Counselors working with children employ a variety of therapeutic techniques and tools from various theoretical models. One of these tools, drawing, is increasingly being implemented into play therapy. The purpose of this paper is to briefly review Jungian theoretical approaches as they pertain to drawing techniques within the counseling session.

The results of this experimental study have demonstrated that following participation in a 12-hour training in Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT), school counselor trainees significantly increased their CCPT knowledge and skills in employing CCPT, as compared to a control group. Participants reported that they had learned enough of the philosophy…

There are a number of different approaches and therapies available for children, young people and adults on the autistic spectrum, and the amount of information available on each one can be daunting for professionals and parents alike. "Autism, Educational and Theoretical Approaches" offers concise and clear explanations of a variety of…

The focus of this paper is on responses from fifth grade peer tutors who were trained to use child-centered play therapy language during tutoring sessions with kindergarteners. The focus of this project was to identify academic and social/emotional benefits of participating in the program. Results indicated that participation in the program…

Adopted children may present with a wide range of disruptive behaviors making it difficult to implement holistic therapeutic interventions. The number of primary caregivers, disrupted placements, and repeated traumatic events contribute to the overall mental health of the adoptee and greater number of occurrences increases the risk of…

Infant mental health specialists are increasingly expected to treat complex mental health disorders in very young children. Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder which can lead to functional impairment across home, preschool, and community settings. The authors share their experiences with Keylah, a preschooler with significant social anxiety…

The integration of expressive activities in play groups with preadolescents encourages them to reach more deeply into their own resources, enabling them to handle future challenges more effectively. Developmental and therapeutic rationale, along with research support, is given for the integration of creative activities into a humanistic play group…

The author's doctoral work involved relating abilities in play to the results of a developmental assessment. She found them to be highly correlated, which should have made her happy. Instead she was troubled by the results. The skills that children use in play are important. Given materials that appeal to them and that "pull for" the desired skill…

A comparison between Child-Centered Group Play Counseling (CCGPC), a psychoeducational group and a non-therapeutic control group resulted in three of four hypotheses being supported. Participants included 79 second and third graders, with one fourth grader, from seven elementary schools. The children had behavioral and social skills difficulties…

Highly practical, instructive, and authoritative, this book vividly describes how to conduct child-centered play therapy. The authors are master clinicians who explain core therapeutic principles and techniques, using rich case material to illustrate treatment of a wide range of difficulties. The focus is on nondirective interventions that allow…

Twenty-three children, aged four to eight years, who had been exposed to violent attacks, were videotaped in individual 40-minute play sessions. These play narratives were recorded by a student researcher trained in narrative analysis and play therapy. She then sorted these play vignettes into three patterns of post-traumatic play, defined in the…

This article describes a phenomenological study of filial therapy with monolingual, Spanish-speaking mothers living in the United States. Four mothers participated in a 5-week training in filial therapy. Data from the interviews revealed four emergent themes. These include (a) challenges in integrating play therapy skills in everyday life, (b)…

This article describes Sunni Muslims' view of death, mourning and burial rituals, and accepted healing practices. Interventions for addressing death with Muslim children, group counseling, play therapy, and community outreach are discussed. A case study of interventions for coping with a preschool Muslim boy's death is provided.

This pilot study of 1st graders who are academically at risk examined the effectiveness of child-centered play therapy (CCPT). The experimental group received biweekly, 30-minute play therapy sessions for 8 weeks. Findings indicated that these 1st graders participating in CCPT (n = 21) demonstrated a statistically significant increase on the Early…

Play Therapy is based upon the fact that play is the child's natural medium of self-expression. It is an opportunity that is given to the child to "play out" his/her feelings and problems just as, in certain types of adult therapy, an individual "talks out" his difficulties. Children use play to express feelings and thoughts.…