International Journal of Play Therapy® Tests


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®.

ATTENTION: The fee does not include publication material, price includes CE test only. APT Members must consult their print or online International Journal of Play Therapy prior to completing tests online.

Access the International Journal of Play Therapy® archives to view the article issues online.

 
Continuing Education

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APA. The Association for Play Therapy (APT) is approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. APT maintains responsibility for this program and its content.


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NBCC. The Association for Play Therapy (APT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 5636. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. APT is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.


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APT. The Association for Play Therapy (APT) offers continuing education specific to play therapy. APT Approved Provider 95-100 maintains responsibility for the program.

Sessions

Play Therapists’ Attitudes Toward Using Technology in the Playroom iconPlay Therapists’ Attitudes Toward Using Technology in the Playroom

Preview Available

Play Therapists’ Attitudes Toward Using Technology in the Playroom

Credits: None available.

The use of technology such as Internet, cell phones, televisions, and video games is a staple part of many children and adults’ lives (Harwood et al., 2011; Hull, 2015; National Association for the Education of Young Children & the Fred Rogers Center, 2012). Professionals disagree about the appropriateness of technology in play therapy settings (e.g., Hull, 2015; Landreth, 2012; Ray, 2012). We surveyed 40 registered play therapists or registered play therapist supervisors to specifically address play therapists’ attitudes and experiences using technology in play therapy. Support for using technology in playrooms was mixed; we defined and provided examples of the 5 themes that emerged from the interviews.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

  • Special Topics

Learning Objectives:
  • Identify the five themes current RPT/S report as significant to their perceptions of the use of technology in the playroom. 
  • Compare RPT/S’ perceptions of advantages and disadvantages of using technology in the playroom.
  • Compare RPT/S' perceptions of how technology can enhance or detract from building the therapeutic relationship.
Speaker(s):
Ethical Use of Drawings in Play Therapy: Considerations for Assessment, Practice, and Supervision iconEthical Use of Drawings in Play Therapy: Considerations for Assessment, Practice, and Supervision

Preview Available

Ethical Use of Drawings in Play Therapy: Considerations for Assessment, Practice, and Supervision

Credits: None available.

Using drawings in assessment and therapy can be controversial. The validity of using drawings to assess and diagnose clients has been widely debated in the past and present. However, drawings may help clinicians obtain and generate useful information to design appropriate treatment plans for addressing children’s concerns when they are utilized ethically within a battery of several assessments. Although the leading professional mental health associations do not specifically address the use of drawings in assessment, practice, or supervision, each of them describes how practitioners must remain within the boundaries of their competence when using and reporting the results of assessments and techniques. Understanding the strengths and limitations of using drawings can help play therapists make informed decisions regarding how to employ these techniques ethically to protect the public and to reduce legal liability, as the Association for Play Therapy (Association for Play Therapy, 2018a, 2018b) dictates. Individual play therapists typically subscribe to one mental health discipline (e.g., counseling, psychology, or social work), and each of these professions define their scopes of practice. However, taking guidance from the ethical codes of all of the major mental health associations together will better inform all play therapists of where the ethical boundaries of practice lie. Herein the author explores ethical considerations for play therapists’ use of drawings for assessment, practice, and supervision.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

  • Skills and Methods
  • Special Topics

Learning Objectives:
  • Employ drawings for assessment, practice, and supervision in play therapy.
  • Observe the child’s process and considering his or her own verbalizations about his or her drawing in assessment and play therapy.
  • Demonstrate how therapists’ resonances may be drawn to process a supervision question through a personal example.
Speaker(s):
Measuring the Impact of a School-Based, Integrative Approach to Play Therapy on Students with Autism and their Classroom Instructors iconMeasuring the Impact of a School-Based, Integrative Approach to Play Therapy on Students with Autism and their Classroom Instructors

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Measuring the Impact of a School-Based, Integrative Approach to Play Therapy on Students with Autism and their Classroom Instructors

Credits: None available.

The authors of this study measured the impact of a school-based, integrative approach to play therapy (PT) on four elementary- and middle-school-aged students with autism and their classroom instructors. The play therapist conducted 15 weekly PT sessions with each student to work on their social and emotional awareness individualized education program (IEP) goals and then debriefed students’ instructors to encourage generalization of PT outcomes to the classroom setting. A combination of quantitative and qualitative data were collected, including the Autism Social Skills Profile, psychometric equivalence-tested goal attainment scales aligned with students’ IEP goals, case notes, and end-of-intervention interviews with classroom staff. Findings indicated that three students made gains on the Autism Social Skills Profile, and that all students made more progress than expected on IEP goals, both during PT sessions and in the classroom. Further, students’ instructors described substantial benefits associated with post-PT session debriefings with the play therapist, including improved rapport with students and better understanding of strategies for supporting them during challenging situations.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

  • Special Topics

Learning Objectives:
  • Describe how play therapy sessions helped improve students’ social and emotional learning.
  • Describe how therapist/teacher debriefs helped improve teachers’ rapport with their students.
  • Identify several strategies for supporting students during challenging moments and for helping students generalize skills to the classroom setting.
Speaker(s):
Technology's Impact on the Parent-Infant Attachment Relationship: Intervening through FirstPlay® Therapy iconTechnology's Impact on the Parent-Infant Attachment Relationship: Intervening through FirstPlay® Therapy

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Technology's Impact on the Parent-Infant Attachment Relationship: Intervening through FirstPlay® Therapy

Credits: None available.

