Adaptive doll play: Helping children cope with change.

Abstract

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

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