Incorporating play therapy into evidence-based treatment with children affected by obsessive compulsive disorder.

Abstract

This article outlines the etiology, symptoms, and two of the most current evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions associated with children diagnosed with ob-sessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Research demonstrates that a combination ofcognitive–behavioral therapy with exposure treatment, along with psychopharmaco-logical treatment, is the “gold standard” when providing mental health care tochildren with OCD (Pediatric OCD Treatment Study, 2004, Journal of the AmericanMedical Association, 292 , 1969–1976.). While play therapy has not been identi edas a singularly bene cial paradigm to mitigate the symptoms associated with OCD(Piacentini & Langley, 2004, Journal of Clinical Psychology, 60, 1181–1194.), theauthors of this article argue that play therapy can be integrated within the evidence-based treatment modalities to provide a developmentally appropriate context forchildren. Speci cally, play therapy techniques may be bene cial for children at-tempting to externalize the internal dialogue of repetitive thoughts associated withOCD. Last, implications for play therapists are addressed.