This study piloted an online play-based parenting program informed by filial therapy, child parent relationship therapy, and interpersonal neurobiology during COVID-19. The purpose of this program evaluation was to explore its potential effectiveness in improving child behaviors, mindful parenting, parent-child relationship quality, and protective factors. This study used a mixed method design to gather quantitative data from standardized measures, and qualitative data from surveys. Parents of children 4 to 10 years old ( N = 11) participated in six weekly 1.5-hour sessions which included teaching a new skill, asking questions, offering support, and sharing video or descriptions about using play-based parenting skills at home. Quantitative results showed significant differences before to after program participation in mindful discipline in parenting and social support as a protective factor. Changes in child peer interactions (i.e. siblings, classmates) approached significance. There were no other significant differences. Qualitative findings suggested a positive impact of the program that supported quantitative results, and perhaps, expanded upon what was not captured by the quantitative measures in the area of parent-child relationships. While the results are limited by small sample size and low statistical power, these findings suggest some support for the updated online play-based parenting programs in meeting parenting needs during COVID-19. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Wisen-Vincent, G., & Bokoch, R. (2023). Effectiveness of the PlayStrong Neuro-Filial Parenting Program: A program evaluation of an online pilot during COVID-19. International Journal of Play Therapy, 32(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1037/pla0000186

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
  
• Skills & Methods
  
• Special Topics

Since 2015 over 25,000 looked after children have entered adoptive placements in England. Estimates suggest that 92% of these children entered care due to experiences aynonymous with the prodromal stages of developmental trauma. It is therefore critical for adoptive families to have access to successful post-adoption therapeutic support strategies that demonstrate efficacy in practice-based settings. Therefore, the current service evaluation aimed to evaluate the success of a brief Theraplay®-based neuro-collaborative therapeutic package focusing on reducing the trauma presentations in adoptive children within adoptive families. Between September 2017 and January 2019, the effectiveness of a ten week therapeutic intervention was evaluated utilising a within subject pretest-posttest design with 47 families. The intervention included one hour of family therapy based on the principles of Theraplay®, one hour of therapeutic re-parenting training for parents, and one hour of sensory integration and mindfulness activities for children. Therapeutic outcomes were measured using the TSCYC, CBCL, BRIEF-2, and ACC. Significant reductions in difficulties were reported in levels of anxiety, anger, post-traumatic stress arousal, sexual concerns, social problems, thought problems, inhibiting impulses, self-monitor, emotional control, behavioural regulation, and non-reciprocal interactions. This service evaluation suggests that the brief Theraplay®-based neuro-collaborative therapeutic package shows promise in reducing the behavioural presentations of developmental trauma in adopted children. The evaluation provides support and awareness for the use of neuro-collaborative Theraplay®-based interventions as post-adoption support strategies.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
  
• Skills & Method
  
• Special Topics
• Cultural and Social Diversity

To promote the credibility of play therapy and encourage the trend of practitioners utilizing evidence-based practices (EBPs), researchers are called to continue providing evidence and establishing fidelity within the leading approaches in the field. Past studies have identified Adlerian Play Therapy (AdPT) as one of the most widely used approaches (Lambert et al., 2007) as well as an EBP (SAMSHA, 2016). Through the use of qualitative video content analysis of 27 individual play therapy sessions, researchers created the instrument, the Adlerian Play Therapy Measurement Model (AdPTMM) to establish and evaluate fidelity of treatment.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories

Theraplay is a useful and effective form of play therapy to improve social-emotional assets and resilience in children with hearing loss. Hence, this study examined the effect of Group Theraplay (GT) on the social-emotional assets and resilience in these children. The participants were selected from a rehabilitation center for mothers and children with hearing loss in Isfahan, Iran. The participants were 27 children with hearing loss who were selected by the convenient sampling method. They were randomly assigned into the intervention (n = 12) and control (n = 15) groups. The intervention group received 10 GT sessions, once a week for two and a half months, while the waitlist control group did not receive this intervention. Mothers of children completed the Social-Emotional Assets and Resilience Scale for Preschool (SEARS-Pre) 2 times, at pre and post-test. Results revealed that GT significantly influenced social competence, self-regulation, responsibility, and empathy in children with hearing loss. Therefore, participants who received GT showed a significant increase in those social-emotional assets and resilience. The findings highlight the importance of GT training for social-emotional assets and resilience in children with hearing loss. Limitations, suggestions, and implications for future research are discussed.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Seminal / Historically Significant Theories
• Cultural and Social Diversity
• Special Topics

