Literature in the area of play was surveyed, summarized, and organized. The historical approach was used for the collection of data for this study. Materials gathered were acquired through the sources provided by library services as well as current authorities in the field of play therapy. As the material was collected, the focus areas or sections began to naturally develop because of the commonality of the articles. The material found was divided into theory, approach, position, and research. The material found on theory and approach was organized into Chapter II. The material found on position and research was organized into Chapter III. Body movements of both child and therapist offer much research possibility. Since most of the child's language is nonverbal, it is critical that persons develop ways of evaluating and identifying his body signals. Research is needed on the potential use of every toy which is included in the playroom. Research is needed on the potential potency and effect of every type limit set within the play therapy process. Research is needed on the effect of the therapist on the process. Research is needed in reference to training models for the development of play therapy skills in professionals, paraprofessionals, and parents.

The problem of this study was an attempt to appraise critically the effectiveness of client-centered play therapy as a counseling technique. In order to ascertain the effects of client-centered play therapy with children who have emotional problems, learning difficulties, and behavior problems, this study was conducted.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of child-centered play therapy on children of Piaget's preoperational and concrete operations developmental stages. Piaget's assertions about the contributions of play to cognitive, affective, and social development have provided a basis for the theoretical rationale for the use of play as a therapeutic intervention. The impact of child-centered play therapy was measured by a decrease in parent-child relationship stress as measured by scores on the Child Domain, Parent Domain, and Total Stress Score of the Parenting Stress Index. This study utilized a three wave repeated measures ANOVA design to analyze the impact of child-centered play therapy on children between the ages of 3-8 who received 19-23 individual child-centered play therapy sessions. A pretest, approximate midpoint, and posttest administration was collected for use in the analysis. The population study comprised 24 children referred to the Child and Family Resource Clinic on the University of North Texas campus. Participating children were divided into two treatment groups based on their age at the time of treatment. The preoperational development treatment group consisted of 12 children aged of 3-6 years and the concrete operations development treatment group consisted of children aged 7-8 years. Nine hypotheses were tested using three wave repeated measures ANOVA and eta squared. The results of this study tentatively support the impact of child-centered play therapy with children of both the preoperational and concrete operations developmental stages. The data indicates a statistically significant difference in the impact of child-centered play therapy for children of different developmental stages.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Nursing Studies / Master / Master of Nursing

The problem as presented in this study constituted a proposed "preventive program" using a group play therapy approach which could be implemented by an educational system.

The primary problem of this thesis is to determine the effect of a modified, structured, and basically non-permissive play therapy program upon the intellectual, social, and behavioral level of a group of profoundly and severely retarded children.

I used singlecase A-B-A experimental design to examine the effectiveness of Adlerian play therapy (AdPT) for children identified with clinical levels of perfectionism on the Conners Parent Rating Scale-Revised and Conners Teacher Rating Scale-Revised. Participants were 2 children, a 10 year-old Hispanic male and a 7 year-old Caucasian female. To examine the effect of AdPT on maladaptive perfectionism and anxiety, the Child-Adolescent Perfectionism Scale and the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale were administered to the children twice weekly over 3 phases of the study: baseline (6 administrations), intervention (12-16 administrations), and maintenance (6 administrations) for a total of 24 to 29 data points. Additionally, parents and teachers completed the Conners Rating Scales-Revised5 times: (1) prior to study, (2) following baseline/prior to treatment, (3) midpoint of treatment, (4) following treatment, and (5) following maintenance phase.During the intervention phase, the male and female participants attended 21 and 16 play therapy sessions, their mothers attended 6 and 5 parent consultations, and their teachers attended 6 and 3 teacher consultations, respectively. Analysis of the child self-report assessments indicated mixed and inconclusive results regarding the effects of AdPT on target behaviors. However, results of the parent and teacher reports indicated clinically significant reductionsin maladaptive perfectionism and anxiety over the five points of measurement for both participants. The participants’ maladaptive perfectionism moved from the clinical to the normal range. Implications for practice and future research are indicated.

The Association for Play Therapy (2009) promotes play therapists’ awareness of personal cultural identity, obtaining continuous cultural knowledge, and displaying culturally appropriate practices. Play therapy research includes studies on working with specific culturally diverse populations. Founding play therapists, such as Virginia Axline, have made suggestions for toys that should be included in the therapist’s playroom. This exploratory survey inquired about play therapists’ perceptions of culturally sensitive play therapy, materials used, and perceived barriers to implementing culturally sensitive play therapy. Members of the Association of Play Therapy with at least master’s degree (n=385) reported on their ability to incorporate culturally sensitive materials into their playroom, most commonly arts and crafts materials. Participants noted less often the use of culturally sensitive board games and culturally sensitive dress up clothes, making them the least commonly used. Play therapists reported encountering barriers to implementing culturally sensitive materials, such as costs, availability, and space. Having space, specifically a designed play therapy room, was significantly related to the use or availability of culturally sensitive items, such as dramatic play materials, dollhouse and/or materials, and sand tray materials. Additionally, an individual’s status as a registered play therapist was related to the use of a dollhouse and/or materials. Some play therapists were able to overcome barriers through education, personally purchasing materials, and networking. Overall, the play therapist’s ethnicity, education and licensure type did not relate to their use of culturally sensitive play therapy materials. Play therapists could benefit from training on how to locate, incorporate, and use costs effective culturally sensitive materials. It was clear that play therapists valued continuing education and kept current on play therapy recommendations, indicating that those forums would be the most beneficial avenue to offer information on culturally sensitive material.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.