International Journal of Play Therapy, Vol 33(1), Jan 2024, 1-11; doi:10.1037/pla0000209
Research shows that a positive relationship between student and teacher has significant positive effects on students’ socioemotional and behavioral health (Ansari et al., 2020; Chen & Lindo, 2017; Rucinski et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2016). Research also supports the efficacy of child-centered play therapy (CCPT) to address children’s socioemotional and behavioral issues in schools, including CCPT-based interventions like filial therapy and child–teacher relationship training, delivered by teachers, and paraprofessionals (Bratton et al., 2005; Van Fleet, 2013). CCPT or child–teacher relationship training is not always available for teachers and paraprofessionals, especially in economically disadvantaged or rural areas, so researchers and practitioners have developed brief forms of training. Using a pretest, posttest design, we examined the efficacy of a 1-day child–teacher relationship training for 34 preschool teachers and paraprofessionals. We evaluated the impact of the brief training on participants’ scores on the Play Therapy Attitude-Knowledge-Skills Survey (S. C. Kao & Landreth, 1997) by conducting a paired-sample t test, finding statistically significant improvement and a large effect size for scores on each subscale after participants completed the training. We discuss limits of this pilot study and implications for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)