A hospital play program: helping children with serious illness

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Psychology
• Child Life Services
• Clinical Child Psychology

Background:

• Hospitalization for life-threatening diseases presents profound psychological challenges for children.
• Children often experience confusion, fear, and anxiety in this stressful environment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a play-therapy program for hospitalized children with severe illnesses.
• To facilitate emotional expression, enhance mastery, and promote adaptive behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a structured play-therapy program.
• Focus on facilitating emotional expression and coping skills development.

Main Results:

• The program aimed to enhance children's sense of mastery over their situation.
• It sought to foster adaptive behaviors and improve cooperation with medical treatments.

Conclusions:

• Play therapy offers a valuable modality for addressing the psychological distress of hospitalized children.
• This approach can improve children's coping mechanisms and engagement with medical care.