This article examines the overall impact of technology on the parent–child attachment relationship. Increased household media use may prevent parents from spending quality time on activities that could foster healthy child development. Infants and children must now compete for their parents’ attention with media outlets. This cyber effect now poses a new modern-day threat that can impede the development of healthy attachment relationships (Aiken, 2016; Courtney & Nowakowski-Sims, 2018). Practitioners who work with children should understand how technology and media are experienced and managed by parents with a thorough assessment. Helping parents understand the relationship between their technology use and attachment experience brings awareness to the issue and is the first step toward making changes. A new infant play therapy (manualized) intervention adapted from Developmental Play Therapy called FirstPlay® Therapy Infant Storytelling Massage is offered as one approach to enhance attachment and bonding. A case vignette is presented in which a Certified FirstPlay Practitioner worked with a new teenage mother and her 4-week-old infant to guide, supervise, model, and facilitate a FirstPlay Infant Storytelling Massage session. The goal was to promote attachment and bonding and to address the issue of concerning technology use. The FirstPlay Practitioner was able to help the mother bond with her infant through real live “FaceTime” as experienced through joyful and nurturing first-play story-massage techniques. Overall recommendations to practitioners related to technology engagement for infants, children and parents is presented.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

  • Special Topics

Learning Objectives:
  • Provide 3 examples of how technology impacts child development.
  • Identify the correlation between technology use and secure caregiver-infant attachment.
  • Define FirstPlay Therapy Infant Storytelling Massage and provide an example of how it can be a useful activity to build a secure caregiver-infant attachment.
Speaker(s):
Group Adlerian Play Therapy iconGroup Adlerian Play Therapy

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Group Adlerian Play Therapy

Credits: None available.

Adlerian play therapy is identified as one of the most popular approaches to play therapy and has gained attention of researchers in the recent years. Group counseling is desirable in settings in which there is a scarcity of treatment providers trained in play therapy for the number of children in need of services, such as in schools. This article includes a brief explanation of Adlerian play therapy and group play therapy, a description of Group Adlerian play therapy concepts and skills, as well as a case example. Readers will find theoretical and practical applications of Group Adlerian play therapy for their clinical practice and research.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

  • Skills and Methods
  • Special Topics

Learning Objectives:
  • Describe at least one benefit for using group Adlerian play therapy with children.
  • Apply basic group Adlerian play therapy skills in sessions.
  • Apply the concepts and descriptions of group Adlerian play therapy in research.
Speaker(s):
On-Task Behavior of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Examining Treatment Effectiveness of Play Therapy Interventions iconOn-Task Behavior of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Examining Treatment Effectiveness of Play Therapy Interventions

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On-Task Behavior of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Examining Treatment Effectiveness of Play Therapy Interventions

Credits: None available.

This study focused on examining the treatment effect associated with two 12-sessioninterventions (child-centered play therapy and nature-based child-centered play therapy) among early elementary schoolchildren (N8) who had an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnosis. Children were randomly assigned to one of the treatment groups or the wait list group. We found that the child-centered play therapy intervention ranged from debatable (n1) to effective (n2) and the nature-based child-centered play therapy intervention ranged from debatable (n1) to very effective (n1), with one participant also scoring in the effective range for improving on-task behavior. In comparison, the wait list group participants had a large fluctuation in scores, with the analysis revealing that non involvement in treatment was ineffective for improving on-task behavior.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

  • Skills and Methods
  • Special Topics

Learning Objectives:
  • Examine the effectiveness of play therapy interventions for children with an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) diagnosis.
  • Define ADHD and its prevalence among children.
  • Explore the implications of using play therapy interventions with children with ADHD.
Speaker(s):
Factors Related to the Use of Play Therapy Among Elementary School Counselors iconFactors Related to the Use of Play Therapy Among Elementary School Counselors

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Factors Related to the Use of Play Therapy Among Elementary School Counselors

Credits: None available.

School counselors are often the first professionals to become aware of the mental health problems of young children. Given that play therapy is the most developmentally appropriate approach for elementary school-age children, it is important to understand why some school counselors use play therapy and others do not. The purpose of this study was to address this question by examining variables related to elementary school counselors’ use or non use of play therapy in the elementary school setting. A survey was sent to a random sample of elementary school counselors who were members of the American School Counselor Association. The findings indicated that perceived effectiveness was a significant predictor of the use of play therapy among elementary school counselors. The implications of the findings include the value of the newly formed School Based-Registered Play Therapist credential to address issues of effectiveness and supervision of school counselors and their use of play therapy.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

  • Special Topics

Learning Objectives:
  • Recognize which factors contribute and which do not contribute to the use of play therapy among elementary school counselors.
  • Understand that a logistic regression methodology assesses whether a set of variables are related to the use or not use of play therapy.
  • Understand the importance of continuing research to determine factors related to using play therapy in schools.
Speaker(s):
Reality Play Therapy: A Case Example iconReality Play Therapy: A Case Example

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Reality Play Therapy: A Case Example

Credits: None available.

Many children benefit from play therapy interventions because they are develop men-tally appropriate and allow children to speak in their native language of play. Further-more, children are given freedom and control in the playroom to work through problems at their own pace. Reality therapy is also grounded in the idea that freedom and control are important aspects to explore for optimal client growth. Helping children examine what they want and can control in their lives allows them to think about and evaluate their choices. Evaluating what they are doing and planning for future decision scan improve children’s quality world and positively impact their total behavior. In this article, we propose integrating reality therapy with play therapy. We provide specific information on reality play therapy activities and a case example to highlight how this might look in the playroom.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

  • Special Topics

Learning Objectives:
  • Integrate Reality Therapy with Play Therapy and provide play therapists with specific information on Reality Play Therapy activities that they can implement in the playroom with children ages 6-12.
  • Provide specific information on reality play therapy activities.
  • Discuss a case example on how reality play therapy activities might look in the playroom.
Speaker(s):