Empirically Based Play Interventions For Children

Empirically Based Play Interventions for Children is a compilation of innovative, well-designed play interventions, presented for the first time in one text. Play therapy is the oldest and most popular form of child therapy in clinical practice and is widely considered by practitioners to be uniquely responsive to children's developmental needs. Play promotes normal child development and can help alleviate emotional and behavioral difficulties. Even so, play-based interventions have often been criticized for the lack of an empirical base to prove their efficacy. In an era of cost-containment, the need to provide evidence of the effectiveness of interventions is increasingly important in order to gain the general acceptance of third-party payers, mental health professionals, and consumers. This book answers the call from professional and managed-care organizations for research-based treatment methods with proven efficacy. It describes a range of play interventions that feature flexibility in service delivery and across settings, child populations and age groups. The editors and their contributors detail vital treatment components, including interventions that accommodate the developmental level of the child, target functional behaviors and competencies in children and parents, use psychometrically sound and clinically sensitive outcome assessments, and define successful outcomes by statistically meaningful methods. Clinicians and researchers alike will benefit from this landmark text and will gain a fuller understanding of the key ingredients for developing future play interventions.

Linda A. Reddy, PhD, is a professor of school psychology at Rutgers University, USA. She received her doctorate in school psychology from University of Arizona.

Dr. Reddy has published more than 70 manuscripts and book chapters in the areas of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and ADHD-related disorders, group play interventions, school and classroom interventions, and test development/validation. She is a fellow of APA, 2014 president of APA Division 16 (School Psychology), and member of the APA Board of Professional Affairs. She serves on the editorial board of more than 10 journals.

Dr. Reddy is the lead editor of Empirically Based Play Interventions for Children (2005), author of Group Play Interventions for Children: Strategies for Teaching Prosocial Skills (2012), and lead editor of Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention for Emotional and Behavior Disordered Youth: An Integrated Step-by-Step Evidence-Based Approach (2013) published by APA. She is the lead author of the Classroom Strategies Scales.

She is the recipient of research and service awards, and has received more than $43 million in funding for her work. A licensed psychologist in New Jersey, Dr. Reddy has extensive clinical experience working with children with emotional, behavioral, and neurocognitive difficulties, and with families and schools.

Tara M. Files-Hall, PhD, is a licensed clinical child psychologist, certified school psychologist, and registered play therapist in Florida, USA. She received her doctorate in clinical psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University.Dr. Files-Hall has extensive clinical experience evaluating and treating children and adolescents, and consulting with parents, teachers, and school systems; and has advanced training in play therapy through the Association for Play Therapy, Inc. She has numerous publications and professional presentations on the utility and efficacy of play-based interventions and behavioral treatments for children with emotional and behavioral issues, including ADHD. She coedited Empirically Based Play Interventions for Children (2005) published by APA.

Dr. Files-Hall maintains her private practice at Family C.O.P.E., Center of Psychotherapy/Psychiatry and Evaluation, in Sarasota, Florida, where she conducts individual, play, and family therapy; conducts psychological evaluations; and provides school-based consultation to elementary, middle, and high schools.

Charles E. Schaefer, PhD, is an Emeritus Professor of Psychology and former director of the Center for Psychological Services at Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA. He is the cofounder and board member emeritus of the International Association for Play Therapy, and is the founder of the Play Therapy Training Institute in New Jersey. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Fordham University.

With more than 40 years of experience working with children and parents, Dr. Schaefer has received numerous awards for his clinical and research work on child development, parenting, and play therapy; has published more than 60 books and numerous articles and book chapters on play-based interventions; and serves on several journal editorial review boards.

Dr. Schaefer coordinates an annual international play therapy study group abroad. He was the former director of psychology at The Children's Village in Dobbs Ferry, New York. He maintains a private practice for children and their families in Hackensack, New Jersey.