Is Play Therapy Effective? Part 1

I am often asked if play therapy is effective and whether it is based on evidence. For those of us who are a bit nerdy like me, I will summarise meta-analysis studies in two different posts. This one will be the first.

Firstly, let me explain what meta-analysis research is. Meta-analysis combines the results of multiple studies on the same topic to provide a more comprehensive and reliable conclusion. This type of research is very reliable in giving us answers on a topic.

In 2001, Michael LeBlanc and Martin Ritchie reviewed 42 controlled studies conducted between 1950 and 1996 and concluded that play therapy is generally effective, with an average medium to large effect size. They found that when parents are involved in the therapy, the effect size is much higher. Additionally, the number of therapy sessions significantly predicts better outcomes. Their study also concluded that the sex of the children, the reason for referral, and their age do not influence the effectiveness of play therapy.

Between 1953 In 2005, Sue Bratton and three colleagues reviewed 93 play therapy studies completed and 2000. They concluded that, on average, children who underwent play therapy showed substantial improvement compared to those who did not receive such therapy. They noted that play therapy could be effective with just a few sessions, especially in crisis settings. However, overall results indicate that the efficacy of play therapy facilitated by a therapist increases with the number of sessions provided. Like the previous study, they also found that parent involvement in play therapy significantly impacts the treatment outcome.

Ten years later, in 2015, Sue Bratton and Lin Yung-Wei explored the overall effectiveness of Child-Centred Play Therapy (CCPT) approaches by meta-analytically reviewing 52 controlled outcome studies conducted between 1995 and 2010. They estimated that play therapy is an effective treatment.

In summary, extensive meta-analytic research supports the effectiveness of play therapy, especially when parents are involved and when the therapy includes a sufficient number of sessions.

Check out the second blog post on this topic for more in-depth insights and additional studies!

Please contact me if you need more information.

References

LEBLANC, M.; RITCHIE, M. A meta-analysis of play therapy outcomes. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, [s. l.], v. 14, n. 2, p. 149–163, 2001. DOI 10.1080/09515070110059142.

BRATTON, S. C. et al. The Efficacy of Play Therapy With Children: A Meta-Analytic Review of Treatment Outcomes. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, [s. l.], v. 36, n. 4, p. 376–390, 2005. DOI 10.1037/0735-7028.36.4.376.

RAY, D. C. et al. Child-Centered Play Therapy in the Schools: Review and Meta-Analysis. Psychology in the Schools, [s. l.], v. 52, n. 2, p. 107–123, 2015. DOI 10.1002/pits.21798.

LIN, Y.; BRATTON, S. C. A Meta-Analytic Review of Child-Centered Play Therapy Approaches. Journal of Counseling & Development, [s. l.], v. 93, n. 1, p. 45–58, 2015. DOI 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2015.00180.x.