Play Therapy

Effect of play therapy and storytelling on anxiety in children (2025)
This open-access research article reports on play therapy’s effectiveness in reducing anxiety in hospitalized children.
 https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-025-04767-4 (SpringerLink)

 

Meta-analytic & systematic review summaries (Evidence Based Child Therapy)
Aggregated meta-analyses and systematic reviews that summarize multiple outcome studies (includes CCPT).
 https://evidencebasedchildtherapy.com/meta-analyses-reviews/ (Evidence Based Child Therapy)

 

Psychophysiological Insights into Child-Centered Play Therapy (2024)
A recent empirical study exploring physiological markers (heart rate variability) during CCPT, offering novel measurement approaches.
 https://www.mdpi.com/2673-866X/4/3/19 (MDPI)

 

International Journal of Play Therapy
Quarterly peer-reviewed journal focused specifically on play therapy science (research, interventions, outcomes).
 http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/pla/index.aspx (Wikipedia

 

The Efficacy of Play Therapy With Children: A Meta-Analytic Review
A foundational meta-analysis showing overall effectiveness (large effect sizes) across many studies.
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232438673_The_Efficacy_of_Play_Therapy_With_Children_A_Meta-Analytic_Review_of_Treatment_Outcomes (ResearchGate)

 

Meta-Analyses on Play Therapy Outcomes (Summary Page)
Links to multiple meta-analyses including Parker et al. (2021) on disruptive behavior and other CCPT outcomes.
 https://evidencebasedchildtherapy.com/meta-analyses-reviews/ (Evidence Based Child Therapy)