The Effect of Group Play Therapy on Social-Emotional Skills in Pre-School Children

Abstract

Background:Childhood is important and critical period in human life. The foundation of ego is shaped in childhood. Play therapy is one of the successful strategies to help children with inner conflicts problems. This method of psychotherapy is base on the normal learning processes of children, provides solutions to relieve feelings of stress, and expands self-expression. Group play therapy can enhance the self-awareness, self- regulation, social communication, empathy and adoptability in children.Methods:Present study investigated the effects of play therapy on relational and emotional skills of pre-school children. For this purpose, the total numbers of 372 pre-school children were randomly selected, and divided into two equal groups (case and control). In next step, the BUSSE-SR methodology was used for evaluation and comparison of self-awareness, self-regulation, social interaction, empathy, adoptability, and control groups. Pre-test were performed for both groups and case group was involved in-group play therapy. According to the results of post-test, correlation of variables between case-control groups was examined by multivariate analysis of covariance.Results:Frequency of boys and girls in our sample were 51.3 and 48.7 percent, respectively. The mean age of children was 5.1±0.6 year. According to the results of present study, play therapy significantly enhanced the social-emotional skills (P< 0.001). Our findings are consistent with the results of previous studies in other nations with different environmental and cultural properties. In conclusion, it seems that play therapy can be used in pre-school centers to help children learn problem-solving skills and communicate with others.

The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy on Self Esteem of Children With Intellectual Disability

“…Similarly, the results of the study by Baggerly (2004) showed that child-centered play therapy increases children's selfesteem. In addition, the results of this research are in line with studies that indicate play therapy to be influential in reducing the behavioral problems among children [20,21,33] and studies that show group play therapy improves children's social skills [15], as well as with studies revealing play therapy to increase children's self-esteem [16].…”

“…Baggerly (2004) concluded that child-centered play therapy increases self-esteem and leads to reduced anxiety and depression in homeless children [14]. Chinekesh et al (2015) showed in their study that group play therapy helps to enhance leadership skills and increase in social and emotional skills among preschoolers [15]. Hassani, Mirzaeian and Khalilian (2014) in their study to determine the efficacy of Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy (CBPT), reported decreased anxiety and increased self-esteem in children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) [16].…”

Group Adlerian Play Therapy With Children With Off-Task Behaviors

“…Group play therapy combines the beliefs about the importance of play therapy with children with the benefits of the group counseling process. Children can improve social skills, self-regulation and expression, cognitive flexibility, and emotional understanding of others through group play therapy (Chinekesh, Kamalian, Eltemasi, Chinekesh, & Alavi, 2014). Children may have increased motivation to play and be expressive when they are with other children.…”

“…Investigation of group play therapy with preschool-aged children showed positive results for improving children's social interactions, self-awareness, and selfregulation (Chinekesh et al, 2014;Stone & Stark, 2013). Likewise, Kascsak (2013) found child-centered group play therapy to be effective in improving kindergarten student's social skill development.…”

Positive affect of insect-mediated mental healthcare program to adolescent's emotions

“…The questions were simple and clear, and the questionnaire's reliability and stability had been previously demonstrated (Bae et al, 2014;Bae et al, 2013). One or twohours insect-mediated mental healthcare program sections were run in the morning once weekly for 10 wk ( therapy, art therapy, play therapy, drama therapy, horticultural therapy, dance therapy, and animal-assisted therapy (Marcus 2013;Maratos et al, 2011;RenXia 2013;Chinekesh et al, 2014;Hussain 2010).…”