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.
Continuing Education
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approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) to sponsor
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this program and its content.
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been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider,
ACEP No. 5636. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly
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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.
Child-Centered Play Therapy with Children Affected by Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Single Case Design
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
We conducted single-case research with two participants to explore child-centered play therapy’s (CCPT) influence on children who had four or more Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and provided analysis of data collected from the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire on a weekly basis and the Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Young Children at pre and post test. Both participants demonstrated significant improvement in total difficulties and prosocial behaviors, revealing potential therapeutic benefits for utilizing CCPT with children who have four or more ACEs. Encompassed in discussion of study results are implications for practice, suggestions for future research, and limitations.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Child-Parent Relationship Therapy with Residential Care Workers
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
Children in the United States are experiencing a mental health crisis (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, 2013; U.S. Public Health Service, 2000). One component of the array of treatment approaches for child mental health issues is residential treatment in which children receive therapeutic services in a residential setting. Children in residential treatment have experienced a variety of issues including disruptions in attachment (Walter, 2007). However, relationships are important to the success of treatment (e.g., Ayotte, Lanctôt, & Tourigny, 2016; Gallagher & Green, 2012). One promising approach to address this relational need is child-parent relationship therapy (CPRT; Landreth & Bratton, 2019). To investigate the effects of CPRT with residential care workers (RCWs), this study used a mixed-methods approach including a single-case experimental design and a qualitative case. More specifically, the study investigated effects of CPRT on RCWs’ (a) perceptions of children’s behaviors, (b) relationships with the children of focus, and (c) ability to demonstrate empathy in individual play sessions. The percentage of nonoverlapping data (Scruggs, Mastropieri, & Casto, 1987) was calculated and indicated that the treatment was very effective in helping participants increase the demonstration of empathy in play sessions. Qualitative descriptions of the relationship between the RCWs and their children of focus (COFs) were positive, but the quantitative data did not consistently align with the qualitative data across all participants. Two participants described ongoing experiences of behavioral challenges with their COF and one did not, which was supported by the quantitative data related to COFs’ behavioral problems.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Credits: None available.
There is a significant need to provide intervention services not only to students who exhibit sustained disruptive behaviors in the classroom, failing grades, and/or significant attendance issues but also to address the emotional needs of diverse elementary students who are “at risk” prior to exhibiting such issues so they may be successful in the academic environment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the academic skills of second-grade students who received child-centered play therapy (CCPT) services using the Primary Project (formerly the Primary Mental Health Project) protocol. Sixty-eight students from 1 elementary school in second grade were assessed in the areas of task orientation, behavior control, assertiveness, and peer social skills. Of those who were tested, 36 students were deemed at risk using the established qualifying criteria and received CCPT services, and 32 students did not qualify for services. Findings revealed a significant increase in 3 academic subject areas: reading, mathematics, and language usage, with qualifying students experiencing marginally greater improvements during the academic year in mathematics and language usage when compared to their peers who did not qualify for services. Results of this study highlight the importance of providing preventive services that support overall mental health and wellness to at-risk children.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Regulation Focused Psychotherapy for Children in Clinical Practice: Case Vignettes from Psychotherapy Outcome Studies
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
There is a need for empirically informed play therapy approaches for children with oppositional and disruptive behaviors. Regulation-focused psychotherapy for children (RFP-C) is a manualized intervention rooted in the longstanding tradition of nondirective, psychodynamic play therapy. It builds on this history by emphasizing concepts drawn from the psychodynamic construct of defense mechanisms and contemporary research on emotion regulation. By using systematic interventions that target children’s defense mechanisms against unpleasant feeling states, RFP-C promotes the development of improved implicit emotion regulation capacities and increases children’s ability to tolerate painful emotions that were previously masked by the disruptive behaviors. An overview of this play therapy approach, along with several clinical illustrations drawn from a recent pilot study and ongoing randomized controlled trial of RFP-C as a treatment for oppositional defiant disorder, is provided in order to demonstrate some of the principles of defense interpretation, parent work, and addressing the meaning of disruptive behaviors.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Facilitating Congruence, Empathy, and Unconditional Positive Regard through Therapeutic Limit-Setting: Attitudinal Conditions Limit-Setting Model (ACLM)
