Transcript Child-Centered Play Therapy - Ashley Altman's School

Play Therapy
It’s place in the Counseling Office
History of Play Therapy
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Sigmund Freud first used PT in 1909
Carl Rogers introduced person-centered theory
Virginia Axline-created non-directive play therapy
Current definition
(Association of Play Therapy, 2008)
"the systematic use of a theoretical model to establish an interpersonal process wherein
trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve
psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development."
What is Child-Centered Play
Therapy
• Restate what the child says (if anything)
• Reflect feeling and content
• Set limits in the playroom that prohibit the
student from hurting self, you, or materials
• Emphasis on the child and the natural way
that a child can work out an issue
Techniques: Tracking
• The counselor is an
observer
• The counselor restates
what the child is doing
without adding negative or
positive statements
• Children are allowed to
process on their own
without counselor
interpretation
Experiential Activity with
Tracking and Reflection
• What did you notice
from the client’s play?
• What themes can you
draw from it?
• What would you write in
notes about the child?
Directive Play Therapy
• Directive = Counselor leads or guides session
• Creative activities are used to guide counseling
sessions in order to gauge the thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors of the client
• Goal oriented
• Allows for specific evidence of change and growth
in the child
Techniques: Cognitive Behavioral Play
Therapy
• The emphasis is on developing
new, more adaptive thoughts and
behaviors
• The counselor uses techniques
to guide student in using more
helpful coping strategies to deal
with problems
• Pairs concrete examples with
abstract ideas and emotions
Experiential Activity: Weights and
Balloons
• How did the activity help
explain the thoughtfeeling connection?
• For which developmental
levels is this appropriate?
• How can this activity help
the counselor/student
with goal setting?
Applying play into your Counseling
• Play, art, story-telling, and music can be integrated with
multiple theoretical approaches
• Play can be used as a medium within a counseling session
to bring ease to any aged child
• Middle and high school students may even long for a
modality of expression other than spoken language
• Direct questions do not always produce direct responses
Who is using Play Therapy
• In 2005, 105 counseling graduate programs in the US
offered at least one course in play therapy
• In 2005, 978 school counselors from ACA and APT
were surveyed about their theoretical background and
66.6% responded child-centered with cognitive
behavioral in second at 9.2%
– Of those responding to the survey, the average number of
graduate courses taken in Play Therapy was 1.5
Who is using Play Therapy
• Elementary school counselors were survey about
opinions of Play Therapy (381 School Counselors)
– 97% of the school counselors believed that play was the
natural language of a child
– In a qualitative section responders indicated that
limitations to using Play Therapy in schools included lack
of time with students and lack of training (2005)
Efficacy of Play Therapy
• Kranz, Rameriz, Flores-Torres, Steele, &
Lund (2005) used games and art to create
comfort in migrant children
• Baggerly and Parker (2005) used CCPT with
22 African American males
Efficacy of Play Therapy
• Kot, Landreth, and Giordano(1998)
experimentally studied a group of children
who were all witnessing domestic violence in
the home
• Post (1999) studied 168 children that were
considered at-risk based on poverty, low
achievement, special education label, or mobility in
the home
Final Thoughts
• Play therapy allows children to process and
proceed at their own pace
• Developmentally appropriate
• Works with culturally diverse children, labeled
children, and those experiencing trauma
• Graduate students should be aware of and trained
in play therapy to face the needs they will encounter
in the school system
Resources
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Association of Play Therapy (n.d.). About Play Therapy Overview. Retrieved May 15,
2008 from http://www.a4pt.org/ps.playtherapy.cfm
Baggerly, J., & Parker, M. (2005). Child-centered group play therapy with African
American boys at the elementary school level. Journal of Counseling and Development
83(4), 387-397.
Dougherty, J. & Ray, D.C. (2007). Differential impact of play therapy on developmental
levels of children. International Journal of Play Therapy, 16(1), 2-19.
de Rios, M. D. (1997). Magical realism: A cultural intervention for traumatized Hispanic
children. Cultural Diversity & Mental Health, 3(3), 159-170.
Fall, M. (1994). Physical and emotional expression: A combination approach for working
with children in the small areas of a school counselor’s office. School Counselor, 42(1),
73-77.
Fall, M., Balvanz, J., Johnson, L., & Nelson, L. (1999). A play therapy intervention and its
relationship to self-efficacy and learning behaviors. Professional School Counseling, 2(3),
194-204.
Resources
• Gil, E. (1994). Play in family therapy. New York: Guilford.
• Johnson, L., Mcleod, E.H., & Fall, M. (1997). Play therapy with labeled
children in the schools. Professional School Counseling, 1(1), 31-34.
• Kottman, T. (2001). Play therapy: Basics and beyond. Alexandria, VA:
American Counseling Association.
• Lambert, S.F., LeBlanc, M., Mullen, J.A., Ray, D., Baggerly, J., White, J.,
& Kaplan, D. (2005). Learning more about those who play in session:
The national play therapy in counseling practices project. International
Journal of Play Therapy, 14(2), 7-24.
• Landreth, G. L. (1991). Play therapy: The art of the relationship. Muncie,
IN: Accelerated Development.
Resources
• Post, P. (1999) Impact of child-centered play therapy on the self-esteem,
locus of control, and anxiety of at-risk 4th-, 5th-, and 6th grade students.
International Journal of Play Therapy, 8, 1-18.
• Ray, D. C. (2006). Evidence-based play therapy. In Schaefer, C. E. &
Kaduson, H. G. (Ed), Contemporary play therapy: Theory, research, and
practice (pp.# 136- 157). New York: Guilford.
• Ray, D.C., Armstrong, S.A., Warren, E.S., & Balkin, R.S. (2005). Play
therapy practices among elementary school counselors. Professional
School Counseling, 8(4), 360-366.
• Shen, Y., & Sink, C.A. (2002). Helping elementary-age children cope with
disasters. School Counseling, 5(5).
Synder, B.A. (1997) Expressive art therapy techniques: Healing the soul
through creativity. Journal of Humanistic Education and Development,
32(2), 74-82.