It's fun—but will it work?: The use of games as a therapeutic medium for children and adolescents

Nickerson, Eileen T.; O'Laughlin, Kay B.

doi:10.1080/15374418009532955

Cited by 13 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Based on the results of the statistical analysis, findings provide preliminary support for the use of GAT as a developmentally appropriate method for working with adolescents. This study provides some evidence that GAT has the potential to produce positive effects in the moral reasoning of adolescents, which extends the body of literature (Breen & Daigneault, 1998;Gaines, Berkovitz, & Kohn, 2000;Kottman, Strother, & Deniger, 1987;Madonna & Caswell, 1991;Nickerson & O'Laughlin, 1980;Packman & Bratton, 2003;Ray, Bratton, Rhine, & Jones, 2001;Wilde, 1994;Wilson & Ryan, 2001) indicating that play therapy is an effective mode of treatment for children and preadolescents. Results of this study suggest that GAT is more effective than group talk therapy as it relates to the moral reasoning of at-risk high school students.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

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A school-based group activity therapy intervention with at-risk high school students as it relates to their moral reasoning.

Paone¹,

Packman²,

Maddux³

et al. 2008

International Journal of Play Therapy

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The main goal of this study was to examine whether group therapy is useful for developing moral reasoning in at-risk youth. This research compared the impact of 10 weeks of group activity therapy (n ϭ 27) and group talk therapy (n ϭ 34) on the moral reasoning of at-risk ninth grade students. Group activity therapy is the developmentally appropriate extension of child centered play therapy for adolescents. Using pretest and posttest scores on the Maintaining Norms Schema subscale of the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT-2; Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, & Bebeau, 1999), an analysis of covariance indicated significant difference between groups. Implications for counselors who work with this population are discussed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…As the adolescents ate snacks and talked, the facilitator continued to reflect feeling, content, and behavior as the group members interacted with one another. In addition, snack time provided the adolescents time to prepare to go back to the classroom setting (Nickerson & O'Laughlin, 1980).…”

Section: Treatment Groupmentioning

confidence: 99%

A school-based group activity therapy intervention with at-risk high school students as it relates to their moral reasoning.

Paone¹,

Packman²,

Maddux³

et al. 2008

International Journal of Play Therapy

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“…12 Board games have a history of use in therapeutic contexts. [13][14][15] Aside from its engaging and entertaining characteristics, one of the great advantages of using a board game is its ability to facilitate face-to-face interactions with peers, tutors, family members, or even a therapist. These social interactions are assumed to enhance learning opportunities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Board Games for Health: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Gauthier

Kato

Bul

et al. 2019

Games for Health Journal

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Nondigital board games are being used to engage players and impact outcomes in health and medicine across diverse populations and contexts. This systematic review and meta-analysis describes and summarizes their impact based on randomized and nonrandomized controlled trials. An electronic search resulted in a review of n = 21 eligible studies. Sample sizes ranged from n = 17 to n = 3110 (n = 6554 total participants). A majority of the board game interventions focused on education to increase health-related knowledge and behaviors (76%, n = 16). Outcomes evaluated included self-efficacy, attitudes/beliefs, biological health indicators, social functioning, anxiety, and executive functioning, in addition to knowledge and behaviors. Using the Cochrane Collaboration tool for assessing bias, most studies (52%, n = 11) had an unclear risk of bias (33% [n = 7] had a high risk and 14% [n = 3] had a low risk). Statistical tests of publication bias were not significant. A randomeffects meta-analysis showed a large average effect of board games on health-related knowledge (d* = 0.82, 95% confidence interval; CI [0.15-1.48]), a small-to-moderate effect on behaviors (d* = 0.33, 95% CI [0.16-0.51]), and a small-to-moderate effect on biological health indicators (d* = 0.37, 95% CI [0.21-0.52]). The findings contribute to the literature on games and gamified approaches in healthcare. Future research efforts should aim for more consistent high scientific standards in their evaluation protocols and reporting methodologies to provide a stronger evidence base.

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“…Sometimes therapists use games as assessment and diagnostic tools (Frey, 1986;Nickerson & O'Laughlin, 1980). Therapists can observe children as they play games and note specific behavior patterns, attitudes, and cognitions.…”

Section: Therapeutic Value Of Gamesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using board games in therapy with children.

Matorin¹,

McNamara²

1996

International Journal of Play Therapy

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This paper contains a review of available literature regarding the use of board games in psychotherapy with children. The authors examine potential advantages and disadvantages of this therapeutic tool. Currently, empirical validation of these games is scarce. The paper presents a discussion of the importance of empirically examining the use of board games in therapy and directions for future research. In addition, the authors provide readers with some preliminary guidelines for selecting and evaluating board games for use with their child clients.Since early in the 20th century, clinicians have used play as a therapeutic technique with children. Anna Freud (1926/1946), one of the pioneers in the field of play therapy, used play to facilitate verbalization in her young patients. Melanie Klein (1932) recognized the value of play in encouraging children to express their fantasies. Although play was originally used primarily in psychoanalytic treatment, it is currently one of the most common techniques used by child therapists across all theoretical domains (Brems, 1993;Knell, 1994;O'Connor, 1991).Although many clinicians promote a completely non-directive approach to play therapy (Chethik, 1989; Landreth, 1991), others tend to structure play to guide children's thoughts and behaviors in specific directions (Knell, 1994;Rasmussen & Cunningham, 1995;Sloves & Peterlin, 1994). The popularity of using games in child therapy in place of, or as an adjunct to, more traditional toys, exemplifies this latter approach (Reid, 1993;Schaefer & Reid, 1986). Clinicians have used a broad spectrum of games therapeutically, ranging from active group Abigail I. Matorin, MS, doctoral student in Clinical Psychology , Ohio University; currently completing a predoctoral internship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX.

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It's fun—but will it work?: The use of games as a therapeutic medium for children and adolescents

Cited by 13 publications

References 9 publications

A school-based group activity therapy intervention with at-risk high school students as it relates to their moral reasoning.

A school-based group activity therapy intervention with at-risk high school students as it relates to their moral reasoning.

Board Games for Health: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

Using board games in therapy with children.

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