The Play Therapy Procedure With School Teens: A Constructive Grounded Theory Study

• In Event: Constructivist Theory, Research, and Practice: Perspectives and Insights From Preschool Through Adulthood

Abstract

This qualitative grounded theory inquiry explored the process making play therapy viable for teenagers—often resistant to the approach—in U.S. schools. Four assertations emerged from interviews with seven counselors who successfully applied play therapy with school teens: (1) Receptive environment triggering client’s active expression and creation per personal path and realities, (2) Counselor-client mutually determined story/meaning building, (3) Flexible alternatives to therapeutic modalities or impasses, (4) Multiple theoretical approaches to play therapy experienced by counselors being effective with teens. Final analyses revealed that constructivism could be a hidden principle guiding the counselors’ play therapy practices. To substantiate this finding and further advance adolescent counseling, future quantitative studies examining the connection between constructivism with play therapy for teens are recommended.

Author

• Yih-Jiun Shen, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley