work with this population. Given the dearth of literature on the use of play therapy to support TGEchildren and the fact that play therapists working in the school setting are in a prime position to provide needed support and advocacy, this article provides guidance on how to effectively work with TGE children using Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT).The article reviews the challenges TGE children face at home and in school and how to use the skills of CCPT in a TGE affirming way, using a case study and detailed examples of responses. How play therapists working in schools can work with parents/caregivers and advocate in the school setting are also included.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Credits: None available.
We examined the effects of group play therapy on North Korean refugee children who resettled in South Korea. A qualitative case study methodology was adopted to understand and analyze the healing process that children go through during therapy,with a focus on play characteristics and changes in play patterns. We analyzed four North Korean refugee girls who were in the second or third grade (age range8–9years). Essential information about the girls was provided by caregivers, teachers, and school officials. The children processed the psychological traumas that they had sustained by playing out past traumatic events. Therapy outcomes made it clear that a group play therapy approach was effective in treating the children’s psychological troubles. As therapy progressed, the children exhibited reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression, improved attention, and more frequent instances of age-appropriate play. Children with internalized behavior problems showed fewer problem behaviors and more appropriate emotional expressions over the course of the therapy. Children with externalized behavior problems showed fewer aggressive behaviors and increased empathy toward others. Their psychological trauma was rooted in disrupted interpersonal relationships, which is too commonly observed in North Korean refugee children,and it took longer to treat than traumas of simpler natures and associated symptoms.Our study adds to the existing body of research by presenting the specific processes and outcomes of a group play-therapy case study, which provides a data set that may prove useful in counseling at-risk children, including North Korean refugee children.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Therapists’ Experiences of Play Therapy with Muslim Families in Western Countries: The Importance of Cultural Respect
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Credits: None available.
Play therapy is a developmentally appropriate intervention for children to address behavioral concerns. However, the Muslim population experience multiple barriers in accessing mental health services. Limited studies explore barriers from the therapist’s perspective. To clarify the experiences and various challenges in providing play therapy to the Muslim population, this study explored the experiences of play therapists working with Muslim families in Western Countries. The researcher conducted eight semi-structured interviews with play therapists from Australia, United States and United Kingdom. Constructivist grounded theory uncovered several key insights around demonstrating cultural respect, specifically, the purpose of respect, the conceptualizations of respect, barriers that limit the benefits of respect, and the effects of these barriers on client outcome. For example, therapists who attempted to show respect towards other cultures may sometimes, albeit inadvertently, homogenize other cultures and inhibit their natural inclinations and intuitions—sometimes compromising their clinical judgments. Training and supervision around cultural humility, rather than cultural competence, might redress some of these complications.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Credits: None available.
This study examined the effectiveness of a Theraplay-based program that incorporated music as a rhythm-mediated component to facilitate attunement among children in two age groups. A total of 15 children, with 7 in the younger group (aged around 4) and 8 in the older group (aged around 6), participated in a 11-week program conducted in a group format. Data were collected before and immediately after the program. The children were evaluated using a questionnaire on social responsiveness as well as a performance-based rhythm matching task on attunement. The results indicated significant changes in children’s responsiveness to others. The effect size, particularly for the younger group, was also large. The qualitative data indicated stronger progress among children in the younger group. Despite the use of a small sample, the results of this study suggest a promising effect of rhythm and music in a Theraplay-based program for facilitating children’s synchronization and ability to establish connections. Limitations of the study and future directions are described.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Therapeutic or Traumatic: An Exploratory Study of Play Therapists’ Perceptions of Toy Guns and Aggressive Toys in the Playroom
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Credits: None available.
Mass shootings and gun violence are becoming more and more commonplace in theU.S. Gun control continues to be a controversial topic in America. This controversyextends to the playroom and play therapy literature, as play therapists grapple with thedecision to include or exclude toy guns from the playroom. Within thisphenomenological study, play therapists considered and defined their decisions toinclude/exclude guns within the playroom. Themes identified included the influence ofpersonal and theoretical beliefs on inclusion and exclusion, child development, toys asmetaphors, and boundaries and limit setting around toy guns in the playroom. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are explored.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Group Reality Play Therapy
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Credits: None available.
Many therapy theories can be applied to working with youth. Reality Therapy has been an effective approach for working with a wide range of youth (Loyd, 2005; Passaro, Moon, Wiest, & Wong, 2004). Recently, Authors (2018; 2019) proposed combining Play Therapy with Reality Therapy to create Reality Play Therapy (RePT). In this manuscript, we have expanded upon the RePT model and developed an eight-week small group therapy intervention that can be utilized when working with youth ages 9- 14. Suggestions are made utilizing a case example for Group Reality Play Therapy with youth in a middle school setting.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Play Therapy in South Korea: History, Current Practices, Research, and Future Directions.
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Credits: None available.
The purpose of this review of the literature is to provide (a) a historical review of play therapy in South Korea; (b) an analysis of the practice of play therapy in South Korea; (c) a summary of play therapy research in South Korea; and (d) recommendations for future directions for play therapy professionals, counselor educators, and researchers in South Korea.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Credits: None available.
The field of play therapy is rapidly growing and has been recognized as an evidence-based practice. As the field continues to grow, there is an increasing need to examine publication trends in this field to better understand areas of strengths and potential for improvements. To accomplish this goal, we conducted a content analysis of play therapy articles that were published within the years 2008–2017. Publication trends revealed seven themes that all articles fell under, with the theory/approach theme having the most articles (44.6%). There were mixed results between research and non-research articles with some topics having more research articles and other topics having more non-research articles. Unfortunately, all topics severely lacked articles with a multicultural focus. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Effect of CPRT with Adoptive Parents of Preadolescents: A Pilot Study
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Credits: None available.
Older adopted children and their families often express high need for support for attachment and trauma related concerns. Postadoption mental health intervention focused on enhancing the parent–child relationship among adoptive parents and adoptees is essential for fostering placement permanency among these families. This single group pilot study explored the effect of child–parent relationship therapy (CPRT) for adoptive parents of preadolescents who reported attachment related concerns, stress in the parent–child relationship, and child behavior problems. Participants were adoptive parents with adoptees between the ages of 8 to 14 adopted out of foster care. Data was collected at baseline, pretest, midtest, and posttest. Results from nonparametric Friedman test of differences across 4 points of measure indicated that CPRT demonstrated statistically significant improvement for the 3 outcome variables: parental empathy, child behavior, and parent child relationship stress. Specifically, results indicated that prior to receiving CPRT (baseline to pretest), parents demonstrated no change or worsening in functioning across all variables, whereas during the intervention phase findings showed a large treatment effect for parental empathy, a medium effect for parenting stress, and a small effect for child behavior problems. Findings from this pilot study support CPRT as a promising mental health intervention for adoptive parents and preadolescent children. Clinical implications and recommendations for working with adoptive parents of preadolescents are explored within the context of these findings.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
