Thesis (MSD (Play Therapy))--Universiteit van Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.(Psychotherapy))--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 188-205).

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy is a probably efficacious, evidenced-based treatment, which has been proven to decrease problem behaviors of children, as well as improve parent-child interactions. The first phase is the Child-Directed Interaction (CDI), which allows the child to lead the play session, while parents are taught to interact without giving demands, asking questions, or providing criticism. According to the DSM-IV-TR, Reactive Attachment Disorder is a rare diagnosis. Many attachment therapists indicate that traditional approaches to treatment have not been demonstrated as being effective with these children. This study will examine the CDI phase of Parent- Child Interaction Therapy as a potential treatment option for children diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder.

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

Sexual abuse causes incalculable damage to the life of the sexually abused person on all levels: emotional, spiritual and physical. God included children in His covenant with mankind. Jesus always gave a special place to children during his time on earth. Current statistics are shocking: One in every four girls and one in every six boys are being sexually abused. Considering that up to 43 children are raped each day in South Africa, it has to be acknowledged that sexual abuse in South Africa is reaching epidemic proportions. The spiritual/religious results of sexual abuse show that pastoral care is essential in the healing process. Traumatised children themselves express the need for this problem to be addressed pastorally. Children acknowledged that the problem of sexual abuse influenced their relationships with God. Every child also expressed a need for spiritual growth and spiritual knowledge. The most effective method of helping seems to be an eclectic approach. On the one hand it is important to take note of contributions from other sciences surrounding play therapy, which could be used effectively in the helping process. On the other hand pastoral guidelines should be fully utilised and adhered to. The solution thus lies in a holistic approach where attention is given to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the child. From the empirical data that was collected it is clear that a combination of pastoral care and play therapy is very effective. The uniqueness of this combination centres on the fact that God, the great Healer, works in a restorative and healing fashion in the lives of children through something that comes completely naturally to them, namely play. / Thesis (M.A. (Practical Theology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

A multiple case study approach was employed in this intensive thematic analysis of the process of nondirective play therapy. Using a naturalistic research paradigm, this study undertook to identify and describe the principal verbal and play themes and their transformations emergent over a course of play therapy, as well as to identify and describe similarities and differences between the themes emergent in those two domains. Play and verbalization, two types of symbolic expression, were considered routes of access to the child’s evolution of personal meaning. The research participants in this multiple case study were 4 preschoolers, aged 3 to 4. Each participant received 20 weekly play therapy sessions which were videotaped and transcribed. Running notations were made on the verbatim transcripts as to participants’ play activities. Separate coding schemes were devised for the emergent play and verbal themes. Supplemental data collection, organization, and analysis procedures included a field notebook with post hoc descriptions of the sessions, session summary sheets profiling play and verbal themes, charts, and memos. This study, discovery-oriented and exploratory in nature, yielded rich descriptions of the intricacies of therapeutic change on two symbolic levels. From these descriptions were extracted not only information on the transformations in play and verbal themes but also an understanding of the qualitative changes which denote the phases of therapy, and insight into the process of evolving meaning across these phases. A central finding of this study was that the arrays of play and verbal themes and their patterns of transformations were highly individualized. However, a number of themes emerged in common to all cases: Exploration, Aggression, Messing, Distress, and Caregiving or Nurturance. Participants were observed to work through contrasting themes, with preschoolers’ therapy characterized as an active struggle with such intense, oppositional forces as birth and death, injury and recovery, loss and retrieval. Typical thematic transformations included movement from infantile vulnerability to mastery, from grief toward resolution, from fear to safety and protection. The beginning phase of therapy was found to be typified by exploratory play. The middle phase was typified by intensified involvement in play and by experiences of disinhibition. The end phase was characterized by two contrasting yet not mutually exclusive tendencies, namely, the introduction of a sense of hopefulness, confidence, and integration; and an improved capacity to deal with difficult psychological material. Entry into the middle and end phases was signalled by qualitative shifts in the child’s attentional, tensional, or relational state. The theoretical implications of this study included insight into the critical role of the child’s initiative and of the therapist’s permissiveness in the unfolding of symbolic expression. Each individual case contained specific theoretical implications for such classic problem and treatment phenomena as developmental delay and play disruptions. The practical implications of this study include emphasizing the need for practitioners to counterbalance attention to the child’s verbal expression with attention to transformations in play activity and play material usage. It is suggested that further research extend the ramifications of this exploratory study by examining the themes occurring in treatment within homogeneous populations according to problem configuration.

