Play Therapy Research Paper

Play therapy: therapy in which emotionally disturbed children are encouraged to act out their fantasies and express their feeling through play, aided by a therapist interpretations. Not only children can unitized play therapy but also adults also can benefits from the effects of play. Because play is not just for children but for all humans. Play is a fundamental action that humans engaging, or at least should engage, in everyday. Since play leads to the emotions of happiness which makes people feel good. So main point play or play therapy can help stressed, burnout, play defiant and emotionally disturbed adults through these

Although play therapy is developmentally appropriate for children ages 3–11 years (Kottman, 2011); an examination of individual development is necessary to determine how the child is functioning (Ray, 2011).Apart from the mental or physical functioning of the children, the readiness to change and growth is also an essential part to be assessed by the therapist throughout the entire therapeutic process. In Rogers’ (1961, as cited in Wilkins, 2010) research on the readiness of clients in the therapy process, Rogers conceptualized a continuum. Concerning children in play therapy, they are usually referred by others; mostly the parents are the one who seek help voluntarily. Most involuntary children and preadolescents usually are not self-referred,

Haslam, D., Harris, S. (2011). Integrating Play and Family Therapy Methods: A Survey of Play

Clinical supervision plays a major role in the counseling profession and understanding how individuals prefer to have their sessions is a large contributor to how successful one is in their quest (VanderGast, Culbreth, & Flowers, 2010). While the counseling profession continues to grow the need for supervisors is on the rise. Several studies have shown that there is a greater need for the understanding of the supervisory process in all specialty areas (Bernard & Goodyear, 2004; Borders & Brown, 2005). Play therapy supervision is one of the specialty areas that could use some help with the understanding of supervision. Play therapy is now widely accepted in the field and is the natural form of communication of children. VanderGast recognized that there had been a shift in empirical studies in play therapy over the last 15 years. However, the lack of play therapy supervision research leaves much to be desired. This study opened the opportunity for professionals to consider changes in how supervision is provided to therapist who work with children in play

“Dibs in search of self” is a book written by Virginia Axline that offers a case study to describe the practice of child centered play therapy. Play therapy is a type of therapy for children, where they are able to self-heal through expressing and processing their experiences in a non-directive, natural, and uninhibited way. The book is centered on the struggles of a young boy named Dibs, who enters therapy with Dr. Axline, and begins his journey to establish his own identity, confidence, and self-acceptance. Throughout the book, Dr. Axline shows how play can be a therapeutic experience for a child because it offers a safe space and secure relationship between child and adult. It is a space where children are allowed to use play to communicate

During the baseline phase, both children displayed high rates of hyperactivity and irritability behaviors, however, these behaviors decreased after being exposed to CCPT. The percent of nonoverlapping data measured 100% for both areas, indicating that play therapy was effective at reducing both hyperactivity and irritability for both

Play is a way for children to learn about their environment and how interaction occurs within. It is through trial and error that children are able to create options; follow their own interests and show “independence in thought and actions” using their knowledge and understanding (Moyles, 2005, p.3). Children develop resilience though play. However for a number of children can experience stressful occurrences during their lives and play can often be restricted. Therefore the play worker’s role in supporting children’s play is a crucial measure towards children's development. For those that work with children require the dexterity to prompt and contribute to children’s play, which can be seen as a principle aspect of therapeutic alliance.

Play therapy was first established by Carl Rogers in 1942. According to the Association for Play Therapy Board (1997) Play therapy is the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein trained play therapist use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychological difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development (1997). The goal for play therapy is to be able to help provide a way for the children to express their feelings and experiences. There are two types of Play therapy that consist of Directive, and Non-directive. Non-directive play Therapy acknowledges and allows the child to direct the play. This technique has 5 different

Thank you for your feedback and questions. First, I think that it is great to practice what we are learning. Play therapy has many different uses and would be applicable with elementary students' developmental level. Secondly, I'm not with you and cannot observe you or even know how to fully use it myself yet, as we are all learning. I think we just need to keep practicing and using what works for our own style and be willing to try new things that work for the students as well. However, play therapy focuses on reducing symptoms and removing barriers to support students' development (Henderson & Thompson, 2011). Some goals that play therapy addresses include building self-confidence, learning about self and others, expressing and identifying feelings, encourage good decision making, practice responsibility or control, exploration of different views, and learning skills such as problem-solving or relationship skills (Henderson & Thompson, 2011).

The involvement of families in play therapy helps in maximizing the benefits and outcomes for children. VanFleet, &Sywulak (2010), argue that family involvement in play therapy has resulted in a significant reduction of mental health problems among preschool children who are at risk.

> The different types of play therapy techniques that were used. Such as, group play therapy, Person-centered play therapy, and group play therapy.

This is a treatise devoted to the dynamic psychotherapeutic treatment of children. In this therapy, talking and play are used to ameliorate disorders in adjustment.

There is great importance placed on the therapeutic relationship in both CCPT and Gestalt play therapy. The importance is that there is a need for true connection in order for a child to properly work on their inner self, growth, development or self-regulation. Virginia Axline made principles for CCPT therapists to go by in order to help assist therapist to create a good therapeutic relationship with their clients; after a time Gary Landreth revised and added more to make eight principles to be followed. A few of those principles are “1: The therapist is genuinely interested in the child and develops a warm, caring relationship. 2: The therapist experiences unqualified acceptance of the child and does not wish that the child were different in some way. And 3: The therapist creates a feeling of safety and permissiveness in the relationship so the child feels free to explore and express self completely” (OConnor & Braverman, 2009). When a CCPT therapist is nonjudgmental, kind, caring and permissive in their relationship with a child than that child is given more courage to look further into their real self. The relationship between therapist and child/client in CCPT is so important that if creating and sustaining the relationship is not done correctly the therapy may fail (OConnor & Braverman, 2009).

Owens, Granader and Baron-Cohen acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of school-based therapy versus clinical based therapy. While the school-based therapy is more adept to focusing on “theory of mind, eye contact and play with preferred toys” (Owens et al., 2008, p. 1945) due to the possibility of larger and more frequent group settings. Peer “therapists” can also be brought in as a play mentor and model. Sessions at a clinic tend to focus more on “social initiations and responses, emotion recognition and group problem solving” (Owens et al., 2008, p. 1945). One play-based method of therapy includes the use of LEGOs. Groups of three children are given specific jobs with the task of creating a designated project. Interest to complete the project is high due to the fact that many AS children enjoy LEGOs. They play centered around building appropriate social interactions, identifying verbal and nonverbal rules, solving problems creatively and working together to complete the task. Research found that those participating in the study were better able to generalize their learned skills when playing in other situations (Owens et al., 2008, p. 1945).

The primary aim of the gestalt play therapist is to help children become aware of their unique process. The focus is on the experience of the process, what children do and how they do it, which they are, what they feel and what they want. Acceptance of this leads to the realization that they can personally make choices and experiment with new behavior. Gestalt play therapy focuses on children’s direct experience in the here and now. The therapist’s goal is to facilitate the client’s awareness of their process. (Corey, 2000)