Therapists’ Experiences of Play Therapy with Muslim Families in Western Countries: The Importance of Cultural Respect

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:

• Cultural and Social Diversity
• Special Topics