Play Therapy Applied by Parents for Children with Darkness Phobia: Comparison of Two Programmes

ABSTRACT

Two play therapies applied by parents for darkness phobia in young children are compared. Seventy-eight children between the ages of 4 and 8 were recruited from twenty-seven schools. The participants were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: bibliotherapy and games, emotive performances, and no treatment. The treatments were applied at home by parents who had previously been trained. The training lasted for five weeks and took place in three 20-minute alternate weekly sessions. Compared with the control group, both play therapies achieved a significant improvement in darkness phobia (d > 1.0), which increased in a 12-month follow-up.

KEYWORDS:

• Darkness phobia
• play therapy
• emotive performances
• bibliotherapy and games
• childhood
• parent training