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The efficacy of time-limited play therapy with maltreated preschoolers
1Morrison Center, Portland, Oregon.
Insights
This study investigated directive individual play therapy for maltreated preschoolers. While children receiving play therapy showed more isolated play initially, overall treatment efficacy was not significantly demonstrated.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Child maltreatment is a significant national issue.
- Controlled studies on individual psychotherapy for maltreated children are lacking.
- Therapeutic nurseries offer a setting for intervention research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of directive individual play therapy as an adjunct to milieu therapy for maltreated preschoolers.
- To assess the impact of play therapy on specific outcome measures in young children exposed to maltreatment.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-six preschoolers in a therapeutic nursery were assigned to either directive individual play therapy plus milieu therapy or milieu therapy alone.
- Interventions lasted for 15 weeks.
- Thirteen outcome measures were assessed post-treatment and at a 10-week follow-up.
Main Results:
- Children in the play therapy group demonstrated significantly more isolated play at posttest compared to the control group.
- No significant differences were found between groups on other outcome measures at posttest.
- No significant differences were observed between groups at the 10-week follow-up assessment.
Conclusions:
- Directive individual play therapy showed a limited, short-term effect on isolated play in maltreated preschoolers.
- The study did not find significant evidence for the overall efficacy of this specific psychotherapy approach in this population.
- Further research is needed to explore potential explanations for the lack of broader significant findings.
Abstract:
Despite recognition of child maltreatment as a major national problem, there have been no controlled studies that evaluated the efficacy of individual psychotherapy with maltreated children. Thirty-six preschoolers who were attending a therapeutic nursery were provided with either 15 weeks of directive individual play therapy to supplement their ongoing milieu therapy or with their milieu therapy only. Of 13 outcome measures, children in the treatment group were superior to control children at posttest on amount of isolated play, and there were no significant differences at a 10-week follow-up assessment. Possible explanations for the general lack of significant results were discussed.