International Journal of Play Therapy

Long-term child centered play therapy and academic achievement of children: A follow-up study.
This follow-up study measured the impact of long-term Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) with 18 academically at-risk elementary school students. Through the use of a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance, researchers examined the use of CCPT from preintervention to midintervention (16 sessions) to postintervention (26 sessions). Results indicated that children who participated in 26 sessions of CCPT demonstrated statistically significant improvement on the Early Achievement Composite as measured on the Young Child's Achievement Test, along with increases in the Spoken Language, General Information, Writing subscales. Participants showed statistically consistent improvement in academic achievement scores over the full duration of the study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigating various dimensions of play therapists' self-reported multicultural counseling competence.
A national study of play therapists was conducted investigating the relationship between play therapists' multicultural education, color-blind racial attitudes, professional orientation, and supervision status on their self-reported multicultural counseling competencies. Professional members within the Association for Play Therapy (N = 510) completed three online surveys, The Multicultural Counseling Knowledge and Awareness Scale (MCKAS) (Ponterotto, Gretchen, Utsey, Rieger, & Austin, 2002), Color-Blind Racial Attitude Scale (CoBRAS) (Neville, Lily, Duran, Lee, & Browne, 2000), and a demographic survey. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated multicultural education and two of the color-blind variables were related to Multicultural Counseling Knowledge. In addition, the three color-blind racial attitude subscales and being a play therapy supervisor were related to Multicultural Counseling Awareness. The results suggest that multicultural education, color-blind racial attitudes, and providing supervision can influence play therapists' multicultural counseling abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Neurosequential model of therapeutics in a therapeutic preschool: Implications for work with children with complex neuropsychiatric problems.
The two studies presented examine the use of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics on the social-emotional development and behavior of 28 children participating in a therapeutic preschool program. Results from these studies indicate that the use of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics approach to determine the nature, timing, and “dose” of developmentally appropriate activities and interventions within the context of a therapeutic preschool did improve the social-emotional development of the participating children. Interventions and activities were provided in the context of Filial Play Therapy as part of the therapeutic preschool environment. Six-month and 12-month follow-ups suggest gains in social-emotional development and behavior were retained. Implications for future use are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Perceptions of counselors regarding the effectiveness of interventions for traumatized children.
Limited research exists to guide counselors of traumatized children as they search for effective interventions. The authors conducted a multicase study to examine counselors' perceptions in regard to the effectiveness of interventions for children who have experienced trauma. Six counselors who work with traumatized children were contacted and interviewed. Two participants were registered play therapists, and the remaining counselors specialized in working with traumatized children in a variety of clinical settings; however, all 6 participants used therapeutic play skills when counseling traumatized children. Four significant themes emerged from the data analysis and are presented along with implications for counselors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

International Journal of Play Therapy - Vol 21, Iss 1