How firm is our foundation? Current play therapy research.

Abstract

The present article examines play therapy research since Phillips's (1985) review. Play therapy's evidence base remains largely inadequate using specific scientific/ methodological criteria. The most compelling evidence for play therapy's effectiveness is found for children facing medical procedures, although alternative explanations of the same data cannot be disconfirmed. The present conclusions are considered relative to findings from recent meta-analyses of play therapy research. Suggestions are made for improving play therapy research as well as broad questions to guide such research.

Parent-child interaction therapy emotion development: a novel treatment for depression in preschool children

“…Psychotherapies designed for other mental disorders in preschool children are available, but have not been specifically tested or adapted for preschool depression. For example, Play Therapy is widely used with very young children; however, this approach is generally applied to a range of young child problems and empirical evidence demonstrating efficacy is lacking 8, 9. Other interventions, based upon cognitive or behavioral techniques, have also been widely used with young children for a variety of internalizing or externalizing problems.…”

Parent management training, relationships with agency staff, and child mental health: Urban foster parents' perspectives

“…They mentioned that their foster children’s therapists used individual child play therapy, a primarily psychodynamic modality that can be effective for certain childhood problems (Phillips, 2010), but which is not an established evidence-based intervention for behavior problems. To address their children’s disruptive behaviors, parents would benefit from services that have a behavioral component and directly involve parents in the child’s treatment.…”

Play Therapy Research: Issues for 21st Century Progress

“…This fusion makes it unclear whether therapeutic benefit is derived from the change agents postulated within the theory, the specific play techniques utilized, or the interaction between the standard methods and the play. As Phillips (2010) pointed out, the play therapy interventions are confounded with the theoretical base. Therefore, change models must also be articulated for each type of play-based treatment (e.g., child-centered, Adlerian, or cognitive behavioral).…”

“…As the authors articulated, a meta-analysis is only as strong as the individual studies that are included and submitted to the statistical procedures. It is difficult to draw conclusions from the meta-analytic findings without a coding system for study quality (Phillips, 2010). Baggerly and Bratton (2010) addressed this omission and acknowledged concerns related to study quality.…”