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View Full Version : play therapy v. cognitive behavioral therapy (5yo)



fivi2
01-31-2011, 02:48 PM
I had asked about anxiety in my 5 yo recently and gotten some good responses. I am finally moving on looking into therapists for her. It appears that for this age group play therapy is more common than the CBT...

Several of you had recommended CBT, so now I am trying to figure out what to pursue.

Is play therapy going to be what most will do with this age? Should I keep looking elsewhere? Our insurance appears to cover it pretty thoroughly, so that is not the deciding factor at this point...

i am concerned about her anxiety and possible depression, if that makes a difference.

thanks!

egoldber
01-31-2011, 02:55 PM
You may find this helpful: http://www.worrywisekids.org/treatments/med_thrpy.html

The CBT that older DD did had a lot of play elements and was very play based. But there was focused work too and also homework for the child. If it were me, I would probably try to find someone who is CBT trained and will use the elements of it that are appropriate for a 5 year old.

jse107
01-31-2011, 03:14 PM
I agree with Beth. 5 yo is old enough to learn structured strategies and thinking patterns, but also requires a lot of play and creative work.

fivi2
01-31-2011, 03:42 PM
Thank you!

That link is great! This is making me crazy - trying to figure out what is going on with her and how it will impact our kinder decisions for next year (school choice and whether or not to keep the girls together). I know it goes deeper than the recent school/job changes, but we recently had a long weekend off from school and she seemed so much happier. I talked to the ped and he agreed that we should go see someone, but he didn't really have any suggestions - just a long list.

Thanks for the advice!

egoldber
01-31-2011, 04:06 PM
My older DD has found my return to the work force very, very stressful. I have a lot of guilt about that. It probably took her a full year to really acclimate and it STILL stresses her out. She also finds any change, even a happy, positive change, stressful. Which is why I kept her in the same school last year because I didn't think two stressful changes in a row, even if one was positive, was right for her.

It is soooo hard to know the best thing to do for kids who struggle. :hug:

DietCokeLover
01-31-2011, 04:13 PM
I would recommend play therapy. I am a child therapist, and with that age, I would be more inclined to work anxiety issues using play therapy. In my experience, with children who are under age 6 or 7, play therapy is more effective.

vludmilla
01-31-2011, 04:24 PM
I am a huge fan of cognitive behavioral therapy with a well-trained clinician so that is my bias. I think that the two things are not exclusive. You can have excellent CBT with the use of play therapy strategies. I think play therapy alone stands a good chance of not helping enough with an anxious child.

fivi2
01-31-2011, 07:17 PM
Thanks again, everyone!

m448
02-01-2011, 08:13 AM
You should look into emdr. Some therapists use it in conjunction with cbt and in children it seems to work quite quickly.

alexsmommy
02-01-2011, 08:33 AM
I would recommend play therapy. I am a child therapist, and with that age, I would be more inclined to work anxiety issues using play therapy. In my experience, with children who are under age 6 or 7, play therapy is more effective.

I am a psychologist and agree. Some five year olds may be able to do true CBT, but play therapy is generally more effective at this age. When treating this age for anxiety, I utilize some CBT techniques, encourage the parents to use and practice them, but if you asked me my treatment modality I would say play therapy. If you can find a child therapist who uses play therapy but knows/uses CBT elsewhere in their practice you should be in good shape. When you ask what treatment modality, you may get an answer which sounds like a mish-mash. If you do, don't panic, it's because with kids this young many therapists like to pull what works for that particular child from several modalities. Somewhere between age five and nine-ten-ish most kids switch to true CBT for anxiety based concerns so you want someone who knows how to do it properly so you can stay with one person if a "tune up" is needed as your DC matures. Good luck.