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Play therapy in elementary schools
Author(s) -
Landreth Garry L.,
Ray Dee C.,
Bratton Sue C.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
psychology in the schools
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1520-6807
pISSN - 0033-3085
DOI - 10.1002/pits.20374
Subject(s) - psychology , play therapy , feeling , psychotherapist , action (physics) , primary education , process (computing) , developmental psychology , pedagogy , social psychology , physics , quantum mechanics , computer science , operating system
Because the child's world is a world of action and activity, play therapy provides the psychologist in elementary‐school settings with an opportunity to enter the child's world. In the play therapy relationship, toys are like the child's words and play is the child's language. Therefore, children play out their problems, experiences, concerns, and feelings in a manner that is similar to the process of talk therapy. This article provides practical information for developing a play therapy program, a discussion of the skills needed by the psychologist, how to involve parents and teachers in the treatment process, and a review of impressive effect sizes found in play therapy research studies. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.