Schools are increasingly encouraged to adopt evidence-based or evidence informed interventions and implement them using insights from implementation science. The literature relating to implementation of interventions in schools has focused largely on universal interventions, particularly for social and emotional learning (SEL), which are designed…

This study investigated the impact of a 'Jewellery Club' on girls with social, communication and interaction difficulties. The project focussed on three girls aged seven who participated in an intervention using similar principles to the 'Lego Therapy' intervention. An action research approach was followed, where two phases of the intervention…

School counselors play key roles in recognizing and addressing students' social-emotional and academic needs and providing short-term counseling and crisis interventions focusing on mental health concerns. Research shows that play therapy is a developmentally responsive intervention for school-aged children (Ray et al., 2014). Many school…

Play is fundamental to the optimal growth and development of children. Utilizing play therapy with children who require mental health support and intervention is of significant benefit to the child, as it allows them to express their needs through play, their first language. School counselors who work with elementary-aged students may find play…

The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of 10 professional school counselors' usage of child-centered play therapy (CCPT). Research participants holding the CCPT credential means that they possessed former training to utilize play therapy in schools. At the time of this study, limited research existed about the experiences of…

Overall, the United States' population continues to substantially increase in cultural diversity (NCES, 2018; NCES, 2020a; NCES, 2020b), therefore increasing the overall diversity of students in school settings. Children from minoritized groups have a higher risk of experiencing poverty (US Census Bureau, 2017), problem behaviors (Post et al.,…

Small-group interventions are often used in schools to support the development of children's social skills. One such intervention, Lego®-Based Therapy (LBT), is increasingly popular internationally in schools. Although LBT has an emerging evidence-base, there is limited research exploring effective LBT implementation. An in-depth, exploratory…

The purpose of this article is to investigate the efficacy of Sandplay Therapy (SPT) in reducing children's kindergarten entrance anxiety in an effort to provide front-line preschool teachers with insights and strategies for addressing the emotional distress of children in their first days of nursery school. As a case study, the application of SPT…

School counselors need creative interventions to engage students in small groups. With students' interests changing quickly, one thing that has remained constant has been a fascination with comic books. They offer an enjoyable and creative way to engage children with stories that resonate with them. Additionally, bibliotherapy is an accessible and…

The current study is the first repeated-measures design exploring the impact of child-centered play therapy (CCPT), an evidence-based child psychotherapy intervention, on autistic children's social-emotional assets, and emotional and behavioral problems across four times during intervention based on teacher reports. Participants consisted of 19…

This study aims to examine Child-Centered Play Therapy's effect on reducing behavioral problems in five- and six-year-old children living in Istanbul. The study was conducted with 20 children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families. Families applied for support to a play therapy room established in a primary school. A pre-test and post-test…

Childhood poverty is a prevalent concern in the United States and is associated with poor psychological and academic outcomes. Psychosocial stressors associated with life in poverty may interrupt the development of a positive self-concept, ultimately hampering the academic achievement of children in poverty. As the therapeutic objectives of…

School counselors are uniquely qualified to meet the increasing mental health needs of students within the school setting. Play therapy is an evidence-based intervention used by school counselors to address the mental health needs of youth. Job demands require school counselors to provide goal-focused and time-sensitive interventions. Accordingly,…

Children experience a multitude of benefits in response to interactions with nature. Despite documented effects, children have increasingly spent less time outdoors over the last century and experienced higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses. Although child-centered play therapy (CCPT) is a culturally and developmentally responsive…

Social-emotional development is foundational to children's health, and academic outcomes. This study examined the effect of a child-centered play therapy intervention on the social-emotional competency of a group of 5 "at risk" third graders. Participants were recruited from a Tier 1 elementary school and social-emotional competency was…