Play & Development PDF

Play & Development Alba Madrid Cagigal (PhD Student) [email protected] Session Overview Play as an applied Utility of Play Play Therapy tool Therapy Braum...

Play & Development Alba Madrid Cagigal (PhD Student) [email protected] Session Overview Play as an applied Utility of Play Play Therapy tool Therapy Braumer, Ferholt and Lecusay  Play Play is a voluntary, intrinsically motivated, child-directed activity. Play involves the child’s physical, mental and emotional self in creative expression  Play as an Applied Tool Play is the natural form of communication for the child Children are not always able to express their emotions and feelings verbally “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” – Plato “The child reveals far more of himself when talking about things he likes to do, his favorite toys…etc. than when face to face with a psychiatrist who questions him first about his troubles” - Gitelson (1938) “Toys are like the child’s words and play is the child’s language” – Landreth (2023) Play Therapy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4ovwAdxCs0 until min 4  Play as self-expression… Children’s play can reflect their experiences: Themes in Play Behaviour Case Study Jacob is 8-years old and plays out the following scene. He pretends to put a bridle on a pretend horse and comments, “It doesn’t hurt his mouth”. Then he takes the horse to the barn and said, “When the horse kicks the stall, a light comes on over here in the house where the man stays, who takes care of the horses, so he will know the horse needs help.” - Landreth (2013)  Play as self-expression… Children’s play can reflect their experiences: Case Study Haley repeatedly buries a dinosaur in the sandbox, digs it up, and buries the dinosaur again. Then she goes over to the easel and paints pictures, returns to the sandbox and repeats the burying behaviour. She then plays with the medical kit for a few minutes and returns to the sandbox to continue burying the dinosaur.  Play Therapy Play Therapy is an “interpersonal process wherein trained play therapists use the therapeutic powers of play to help clients prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth and development” (Association for Play Therapy)  Overview of Play Therapy Anna Freud (1928) & Melanie Klein (1932) Play therapy has evolved dramatically over its 100-year history Numerous different approaches to play therapy Play therapy can be used to “help [children] prevent or resolve psychosocial difficulties and achieve optimal growth & development” (APT, 2001, p.20) Play Therapy Paradigm - Yasenik & Gardener (2004)  Stages of Play Therapy There are three main stages to Play Therapy: 1. Rapport Building: Initial sessions where child & therapist begin to build a working relationship. 2. Working Through: Therapist selects and applies the most appropriate change agents. 3. Termination: Transitioning child/family for life after therapy & preparing for future life events.  Utility of Play Therapy Play Therapy For Children with Attachment Difficulties Mohamed & Mkabile (2015) Dysfunctional Parent-Child Bond ❑ Case Study ❑ Improved nature & quality of relationship Anderson and Gedo (2013) Insecure-Ambivalent Attachment ❑ Better Self-Soothing Skills ❑ Greater Behavioural Regulation ❑ Decreased externalization Dousti et al. (2019) Play Therapy v Control Group ❑ Improved Attachment Relationships ❑ Decreased Separation Anxieties  Utility of Play Therapy Play Therapy For Children with Anxiety Problems Stulmaker & Ray (2015) Child Centred Play Therapy (CCPT) Significant Reductions in Anxiety Knell & Dasari (2002) CBPT + Anxiety  Utility of Play Therapy Play Therapy For Children with Aggressive & Externalising problems Ritzi et al. (2017) School Based Play Intervention Decreases in Externalising Behaviour  Utility of Play Therapy Play Therapy For Children Experiencing Trauma Robson (2008) – Bereavement - Case Study Play Therapies may be effective in treating/ identifying abused children (Arons, 2019; Homeyer, 2013)  Overall Efficacy of Play Therapy? Bratton et al. (2005) – Meta-analyses showed children in play interventions show better outcomes than children who receive no treatment Ray et al. (2015) – Meta-analysis of 23 studies evaluating CCPT in elementary schools, found CCPT children showed improved problematic behaviours Aja (2018) – Systematic review, found CCPT highly effective in treating children with anxiety issues. Humble et al. (2019) - Systematic review, found PT effective for certain outcomes. Weis et al. (2020) - Systematic review, found PT effective in targeting social competency, self-regulation, aggression, anxiety, and empathy.  Conclusions Play is the natural language of children? Play therapy provides opportunity to enter the child’s world Variety of Play Therapy approaches Initial results seem promising – BUT more quality research is needed Playworld https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT4_Zgpw5_8 until 2.20 Baumer, Ferholt & Lecusay (2005) Examined the effect of Playworld educational practice on the development of narrative competence in 5-7 year olds Pre-treatment Phase The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe Q&A Control Group 18 children Reading, Discussion, Reading & Art Experimental Group 20 children Enactments of Text, Discussions & Pretend Play  Baumer, Ferholt & Lecusay (2005) Pre- and Post-Test Narrative Competency Measures: 1. Narrative comprehension - order of pictures depicting story 2. Narrative production Length – no. of words used to explain events in the pictures Linguistic complexity – no. of subordinate clauses (grammatical unit containing subject and a verb) Narrative Coherence – type of event structure depicted in child’s description of story Baumer, Ferholt & Lecusay (2005) Results: Intervention showed significant improvements in: Narrative Length Coherence Comprehension What are the strengths/limitations of this study? Limitations Strengths Small sample Control Group Military Based Families Active Comparison Different Ethnic Compositions Pre and Post Measurements Between Groups