Often parents are unaware of play’s importance in children’s counseling (Brumfield & Christensen, 2011; Landreth et al., 2006). There is little research on parents’ knowledge of mental health services especially play therapy (Gallo et al., 2013; O’Connor & Langer, 2018). Literature supports the more knowledgeable parents are about mental health services, the more likely they are to take their children to therapy (e.g., Cunningham et al., 2008), and adults’ mental health literacy improves with information (e.g., Jorm, 2000). The literature revealed no research specific to play therapy literacy or the general adult public. The current study focuses on public’s perception of play therapy’s utility and whether play therapy information changes perceptions. Through Amazon Mechanical Turk, 298 participants completed a play therapy utility survey before and after receiving play therapy information. Prior to receiving information, participants believed play therapy to be useful. Initially, females indicated play therapy was more useful than male participants. The more knowledge of play therapy, the more useful the participant viewed it initially. Participants’ ratings of the utility of play therapy did increase significantly after viewing a brief educational video. The influence of the educational experience appeared to vary by race, education level, and self-reported initial awareness of play therapy. Results suggest White individuals and those who have never heard of play therapy will be most impacted by educational play therapy outreach.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

The authors conducted a meta-analysis exploring the effectiveness of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) approaches with children referred for disruptive behaviors across twenty-three between group studies ( N = 908). Separate meta-analytic procedures were conducted for studies that implemented wait-list/no treatment and alternative treatment comparisons to estimate the aggregated treatment effect of CCPT approaches. Results revealed medium Hedge’s g effect sizes for externalizing and overall problem behaviors compared to alternative treatment and waitlist controls, and small Hedge’s g effect sizes for aggressive behaviors. The authors explore the impact of CCPT on behavioral disruptions, implications for therapists, and ways in which therapists can utilize play therapy to meet the increasing rates of childhood behavioral disorders.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Skills and Methods
• Special Topics

The current study examined the effect of Filial Therapy (FT) on interaction of deaf mothers with their hearing children. Participants were recruited from association and center of deaf people in Isfahan, Iran. The participants were 30 deaf mothers and their hearing children who selected by convenient sampling method. They were randomly divided into the intervention and control groups and each group included 15 mothers and children. The intervention group received 11 FT weekly sessions for 3 months, while the control group did not receive the intervention. Mothers completed the Child- Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS) 2 times, at pre and posttest phases. Results of MANCOVA revealed that FT significantly influenced the interaction of mother-child scores, F (1, 29) = 42.69, p < 0.001. Accordingly, it can be suggested that interaction of deaf mothers with their hearing children was significantly increased following the FT intervention.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Skill and Methods
• Special Topics

This randomized repeated-measured active control group study examined the efficacy of Child-Teacher Relationship Training as a mental health intervention in rural Head Start programs with at-risk children. Experimental group child participants demonstrated statistically significant decreases in total problem behaviors when compared with active control group children. All child participants exhibited improvements in targeted behaviors with small-to-moderate treatment effects. The findings indicate that CTRT positively influences children’s problem behaviors with implications for rural mental health interventions.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Skills and Methods

Child bereavement is a difficult topic to explore and study because of stigmas in discussing death, and because of restrictions in doing research with young children.Thus, research in childhood bereavement is limited. This study focused on children who attended a bereavement camp after the traumatic loss of a loved one. The purpose was to understand the participants’ grief experiences. This research study used phenomenological inquiry and analysis methodology. Five female participants were interviewed for this study. In addition, participants created a sandtray world to convey their experiences at bereavement camp. The essence of participant’s experiences as revealed through verbal interviews was post traumatic growth. In addition, the essence of participant’s experiences as revealed through their sandtray worlds was gaining a sense of support. Results of this study extend bereavement research to include the experiences of children. Further, implications for professional counselors, counselor educators, and bereavement camps are emphasized.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics

Although Latino children represent about 25% of total enrollment in the elementary school setting across United States (Musu-Gillette et al., 2016), they continue to be underrepresented in receiving mental health services (Martinez, Arriola, & Corvin, 2016; Ojeda, Flores, Rosales, & Morales, 2011; Sixbey, An, & Puig, 2017). This is concerning given that Latino children face risk factors that puts them at-risk for socioemotional and academic problems (Vazsonyi & Pan Chen, 2010). In addition, there is a scarcity of research regarding the effectiveness of mental health interventions for Latinos (Ojeda et al.). Although play therapy has been supported as an effective intervention for Latino children and their parents (Ceballos & Bratton, 2010; Garza & Bratton, 2005), more research is needed to establish play therapy as an evidenced based treatment for this population (Ojeda et al.). Thus, this article provides practical guidelines for play therapy researchers to maximize recruitment efforts, minimize attrition rates, and address important cultural values within the research. Specifically, the authors address the impact of cultural values, the acculturation level, language challenges, considerations for participant recruitment, set up of the playroom, advocacy, and social justice when conducting research with Latino populations.

Play Therapy Primary Areas:

• Special Topics