Kristin Meany-Walen

Group Adlerian Play Therapy With Children With Off-Task Behaviors

Children who are off-task in schools struggle with completing their work and engage in disruptive behaviors. Without intervention, these behaviors tend to worsen, putting them at risk for more serious, ongoing problems throughout life. Group counseling provides opportunities for people to practice socially useful behaviors. Using a single case design, we investigated the effectiveness of Adlerian group play therapy with children identified by teachers as having problematic classroom behaviors. Results suggest that students’ on-task behaviors improve during the Adlerian group play therapy intervention. The results revealed mixed findings for the follow-up period.

Partners in Play: An Adlerian Approach to Play Therapy. Second Edition.

Play therapy expert Terry Kottman and her colleague Kristin Meany-Walen provide a comprehensive update to this spirited and fun text on integrating Adlerian techniques into play therapy. Clinicians, school counselors, and students will find this to be the definitive guide for using Adlerian strategies with children to foster positive growth and effective communication with their parents and teachers.

Investigating the Effectiveness of Adlerian Play Therapy (AdPT) with Children with Disruptive Behaviors: A Single-Case Research Design (SCRD)

Disruptive behaviors can be defined as aggressive and rule-breaking behaviors, and examples of such behaviors may include lying, cheating, displaying lack of guilt/remorse, stealing, swearing, arguing, being mean to others, destroying one’s own personal property or that of others, and getting into fights with others (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). It is estimated that 10 million children who are identified as having disruptive behaviors will not receive the mental health services they need (Mental Health America, 2010). This gap in services is in part due to insufficient family resources, lack of access to care, and a shortage of identified quality services for children (Mental Health America, 2010; President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003; U.S. Public Health Service, 2000). Because children spend a significant number of hours each day in school, school personnel such as school counselors or school-based counselors have been tasked with providing interventions that meet the mental health needs of children requiring services, such as those with disruptive behaviors (President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003).

Utilizing Sandtray Within the Discrimination Model of Counselor Supervision

The discrimination model of supervision is 1 of the most widely used counseling supervision models (Bernard, 1997; Luke & Bernard, 2006). The use of expressive arts modalities can facilitate increased self-awareness and promote holistic counselor development (Bratton, Ceballos, & Sheely, 2008; Malchiodi, 2005). The authors provide a rationale for the use of expressive arts within the discrimination model of supervision to address the 3 defined supervision roles: teacher, counselor, and consultant (Bernard, 1997; Luke & Bernard, 2006). A case example utilizing sandtray within the discrimination model is included with practical suggestions for supervisors regarding process statements and questions when incorporating expressive arts as a supervision component.

Play therapists’ perceptions of wellness and self-care practices.

The importance of professional helpers’ wellness and self-care has received significant attention in the past decade and is even considered an ethical obligation by many organizations for professional helpers. Play therapists, compared with providers of other treatment modalities, might be more susceptible to professional and personal impairment because they bear witness to children’s experiences through the process of play therapy, which can illicit strong emotional reactions from the client and from the therapist. They may also be at a heightened risk because of their nature to want to protect and nurture children. Yet no published accounts of research were found to elaborate specifically on play therapists’ wellness attitudes and experiences. We surveyed Registered Play Therapists and Registered Play Therapist Supervisors about their perceptions, practices, and suggestions for wellness and self-care. Results provide preliminary and exploratory data, implications for play therapists and supervisors, and suggestions for more research on this topic.

Group Adlerian play therapy.

Adlerian play therapy is identified as one of the most popular approaches to play therapy and has gained attention of researchers in the recent years. Group counseling is desirable in settings in which there is a scarcity of treatment providers trained in play therapy for the number of children in need of services, such as in schools. This article includes a brief explanation of Adlerian play therapy and group play therapy, a description of Group Adlerian play therapy concepts and skills, as well as a case example. Readers will find theoretical and practical applications of Group Adlerian play therapy for their clinical practice and research.

The Impact of Supervised Filial Therapy Training on Attitude, Knowledge, and Skills

Research in filial therapy has provided strong support for its efficacy in improving parent–child relationships. While studies have extensively examined the impact of filial therapy training on parent and child participants, to date, no study has examined the training experiences of filial therapists. Using a mixed methodological approach, we examined the impact of supervised filial therapy training on graduate counseling students’ play therapy attitudes, knowledge, and skills. Twenty-three students voluntarily participated in the study. We conducted paired-sample t-tests to evaluate the impact of a filial therapy course on students’ scores on the Play Therapy Attitude–Knowledge–Skills Survey. From pretest to posttest, there were statistically significant improvements and a large effect size on students’ scores in the knowledge and skills subscales. To gain a deeper understanding of participants’ experiences and explore their perceptions of the supervised filial training, we also utilized individual interviews. Participants discussed their reactions to leading a filial therapy group and participating in supervision. They also described the impact of the training on their beliefs about parents, children, and the dynamics of parent–child relationships. We discuss limitations and implications of the study.

Effectiveness of a Play Therapy Intervention on Children's Externalizing and Off-Task Behaviors.

Childrens externalizing and off-task behaviors are deemed a major concern for elementary teachers and interfere with the classroom learning environment (Abidin & Robinson, 2002; Shillingford-Butler & Theodore, 2013). Children with these behaviors are at risk of falling behind academically and experiencing ongoing behavioral problems throughout their development. This single-case research design investigates the effectiveness of Adlerian play therapy on the behaviors of two elementary-aged children who have externalizing and off-task classroom behaviors. Results for this intervention suggest Adlerian play therapy may show promise as an effective intervention for school counselors and school-based counselors.