Pediatric Treatment Options

   Play therapy is a type of therapy targeting the developmental age of the client. One large meta-analysis found play therapy to be efficacious and equally effective across ages, gender and presenting problems (Bratton, Ray, Rhine, & Jones, 2005). The greatest improvement was seen when parents were involved with play therapy (Bratton et al., 2005).

            Many studies use elementary school as the medium or location to treat children. Prevention of negative outcomes is a common theme in schools. Children have little to no control over their home environment. So public schools have made changes to help students have higher chances of succeeding. Mental health problems prevention strategies can be implemented in schools. There is often a psychotherapist in the school and a free period at school to allow teens to make up homework that was not done at home. Tol, Komproe, Susanty, Jordans, … & De Jong (2008) conducted multiple control trials with interventions targeting mental health in schools for kids affected by political violence. The unique aspect of providing interventions and treatment in school is it is a safe, consistent, structured environment the child attends on a regular basis. And there are plenty of adults in the school that may be able to help with the interventions. 

            School is an ideal location to promote healthy development in children and provide prevention interventions to help children have positive outcomes. Adults are not treated like this. There is not one location nearly everyone goes to on a regular basis, which is a consistently safe environment. Adults work at different businesses and on different days. Often, mental health prevention is not addressed in adults to the degree it is in children and adolescents.