International Journal of Play Therapy

Teacher professional development training: Utilizing child-centered play therapy skills in the classroom.
Research shows that a positive relationship between student and teacher has significant positive effects on students’ socioemotional and behavioral health (Ansari et al., 2020; Chen & Lindo, 2017; Rucinski et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2016). Research also supports the efficacy of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) to address children’s socioemotional and behavioral issues in schools, including CCPT-based interventions like filial therapy and child–teacher relationship training, delivered by teachers, and paraprofessionals (Bratton et al., 2005; Van Fleet, 2013). CCPT or child–teacher relationship training is not always available for teachers and paraprofessionals, especially in economically disadvantaged or rural areas, so researchers and practitioners have developed brief forms of training. Using a pretest, posttest design, we examined the efficacy of a 1-day child–teacher relationship training for 34 preschool teachers and paraprofessionals. We evaluated the impact of the brief training on participants’ scores on the Play Therapy Attitude-Knowledge-Skills Survey (S. C. Kao & Landreth, 1997) by conducting a paired-sample t test, finding statistically significant improvement and a large effect size for scores on each subscale after participants completed the training. We discuss limits of this pilot study and implications for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Correction to Hartwig and Pliske (2023).
Reports an error in "Are you and your dog competent? Integrating animal-assisted play therapy competencies" by Elizabeth Kjellstrand Hartwig and Michelle M. Pliske (International Journal of Play Therapy, 2023[Jul], Vol 32[3], 146-155). There was an error in the paraphrasing of the third sentence of the “Service Animals” subsection under “Types of Assistance Animals” whereby the text “Service animals receive a great deal of training and must pass the Public Access Test (International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, 2021)” should have read “The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (2021) developed Minimum Training Standards for Public Access for assistance animals, such as service animals.” The online version of this article has been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2023-84654-001.) Animals routinely join play therapists in their playrooms. These encounters are often occurring with no specific structured competencies within the field to guide ethical practice standards. There is precedent for play therapy practitioners providing clinical care to do so within their scope of practice. Without clear competencies guiding the integration of play therapy and animal-assisted services, play therapists are grappling with what to do and how to navigate the complex skills of attending to animal welfare, human–animal interaction, animal behavior management, zoonotic infection control, and incorporating clinical skills into animal-assisted sessions with children. The purpose of this article is to explore the integration of animal-assisted and play therapy competencies to promote the ethical practice of animal-assisted play therapy (AAPT). This article provides an overview of animal-assisted intervention terms and research, types of assistance animals, and ethics related to developing competence. The authors provide an in-depth review of animal-assisted counseling competencies and how they connect to play therapy competencies, equipping play therapists with knowledge of current standards in the field and considerations for choosing animal-assisted training programs. This article lays a foundation for AAPT competencies to guide standards for registered play therapists to safely and ethically incorporate AAPT into clinical practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Online child–parent relationship therapy in Hong Kong during COVID-19: Results of a pilot study.
Beginning in the year 2020, Hong Kong schools and playgrounds closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic so parents stayed at home with their children every day. The resulting stress increased parent–child tensions and children’s behavior problems. Parents needed innovative methods to enhance their relationships with their children. In this quantitative and qualitative pilot research study, 16 Hong Kong play therapists provided an online version of Child–Parent Relationship Therapy (CPRT) to 158 Hong Kong parents with low income who had children ages 6–8 years. Paired-samples t tests showed a statistically significant increase with medium effect size in parents’ Portal Parental Acceptance Scale total score and subscales for Respect for the Child’s Feelings and Need for Independence and Autonomy, but not subscales for Appreciation of the Child’s Uniqueness and Unconditional Love. Quantitative survey results indicate that participants perceived CPRT as helpful to their parenting skills and their children’s behavior. Qualitative survey results show participants believed CPRT had numerous other benefits. The authors discuss results and implications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
A qualitative examination of play therapy and mindfulness interventions with youth with autism spectrum disorder.
This project contributes findings to the existing body of literature on play therapy and mindfulness interventions for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is very limited research conducted on mental health clinicians who provide these interventions for children in a therapeutic setting, such as Registered Play Therapists (RPTs) from the Association for Play Therapy (APT). Thus, the present study qualitatively examined the experiences of seven clinicians who are RPTs from APT. By interviewing clinicians from APT, it was hypothesized that improvements in youths’ social, emotional, and behavioral functioning will be observed when play and mindfulness interventions are utilized. Participants have been practicing as an RPT for at least one and a half years treating youth with ASD, with a minimum of eight children or adolescents with ASD, as a means to establish a baseline for expertise. The data collected through responses to 12 semistructured interview questions and six follow-up questions were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Overall, the analysis revealed eight master themes that occurred across transcripts in varying frequencies. Participants demonstrated a shared understanding of play therapy and mindfulness, utilized an integrative treatment approach, have multiple treatment targets, and reported various benefits of play therapy and mindfulness. Additionally, participants expressed training and research needs, have an approach to developmental concerns, and have emphasized play as being essential. There were also subordinate-specific themes that emerged from three of the master themes. Last, the analysis revealed nine universal specific themes, indicating that all seven protocols endorsed the underlying notion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Qualitative exploration of the duality of mothers who are play therapists: A feminist perspective.
Women and mothers experience challenges and stressors within the workforce (Williams, 2001) and balance multiple roles and responsibilities within both identities as an employee and mother (Buzzanell et al., 2005; Spitzmueller & Matthews, 2016). Play therapists are unique in that their work centers on working with children, which can create unique role dichotomies and diffusions, and yet research rarely explores the interacting roles of mother and play therapist. Through qualitative analysis, this project explores four play therapists who are mothers and the challenges, benefits, and experiences they encounter in both roles. Implications for play therapy and play therapy training included. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Outdoor child-centered play therapy: A pilot study on outcomes.
Children experience a multitude of benefits in response to interactions with nature. Despite documented effects, children have increasingly spent less time outdoors over the past century and experienced higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses. Although child-centered play therapy (CCPT) is a culturally and developmentally responsive mental health treatment for children, researchers have limited study of environmental structure and materials employed in the therapeutic process of CCPT. In this study, the researcher sought to further research on the integration of nature with CCPT by providing CCPT in an outdoor, contained playroom equipped with traditional CCPT toys and additional nature materials. Participants were 13 children in the southwestern United States with parent-reported attentional or self-regulation concerns (nine males, six females; ages 5–10, M = 8). Parents reported participants’ racial identities were 13% Black (n = 2), 13% Latinx (n = 2), 7% Turkish (n = 1), and 67% White (n = 10). Participants received 8 weeks of twice-weekly CCPT in an outdoor playroom. Results of two repeated-measures analysis of variances revealed statistically significant improvement in attention on the Brown Executive Function/Attention Scales and in social–emotional competencies on the Social Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales–Parent. Results of this study illustrate the possible benefits of theoretically integrating CCPT and nature and the clinical impacts the novel approach could have on children’s attention and social–emotional competencies. The study also provided insight into the viability of providing an outdoor CCPT intervention at a larger scale and some problems that may arise in creating and maintaining an outdoor playroom. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

International Journal of Play Therapy - Vol 33, Iss 1