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
Therapeutic limit-setting is a complex yet critical skill for child-centered play therapists. Limit-setting models and professional discussions exist in the literature, and each is grounded in person-centered and child-centered theory. However, the existing literature does not explicitly tie all of Rogers’s (1957) 6 conditions to the concept of limit-setting. The attitudinal conditions limit-setting model (ACLM) builds on existing literature by providing a 3-part model to help play therapists make limit-setting decisions based on the attitudinal conditions of congruence, empathy, and unconditional positive regard. The model is designed to support critical reflection and intentionality in the limit-setting process and to facilitate provision of the attitudinal conditions within critical relational moments in play therapy. A case example is provided to illustrate the ACLM in practice.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Investigating Group Adlerian Play Therapy for Children with Disruptive Behaviors: A Single Case Research Design
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
Children with disruptive behaviors have an increased risk of ongoing and more severe problems throughout life. Early intervention can mitigate these consequences. We used a single-case design to research the impact of Adlerian group play therapy on children’s disruptive classroom behaviors. Results were mixed, with an overall improvement in children’s behaviors over the course of the study. Detailed results, implications, limitations, and suggestions for future studies are described.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Child-Centered Play Therapy as a Means of Healing Children Exposed to Domestic Violence
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
Increasingly, domestic violence is being recognized as a major concern for children today. Hamby, Finkelhor, Turner, and Ormrod (2011) of the U.S. Department of Justice discovered that approximately 8.2 million children were exposed to some form of family violence in the past year and 18.8 million over their lifetime as reported by a national survey. Witnessing physical as well as psychological–emotional violence within the family can cause serious detrimental effects to children. Younger children respond to domestic violence by having higher levels of psychological disturbance and display lower self-esteem than do older children. Likewise, other issues related to mental and physical health may manifest. Additionally, child witnesses of familial violence are taught to maintain the secret of violence; therefore, alternative forms to verbal expression are important in supporting this population. It is imperative that these child witnesses receive interventions that are developmentally appropriate and meet their unique needs. Play therapy has been proven to be a statistically effective means of treating externalizing and internalizing problems in children. Therefore it is proposed that child-centered play therapy interventions be applied when working with children exposed to domestic violence.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Child Teacher Relationship Training as a Head Start Early Mental Health Intervention for Children Exhibiting Disruptive Behavior
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
Head Start teachers and their aides (n = 23) were randomly assigned to either the experimental or active control group in this exploratory study of the effectiveness of child–teacher relationship training (CTRT) on 20 economically disadvantaged children exhibiting disruptive behavior. CTRT is based on the principles and procedures of child–parent relationship training (CPRT), a 10-session play based model, which uses parents and caregivers as therapeutic agents of change. Analysis of pre- to mid- to post-tests results revealed that, when compared to the active control group, CTRT demonstrated a large treatment effect on reducing children’s levels of disruptive behavior. The statistical, practical, and clinical findings of this study provide validation of CTRT as a viable early mental health intervention for preschool children in Head Start exhibiting disruptive behaviors.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Turning the Focus to Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Well-Being: The Impact of Child-Centered Play Therapy
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
This study evaluated the impact of participating in child-centered play therapy for qualifying diverse second-grade students, implemented through the Primary Mental Health Project treatment protocol. This preventative approach focuses on the behavioral, emotional, and social skills of children through child-centered play therapy.Second-grade students at 1 elementary school were assessed by their teachers for 4types of behaviors: task orientation, behavior control, assertiveness, and peer/social skills. Results demonstrated significant improvement in all 4 areas assessed for students who qualified for and received services over the course of 1 academic year. Findings suggest that child-centered play therapy is an effective preventative approach for students who are at risk for developing adverse behaviors that could negatively impact their academic success. Implications and the importance of providing preventative intervention for at-risk children are discussed.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
Religious Faith in Play Therapy
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
Religious faith is a recognized healing component in children’s mental health. How-ever, no research has been conducted on religious faith in play therapy. The aim of this survey was to identify play therapists’ awareness, knowledge, and skills related to religious faith in play therapy. Results of 308 registered play therapists (RPT) or RPT supervisors participating in the study showed that 82% endorsed religious faith or spiritual belief as being central to their own identity, 75% agreed that children have spiritual awareness, 88% reported confidence in identifying their clients’ religious beliefs, and 88% reported confidence in responding to children’s questions about God in a way that honors their religion. Themes of positive and negative displays of religious faith were identified. Findings are discussed.
Play Therapy Primary Areas:
