Play Therapy in School Counseling

Abstract

Play therapy is an empirically supported intervention used to address a number of developmental issues faced in childhood. Through the natural language of play, children and adolescents communicate feelings, thoughts, and experiences. Schools provide an ideal setting for play therapy in many ways; however, several challenges exist in implementing play therapy as a preventative or responsive intervention in the school setting. This article presents a brief overview of play therapy as a component of a comprehensive developmental school counseling program. The authors present a case study outlining how child-centered play therapy as a theoretical approach to play therapy can be used to effectively work with a child experiencing emotional and academic issues in the school setting.

Application of Standardized Observation Form in School Counselling in Taiwan: Exploratory Study with Children Exhibiting Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Concerns

“…When a child is provided opportunity to express anger and hostile during play sessions, the child's negative feelings are being accepted and understood enabling the child to learn self-control (Moustakas, 1955). With limit setting, a child presenting externalizing behavioral concerns experiences different approaches to expressing feelings and behaviors that result in decreases in the child's oppositional behaviors (Trice-Black et al, 2013). The effectiveness of CCPT with externalizing behaviors has also been reported by previous researchers (Bratton et al, 2013;Cochran et al, 2011;Cochran, Cochran, Fuss, & Nordling, 2010;Ray et al, 2009;Schumann, 2010).…”

“…A body of literature has demonstrated the effectiveness of CCPT with children who exhibiting externalizing behavior concerns (Ray, Blanco, Sullivan, & Holliman, 2009;Schoemaker et al, 2013;Trice-Black, Bailey, & Riechel, 2013;Tsai & Ray, 2011). Children's expression of externalizing behavior may reveal inner conflict that is demonstrated outwardly.…”

Social–Behavioral Stories in the Kindergarten Classroom: An App-Based Counseling Intervention for Increasing Social Skills

“…SEL delivery that includes role-playing, uses interactive activities (Durlak et al, 2011), and engages students developmentally (Kramer et al, 2010) is considered crucial for social skill development. SOBE Stories also allowed kindergarteners to independently complete tasks with little adult intervention, a necessary step in learning how to cope with challenges and promoting empowerment (Trice-Black et al, 2013). Furthermore, educational technology that incorporates digital role-play allowing students to experiment, fail, and try core behaviors again in a low-stakes environment, as in SOBE Stories, is identified as a promising learning tool by technology and educational experts alike (Koivula et al, 2017;Turner et al, 2016).…”

Trauma Healing Based on Local Wisdom: Traditional Games to Reduce Students Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

“…Games have become an attempt in various studies to overcome psychological tension, one of which is post-traumatic anxiety (Morena, 2014;Trice-Black et al, 2013). Games have been used by various researchers to assist children in their development at school (Kamid et al, 2022;Syahrial et al, 2022).…”