Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed 7/16/2009). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 64-70).

Issued also as Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University. / Bibliography: p. 91-92.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--Acadia University, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 95-96). Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Directed by Novem Mason; submitted to the Dept. of Interior Architecture. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Sep. 3, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-91).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 243-280) Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-88). Also available via the Internet.

Child centred play therapy theory explains that the facilitative environment of the relationship between child and play therapist allows the child the opportunity to confront emotional pain imbedded in lived, relational experiences, and in so doing process and gain mastery over it. However very little research exists into how the child, through his use of repetitive, symbolic play, as a therapeutic process, achieves this resolution. This research project aims to address this gap in research by exploring and describing repetitive symbolic play as a therapeutic process within child centred play therapy that facilitates change in the child‟s sense of self, assisting him towards healthy adjustment. The research project uses a young boys‟ therapeutic process as a case study, employing a qualitative research design that draws from interpretative research. Fourteen repetitive play sequence themes were analysed within the context of the case formulation and follow-up feedback meetings that took place throughout the therapy process. Using a hermeneutic enquiry the researcher illustrates how the child‟s sense of self, dependent on his perceptions of his external environment, became far more congruent, as evident through his behaviour, when his environment, first in play therapy, then at home and at school became more consistent, supportive and nurturing. Within this facilitative environment the researcher then describes how the child used repetitive symbolic play to address and process emotional issues relating to earlier experiences within his external environment. Hermeneutic analysis suggests that the child‟s use of repetitive symbolic play within the facilitative relationship between him and his therapist became a therapeutic process in and of itself that contributed towards self-directed healing, and change within his sense of self, that promoted healthier adjustment within his environment.

The following is a study into the importance of "free play". Through interviews- and study into research in child psychology and different theories of interaction I aim to reach a conclusion as to whether the occurrence of "free play" has a fundamental importance in the development of the preschool child. Interviews have been formed to address the adult reflections in relation to play, and addresses the views and opinions as to what extent the adult should merely supervise or partake and thus steer the outcome of play. A question is also formed to determine the omni-importance of play. The interviews have been conducted with 6 adults responsible for children in pre-school institutions. The interviewees are employed at three separate locations. The study looks into several theoretical perspectives and thus also draws its conclusions from these. The perspectives and research are studied under method, and comparison of answers are noted in results and analysis. The most important outcome of the study is that all are in agreeance that play has a huge importance to the children's both physical and social development, thus enabling the child for future engagements in adulthood.

The present meta-analytic study estimated the overall effectiveness of child therapy interventions using CCPT methodology and explored the relationships between study characteristics and treatment effects. Fifty-two studies between 1995 and the present were included based on the following criteria: (a) the use of CCPT methodology, (b) the use of control or comparison repeated measure design, (c) the use of standardized psychometric assessment, and (d) clear reports of effect sizes or sufficient information for effect size calculation. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) techniques were utilized to estimate the overall effect size for the collected studies and explore relationships between effect sizes and study characteristics. Dependent variable included 239 effect sizes, and independent variables included 22 study characteristics. The mean age of all child participants in the collected studies was 6.7. In 15 studies, the majority of participants were Caucasian. An equal number of studies were made up of non-Caucasian participants, including 3 with majority African American, 4 with majority Hispanic/Latino participants, 5 with majority Asian/Asian American participants, and 3 with other ethnic populations. Study collection included 33 studies with majority of boys and 11 studies with majority of girls. HLM analysis estimated a statistically significant overall effect size of 0.47 for the collected studies (p < 0.001). This result indicated that the overall improvement from pre to post treatment demonstrated by children in experimental groups was approximately 1/2 standard deviation better than by children in control groups. A statistically significant amount (49.2%) of between-study variance was found (p < 0.001), indicating the heterogeneity among the 52 studies Statistically significant relationships were found between effect sizes and study characteristics including child age, child ethnicity, clinical level of referral, treatment integrity, presenting issue, source of data, population, and caregiver involvement. Effect size findings for CCPT and its moderators should be interpreted in light of the specific, and perhaps more rigorous statistical analysis method (HLM) and effect size calculation formula used for the present study, particularly in comparison to previous meta-analytic findings. Overall findings support CCPT's beneficial treatment effect. Specifically, CCPT can be considered a developmentally and culturally responsive effective mental health intervention across presenting issues.

In this study an attempt was firstly made to theoretically conceptualize autism as a phenomenon in Middle Childhood and the impact thereof on the family, as well as play techniques in the context of autism. The characteristics, behaviour and statistics of autism were looked at as well as the expectations of development of a child (with autism) in middle childhood. The impact of the diagnosis of autism, particularly on the family, was also discussed as well as play techniques in the context of autism. Secondly the researcher focused on exploring the nature of existing play technique programmes on a national and international level. The focus then was placed on developing a play technique programme for autistic children in middle childhood (between the ages of six and 12 years). This programme was then implemented with 12 autistic children in middle childhood at The Key School for Specialized Education in Parktown West, Johannesburg. Each of the 12 respondents were seen for six sessions, with each session lasting 30 minutes. The empirical results were then given through evaluating the play technique programme to assess the effectiveness of the play technique programme. Finally the researcher came to conclusions and recommendations, based on the research findings, regarding the effectiveness of the play technique programme for autistic children in order to enhance the impact of the play technique programme. The broad aim of the study was to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a play technique programme to enhance the social behaviour of autistic children between the ages of six and 12. The following hypothesis was developed: if autistic children are involved in the play technique programme, then their social behaviour will improve. Consequently, the following sub hypotheses were developed: (1) If autistic children are involved in the play technique programme then their verbal communication skills will improve; (2) If autistic children are involved in a play technique programme then their non-verbal communication skills will improve; (3) If autistic children are involved in a play technique programme then their social interaction skills will improve; (4) If autistic children are involved in a play technique programme then their challenging behaviours will decrease. In the context of applied research, intervention research was the most appropriate type of research for this particular study. This is due to the fact that the researcher aimed to conduct an intervention, namely a play technique programme, which was attempting to impact a particular problem within society, namely the lack of support provided for parents and/or professionals dealing with autistic children in middle childhood. The research approach used in the study was quantitative. The researcher utilized the one-group pretest-posttest design (i.e. quasi-experimental/associative design). In this particular design there is a measurement (pre-test) of a dependent variable (the autistic children’s social behaviour) when no independent variable (play technique programme) is present. Subsequently the independent variable is introduced, followed by a repeated measurement (posttest) of the dependent variable. The 12 respondents were selected through probability sampling, more specifically stratified and systematic sampling. A self-constructed measuring instrument was used, within structured observation, to evaluate the respondents’ changes in social behaviour, due to exposure to the various play techniques. The specific behaviours focused on included verbal communication, non-verbal communication, social interaction and challenging behaviours. The findings confirmed that the play technique programme had a highly significant effect on all four areas measured (verbal communication, non-verbal communication, social interaction and challenging behaviour). The respondents (the autistic children) therefore showed a marked improvement in their social behaviour due to being involved in the play technique programme and the conclusion that can be reached is that the play technique programme can be perceived as having had the impact that was hoped for. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted