The future of play therapy: Elevating credibility through play therapy research.

Abstract

Elevating credibility in play therapy through research has been a difficult task. This difficulty is represented well in the Myth of Sisyphus (wherein Sisyphus is cursed with the mandate of rolling a large boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down every time he approaches the top of the hill). Play therapy, in some form, has been in mental health clinics, clinician's offices, and in journals for more than a century-yet empirical research on play therapy has consistently lagged behind practice. Also, we have several decades of research supporting the use of play therapy in addressing many common childhood problems, yet there is little recognition of play therapy as an "empirically supported treatment." To stretch the Myth of Sisyphus just a bit, if we are to see the effort to develop empirical support for play therapy as our task, we need to look carefully at who is pushing the boulder, what strategies are being used to get the boulder up the hill, and how we will we know when we've reached the top of the hill.

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.…”

Play Therapy Research: Issues for 21st Century Progress

“…Wethington et al (2008) reviewed seven interventions for childhood trauma and concluded evidence was insufficient to determine the effectiveness of play therapy and the other five non-CBT treatments. Urquiza (2010) surmised that empirical research on play therapy has consistently lagged behind its practice and needs more examination of its strategies-not merely more research-to earn the credibility it seeks. Phillips (2010, p. 13) summarized the state of play therapy (PT) research by stating, "The sobering answer is that a body of credible scientific evidence for most of PT still does not exist."…”

Advocating for play therapy: A challenge for an empirically-based practice in the Philippines.

“…Although play therapy is recognized as a widely used intervention for children, the field has been challenged to produce empirical evidence to support the practice (Phillips & Landreth, 1995). It has become imperative, therefore, to highlight the effectiveness of play therapy and increase the accountability of practitioners through a more evidence-based practice to gain the respect it deserves in the mental health field (Phillips, 2010; Urquiza, 2010). Over the years, sound qualitative and quantitative research to demonstrate the efficacy of play therapy has made steady progress (Baggerly & Bratton, 2010; Bratton et al, 2005; Muro et al, 2006).…”

“…Play therapy has long been acknowledged as a developmentally appropriate and effective intervention for children with behavioral and emotional problems and in various settings (Bratton & Ray, 2000; Bratton, Ray, Rhine, & Jones, 2005). In recent years, however, play therapists have been faced with the challenge to develop evidence-based practice (Urquiza, 2010). This challenge has been positively met with world-wide report of increase in empirical studies on the effectiveness of play therapy as an intervention for children (Baggerly & Bratton, 2010; Bratton et al, 2005; Muro, Schottelkorb, Ray, & Smith, 2006).…”