Review of Literature

My proposed project will focus on child centered play therapy to service young school aged students. The intended setting is a public suburban elementary school with a diverse student population from Pre-Kindergarten to Second grade. The following articles discuss the effectiveness of child centered play therapy within an elementary school setting.

The study “Turning the Focus to Behavioral, Emotional and Social Well-Being: The Impact of Child-Centered Play Therapy” by Perryman and Bowers examined the impact of Child Centered Play Therapy on the behavior of students in a Second-grade class. As a result, the researchers concluded CCPT is beneficial and helpful in reducing the development of adverse behaviors which could impact academic success. Within a classroom environment, behavioral and emotional types of issues become apparent when a student displays disruptive behavior, social detachment, violence and aggressiveness which impedes academic achievement. As early elementary school aged children are considered malleable, the use of play therapy has produced results to help children in Prekindergarten through Third grade acquire the necessary tools to improve social skills, increase self- confidence, and achieve academic success. This study consisted of 36 student participants from an ethnically diverse elementary school who were identified as at risk but not outwardly displaying maladaptive behavior. The student participants received 10 weeks of CCPT and were split into two random groups. Upon the conclusion of the 10-week program, every student who had received CCPT demonstrated significant improvements.

The study entitled “Child -Centered Play Therapy In The Schools: Review And Meta-Analysis” by Ray, Armstrong, Balkin & Jayne compared data from previous studies and evaluated the effectiveness of CCPT within elementary schools. Based on Person Centered Therapy method,CCPT utilizes a playroom to establish a safe environment and strategically selected toys to help a child communicate and increase self-awareness. The clinician adheres to important guiding principles in monitoring behavior, reflecting feelings and content, helping in decision making and creativity, nurturing the therapeutic relationship and provide encouragement. This study aimed to present a comprehensive review regarding the effectiveness of CCPT in elementary schools to help counsel school therapists. Utilizing a coding procedure, with play therapy as the independent variable for the control group and a comparison group. The data indicates CCPT is an effective intervention in elementary schools for assisting in better academic outcomes.

The study “Long Term Child-Centered Play Therapy Effects on Academic Achievement with Normal Functioning Children” by Blanco, Holliman, Muro, Toland & Farnam disclosed considerable improvement amongst the children that participated in all 26 CCPT sessions and concluded CCPT an effective long-term method supporting academic achievement. The st