Shen (2010) advocated for using well-designed measures, such as the University of California at Los Angeles’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (UCLA PTSD-RI; e.g., Steinberg, Brymer, Decker, & Pynoos, the key to effectively identifying children at risk and in severe need of can provide initial interventions prior to referring to outside sources for longer-term care. School counselors can recommend changes in the classroom to help accommodate any academic or behavioral issues that result from trauma, and they can intervene in role-appropriate ways early intervention become leaders of advocacy for children who need it most.
Third, SB-RPTs can conduct trainings and provide oversight to parents and paraprofessionals (e.g., teachers, mentors) who wish to support a healthy school environment focused on child mental health and wellness, as researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of child- furnishings and supplies to provide effective play activities that address children’s holistic needs. With such advocacy methods, students can feel better supported in the school setting. In essence, credentialed play therapists can be invaluable resources who use their voices as advocates for children and on behalf of the profession.
Conclusion In a world where neighbors do not know each other and screenplay abounds, unstructured play allows children to feel free, build a sense of self, learn about others, and develop the best versions of themselves. How society allows children to play today determines their academic, physical, social, intellectual, and emotional progress for tomorrow. Children deserve and have a right to play, and school-based play therapists provide a safe space to bring hope and healing into their lives. In essence, schools may cultivate children’s holistic growth by allowing and advocating for the use of both unstructured and therapeutic play opportunities for children within their setting. Schools may also encourage their school counselors to become SB-RPTs and systematically aid families by bridging the mental health needs of children and the community in the school setting.
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Schaefer, C. E., & Drewes, A. A. (2014). The therapeutic powers of play: 20 core agents of change. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Yolanda Fountain, PhD, LPC, ACS, NCC, RPT-S owns Play Wellness LLC in Georgia, and provides counseling, sandtray, and play therapy services, supervision, and continuing education. She enjoys teaching and supervising master’s- and doctoral-level students in the higher education setting.
training@playwellness.net
Tracy Gardner, EdS, LPC, LSW, NCC, NCSC, ACAS, BCPCC, RPT-S, AutPlay Therapist is currently an elementary school counselor and works in private practice in Mississippi. She enjoys presenting on various play therapy topics.
tgardner@corinth.k12.ms.us
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