Relationship between child centered play therapy and developmental levels of young children: A single case analysis.

This study used a single case design to explore the relationship between individual child-centered play therapy on children with developmental delays by examining its effectiveness in: 1) increasing measured developmental age; 2) reducing problematic behaviors related to developmental delays; and 3) increasing developmentally appropriate behaviors. Three participants were assessed weekly with both developmental and behavioral measures during the three phases of the study: baseline, intervention, and follow up. Additionally, parents of the participants completed behavioral measures at pretest, midpoint, and posttest administrations. The participant's weekly standard scores were graphed and results were examined separately using visual analyses. Changes between phases: non-intervention baseline, intervention, and non-intervention follow-up were examined; specifically, the level, trend, and variability of the data across the phases were examined. Each of the three participants served as their own control group in this single case analysis and their results, and all three of the participants demonstrated improvement on the developmental measures after receiving the play therapy intervention. Results from this single case analysis suggest the need for further replication, use and reporting of single case interventions and designs, to promote the efficacy of counseling interventions and to potentially enhance the literature and research base for evidence based interventions