Tyrimo tikslas - nustatyti vaikų emocinių ir elgesio sunkumų kitimo ypatumus, taikant individualią Adlerietišką žaidimų terapiją. Tyrime dalyvavo 22 šešerių - vienuolikos metų amžiaus vaikai (13 berniukų ir 9 mergaitės), kuriems buvo taikoma Adlerietiška žaidimų terapija dėl elgesio ar emocinių sunkumų, kuriuos nurodė tėvai. Trylikai vaikų (t.y. 59 proc. vaikų) žaidimų terapija buvo taikoma mokykloje, kurioje jie mokosi (mokytojų ar tėvų, globėjų prašymu), likusiems devyniems, t.y. 41 proc., (žr. 1 pav.) – psichoterapiniame centre (visi interesantai, šiuo atveju, buvo tėvai). Tiriamieji dalyvavo individualios žaidimų terapijos užsiėmimuose, kurių trukmė variavo nuo 6 iki 42 užsiėmimų. Užsiėmimai vykdavo kartą per savaitę, sutartu laiku, neskaitant atostogų ar ypatingų atvejų, dėl kurių tiriamasis į terapinius užsiėmimus atvykti negalėdavo. Kiekvieno žaidimų terapijos užsiėmimo trukmė – 50 min. individualaus darbo su vaiku. Užsiėmimai buvo vedami remiantis A.Adler teoriniais principais: pagarba vaikui, šilti ir draugiški santykiai, vaiko jausmų pripažinimas ir jų atspindėjimas tokiu būdu, kad tai padėtų vaikui suprasti save ir aplinkinį pasaulį, vadovavimo žaidimui nebuvimas, apribojimų, kurie reikalingi susieti žaidimų kambarį su realiu pasauliu, sukūrimas. Terapijos pradžioje ir pabaigoje vaikų tėvų buvo prašoma užpildyti klausimynus apie vaikų nusiskundimus. Terapijos metu terapeutas įvertindavo vaiko stipriąsias puses (bendrumo jausmą, savęs reikšmingumą, kompetencijos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of the study was to assess the variation of children’s emotional and behavioral problems after participating in individual Play Therapy. The subjects of the study were 22 children who have participated in Adlerian individual Play Therapy, aged 6-11 years old. For thirteen children (59%) an Adlerian Play Therapy was held in their school (on parents, foster-parents or teachers application), while nine children (41%) used to attend play therapy in a Psychotherapy Center (on parents application). The clients were attending Play Therapy for minimum 6 and maximum 42 sessions. Play Therapy was held every once a week, except the occasions when it was a holiday or some other serious reasons for client to miss a session. Each session lasted for 50 minutes. The therapeutic work was based on A. Adler Theory principles: respect for a child, warm and friendly relationship with a child, reflections upon child’s feelings in a way he could understand, set up only the necessary limits, letting the child to link the play room with the real world. In the beginning as well as at the end of the play therapy children’s parents were asked to fulfill the questionnaires about the child’s health problems. Meanwhile the specialist fulfilled the questionnaire about the child’s inner strengths. The results of the study showed that a play therapy had a positive coherence with children’s emotional and behavioral problems variations. Hyperactivity / impulsivity problems in the end of a play... [to full text]

Abstract Background: World Health Organization highlights an increasing world-wide problem regarding mental ill health, disorders and difficulties among children and adolescent. Research has found that health-related impairments do not only affect the children suffering from it, but their parents as well who report negative influences on their own health and burdens of different kinds. Play therapy is suitable when treating children with mental ill health, disorders and difficulties. To improve the parents´ health as well, there is a need for research looking into which kinds of interventions that is beneficial for both children and their parents. Purpose: The aim with this study was to investigate whether children´s participation in play therapy also could be beneficial for their parent´s perceived health. It was also of interest to investigate if these parents experienced the intervention as stress-reducing and social support increasing. Method: Four parents whose children had been treated or were currently treated in play therapy participated in an individual, semi-structured interview. The collected material was processed through a thematic analysis and interpreted based on the Theory of social support. Result: Four out of four participants considered themselves at better perceived health since the child´s participation in play therapy. All participants also experienced a stress-reducing effect and three out of four considered the intervention as considerably social support increasing.

Sexual abuse causes incalculable damage to the life of the sexually abused person on all levels: emotional, spiritual and physical. God included children in His covenant with mankind. Jesus always gave a special place to children during his time on earth. Current statistics are shocking: One in every four girls and one in every six boys are being sexually abused. Considering that up to 43 children are raped each day in South Africa, it has to be acknowledged that sexual abuse in South Africa is reaching epidemic proportions. The spiritual/religious results of sexual abuse show that pastoral care is essential in the healing process. Traumatised children themselves express the need for this problem to be addressed pastorally. Children acknowledged that the problem of sexual abuse influenced their relationships with God. Every child also expressed a need for spiritual growth and spiritual knowledge. The most effective method of helping seems to be an eclectic approach. On the one hand it is important to take note of contributions from other sciences surrounding play therapy, which could be used effectively in the helping process. On the other hand pastoral guidelines should be fully utilised and adhered to. The solution thus lies in a holistic approach where attention is given to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of the child. From the empirical data that was collected it is clear that a combination of pastoral care and play therapy is very effective. The uniqueness of this combination centres on the fact that God, the great Healer, works in a restorative and healing fashion in the lives of children through something that comes completely naturally to them, namely play. / Thesis (M.A. (Practical Theology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Thesis (M. Ed.(Educational psychology))-University of Pretoria, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-114) Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.