efficacy of child-centered group play therapy with pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children with speech difficulties as an intervention strategy for improving specific speech problems in the areas of articulation, receptive language, and expressive language. A second purpose was that of determining the efficacy of child-centered group play therapy in improving self-esteem, positive social interaction, and in decreasing anxiety and withdrawal behaviors among pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children with speech difficulties.The experimental group consisted of 11 children who received 25 group play therapy sessions one time a week in addition to their directive speech therapy sessions. The comparison group consisted of 10 children who received only their directive speech therapy sessions. The Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test -Revised, and theClinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals -3 were used to measure receptive and expressive language skills. The Burks' Behavior Rating Scale was used to measure symptoms of anxiety, withdrawal, poor self-esteem, and poor social skills as observed by parents and teachers.Twelve hypotheses were tested using ANCOVA and Eta Squared. Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a large practical significance in helping children improve their expressive language skills. Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a medium practical significance in increasing children's receptive language skills. Small sample size may have contributed to the lack of statistical significance as calculated by the analysis of covariance.Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a small yet positive impact upon children's articulation skills and anxiety. Although not significant at the .05 level, these results indicate a slightly larger increase in articulation skills and a slightly larger decrease in symptoms of anxiety among those children who received group play therapy as compared to those who did not. Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a mixed effect upon children's selfesteem, withdrawal behaviors, and positive social interactions.This study supports the use of child-centered group play therapy as an effective intervention strategy for children with speech difficulties to improve expressive and receptive language skill development.

Play therapists working with young children utilize a variety of developmentally appropriate methods in order to help children cope with unpredictable events. Although widely researched but lacking in generalized findings, one approach commonly used by therapists is doll play. A case study was conducted using five sessions of adaptive doll play with a five-year-old child experiencing separation anxiety. Clinging behaviors, crying, and requests by the child to call home to the parent while at school were all reported reduced after five weeks. The therapeutic script used in the study and clinical observations are outlined, as well as guidelines for practitioners to consider when conducting doll play sessions with young children in therapy.Implications for further research are also discussed.Today, the world seems to find itself in a state of rapid change. As adults have recently come to gain a sense that the security, economy, and political state of the United States can quickly shift from one moment to the next, there is hardly a chance to process one event before the next occurs. In the world of a child, such uncertainty can produce an even greater sense of bewilderment, especially for the young child who does not possess the developmental capacity to grasp events with any degree of abstraction. The child's world is concrete, visible, tactile, and of the present moment. When change occurs, children are left to re-organize Suzan Danger is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Counseling, Development, and Higher Education at the University of North Texas and a teacher at the International School of Hamburg. She may be contacted regarding questions about this article at the