Group Play Therapy: An Overview

Abstract

This review aims to present a national and international perspective on group play therapy. Play therapy is a dynamic in which the child creates his/her unique world, expresses his/her feelings and thoughts through play and experiences growth in a safe environment. Group play therapy involves the play therapy experience of more than one child. Group play therapy allows creating a social microcosm for children, promoting social learning, supporting emotional development and increasing peer interaction. This review discusses the advantages of group play therapy, the implementation process, the role of the therapist and its effects on child mental health. In recent years, there has been an increase in group play therapy practice and research in the international arena. On the other hand, studies on group play therapy in Türkiye are limited and mostly focus on play-based psychological counselling groups and psychoeducational intervention programmes. Another aim of the review is to reveal the positive effects of group play therapy on child mental health and to make suggestions for future research. In this direction, national and international studies on group play therapy were analyzed.