LPCs' and State-Certified School Counselors' Perceptions of Utilizing Play Therapy With Autism Spectrum Disorder

As the number of children and adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increases, the need for mental health services for this population will increase. ASD can be inherently difficult to work with due to core symptoms. Therefore, counselors need to understand what theories, methods...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of play therapy 2023-04, Vol.32 (2), p.95-106
Main Author: Jenkins, Jennifer Bell
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autism Spectrum Disorders
Counselor Attitudes
Human
Play Therapy
School Counselors
Therapeutic Alliance
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:As the number of children and adolescents diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) increases, the need for mental health services for this population will increase. ASD can be inherently difficult to work with due to core symptoms. Therefore, counselors need to understand what theories, methods, and techniques have successfully worked with this population. Current literature on counseling with children suggests that play therapy is effective. This generic qualitative inquiry explores licensed professional counselors' and state-certified school counselors' perceptions of utilizing play therapy to build a therapeutic alliance with children diagnosed with ASD. The study revealed that there are more interactions with parents when working with the ASD population than neurotypical children. Counselors typically begin counseling sessions with child-centered play therapy and then evolve into more of a directive role based on the child's intense interests or obsessions of the moment. The study found that flexibility and modifications were essential criteria when using play therapy with a child with ASD to allow connection with the child. Future research could focus on pre-/postdata using play therapy with children with ASD in sessions.
ISSN:1555-6824
1939-0629
DOI:10.1037/pla0000197