to engage in alternative problem solving or more functional behavior. Symptoms may develop due to individual, interactional, or systemic factors or, more likely, due to some combination of these.


Treatment Description The primary focus of EPT is on the implementation of the various change processes and types of play described in the “Powers of Play” section of this article to resolve pathology and promote development. “EPT promotes active, developmentally grounded interventions that engage children in problem solving” (O’Connor & Braverman, 2009, p. xv) using a mix of experiential and cognitive/verbal interventions (O’Connor, 1994). With developmentally younger children, experiential interventions dominate and cognitive/verbal interventions serve a supporting function. As children develop, cognitive/verbal interventions take precedence so children can readily engage others outside the playroom to get their needs met. Additionally, as practitioners work “to promote growth and development on an individual level, (they) must also be committed to preserving and valuing diversity wherever and whenever possible” (O’Connor, 1997, pp. 239-240).


In EPT, play is conceptualized as both


therapeutic in and of itself and as the “spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down,”  therapeutic change processes


Therapy Goals and Progress Measurement The overarching goal of all EPT is the optimization of children’s functioning in the context of their ecosystem, or world (O’Connor, 1994). To achieve this, all EPT treatment plans have three common goals: To maximize children’s… 1. “… ability to get their needs met consistently and appropriately in the context of their developmental potential and their environment” (O’Connor & Ammen, 1997, p. 121).


2. Primary attachment and social relationships. 3. Developmental functioning.


In addition to these common goals, the EPT therapist may develop  on the child’s mental health and development (O’Connor & Ammen, 2013).


Treatment progress is measured in three ways. First and foremost, the therapist regularly asks both the child and the child’s caregivers about their subjective experience of the progress being made toward the


treatment goals. Second, EPT therapists regularly assess the child’s developmental progress using measures such as the Developmental Teaching Objectives Rating Form (https://www.dtorf.com/). Finally,         Inventory 2 (CDI-2; Kovacs, 2010), are used as needed.


Powers of Play  which play initiates, facilitates, or strengthens their therapeutic effect” (Drewes & Schaefer, 2014, p. 2). In EPT, play is conceptualized as both therapeutic in and of itself and as the “spoonful of sugar that makes the  processes. EPT recognizes six broad categories of play: physical (gross      communication, pretend/imaginative, and games with rules (Hughes, 2002; Parten, 1932; National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, 2009). These different types of play can facilitate the implementation of any of 23 change processes, organized in the following six categories (items from Drewes & Schaefer [2014] are italicized, items from Shirk & Russell [1996] are preceded by an asterisk [*]): • Biological: physical-medical intervention, relaxation, stress release, and physical/ motor development


• Behavioral: stress inoculation, desensitization, and behavior 


• Cognitive: • Emotional: *schema transformation, *symbolic exchange,


interpretation, and *skill development catharsis/*release,


*abreaction, *emotional


experiencing, *affective education, and *regulation of emotions (i.e., stress management)


• Interpersonal: *validation and support; *supportive scaffolding, *corrective relationship, and collaboration • Sociocultural: acculturation


identity development, enculturation, and


The EPT therapist ensures the appropriate combination of play and           promote healthy development.


Summary EPT is both a theory and a model of play therapy. As an integrative metatheory, it includes concepts from multiple theories and strategies from evidence-based play therapies (O’Connor, 2016). As a treatment model, EPT’s systemic, developmental, and goal-oriented foci make it suitable for children of any age and with a variety of presenting problems (O’Connor, 2016).


References Booth, P. B., & Jernberg, A. M. (2010). Theraplay: Helping parents and children build better relationships through attachment-based play (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.


Drewes, A. A., & Schaefer, C. E. (2014). Introduction: How play therapy causes therapeutic change. In C. E. Schaefer & A. A Drewes (Eds.), The therapeutic powers of play: 20 core agents of change (2nd ed., pp. 1-7). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.


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