Child-centered play therapy as a comprehensive school counseling approach: directions for research and practice

Abstract

The increasing demand for effective interventions and preventative approaches to meet the emotional, social, behavioral, developmental, and academic needs of children in schools is well established. Child-centered play therapy (CCPT) has a long and rich history of both practice and research within the school setting with many important lessons for school counselors and researchers. Furthermore, there are promising opportunities for continued development of a child-centered approach to school counseling that extends beyond the counselor-student relationship to include more comprehensive, preventative, and systemic interventions within the school context.