Playing Playfully to Overcome Adversity: A Telehealth-Based Group Teacher Training Program.

Area of Science:

• Childhood adversity and its impact on educators.
• Teacher stress and secondary traumatic stress.
• Child-teacher interactions and classroom dynamics.

Background:

• Teacher exposure to childhood adversity can lead to secondary stress.
• This stress may negatively affect child-teacher interactions.
• Interventions are needed to support teachers' well-being and classroom practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a telehealth-delivered group program for teachers.
• The program focused on play, playfulness, and stress management.
• To develop and assess the fidelity of the intervention.

Main Methods:

• A telehealth group program was delivered to five teachers.
• A program manual and fidelity checklist were created.
• Occupational therapy students served as fidelity raters, assessing manual adherence, attendance, and satisfaction.

Main Results:

• Fidelity raters achieved agreement, confirming the checklist's utility.
• Follow-up interviews revealed teachers gained new skills and validation.
• Participants received tangible learning materials and a supportive environment.

Conclusions:

• Teacher stress can be effectively mitigated through targeted group programs.
• Interventions promoting playfulness and peer support are beneficial.
• The manualized program and fidelity checklist can facilitate similar future interventions.