SPECIAL SECTION
members as well as help those seeking unique provider referrals (Lebby, 2022). APT is making strides towards becoming a more inclusive and diverse organization, but inclusivity and diversity must also grow at the state and local levels. Many state branches of APT are focused on DE&I and seeking out keynote speakers and board members from diverse backgrounds. For example, Dr. Yolanda Fountain Hardy has recently Black keynote speaker in the history of the Texas Association for Play Therapy’s annual conference.
The Field of Play Therapy United Through Diversity
of Ideas As noted above, the founders (Charles Schaefer and Kevin O’Connor) and founding board members (Louise Guerney, Eleanor Irwin, Ann Jernberg, Garry Landreth, Henry Maier, Borislava Mandich, and Eileen Nickerson; Seymour, 2016) were all White, yet each contributed from a diverse theoretical play therapy perspective. From the beginning, culture and individual difference were present as these individual play therapists came together.
Diversity in Play Therapy Research of diversity and their role in play therapy. Cultural competency in play therapy is explored in some of the articles and chapters in the second edition of the Handbook of Play Therapy (Seymour, 2016). The author in play therapy entitled Cultural Issues in Play Therapy. Recently, Ray et al. (2021) published the text Multicultural Play Therapy: Making the Most of Cultural Opportunities with Children.
The flagship journal of play therapy, International Journal of Play Therapy®
(IJPT), highlights and describes aspects of diversity in more
than 100 articles; yet the term diversity is seldom mentioned. In the 30 plus year history of IJPT articles about aspects of diversity were published, and in others, very few. One trend that is evident and should be highlighted, is that half of the total number of applicable articles were published in the last decade.
Of the 100 plus published articles over the past 30 years, the
diversity aspects included were: culture; ethnicities and nationalities; gender; religion, values, and beliefs; socioeconomic status; diverse backgrounds; issues of physical ability; and language. Therefore, while most of the aspects of diversity are present, while only three articles focused on the broader conceptualization of diversity (see Abrams et al., 2006; Elmadani et al., 2022; VanderGast et al., 2010). It is worth mentioning that terminology has changed over the course of the 30-
12 | PLAYTHERAPY | June 2022 |
www.a4pt.org
as a term would likely appear more frequently if many of these articles were rewritten today.
Material World There are thousands of languages around the world, yet toys and play are a universal language with which to express needs and communicate ideas. Play therapy harnesses the power of play and its impact can be felt around the world. Questions about diversity in play therapy often come from play therapists in the United States seeking information about which items they should have in the play room, or how diversity might show up in their play therapy sessions. The research to answer these questions often comes from outside of the United States. This has helped bring a more global view of how play therapy helps children in various countries, and has informed how we serve the diverse population within the US. But perhaps what play therapists should ask themselves is not what items they should have, but if they are exercising cultural humility regarding the items in their playrooms. Cultural humility is newer term that has captured our evolving needs be culturally aware and culturally competent, but that one must be willing to understand and accept that they will always be a learner with regards to groups in which they are not a member.
Play therapists come
from diverse professional identities, including mental health counseling, school counseling, social work, marriage and family therapy, psychology, psychiatry, and psychiatric nursing.
Mental health programs provide the opportunity for students to become more culturally aware, and most research centers around the attitudes and beliefs of mental health practitioners. Comparatively there is relatively little research on the materials in the play therapy room, and topics involving the cultural value of the material in the playroom need to be further researched. Current research has shown that therapists are expanding multicultural items such as multiple skin toned puppets and crayons. Sandtray, is without a doubt the most research supported non-verbal and pre-verbal material to be shared. This can be especially valuable when working in a cross-cultural, or language learner context.” (Ramsey, 2014, p. 541). However, other topics of materials need to be addressed. For example, one intersection that has not been researched
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44
