RPT Play Therapy Theories & Techniques 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When conducting sand tray therapy with a child, the therapist's stance during the world-building phase is best described as:
- Actively suggesting miniatures to deepen the narrative
- Witnessing silently without interrupting the child's process (Correct answer)
- Asking probing questions to uncover unconscious content
- Directing the child toward resolution-focused themes
Correct answer: Witnessing silently without interrupting the child's process
During sand tray world-building, the therapist maintains a witnessing presence, allowing the child's psyche to express itself without interruption.
Question 2: The 'growth hypothesis' in person-centered play therapy suggests that:
- Children must be taught specific skills to overcome deficits
- Given the right conditions, children move naturally toward health and growth (Correct answer)
- Behavioral reinforcement drives developmental progress
- Insight into unconscious material is necessary for change
Correct answer: Given the right conditions, children move naturally toward health and growth
Carl Rogers' growth hypothesis holds that children have an innate actualizing tendency that emerges when core conditions like empathy and acceptance are present.
Question 3: Which of the following best exemplifies a 'tracking' response in non-directive play therapy?
- 'It looks like that monster makes you feel scared.'
- 'You're putting the blue block on top of the red one.' (Correct answer)
- 'Tell me more about why that character is hiding.'
- 'What do you think will happen to the family next?'
Correct answer: 'You're putting the blue block on top of the red one.'
Tracking is a descriptive response that mirrors what the child is doing without interpreting feelings or directing the action.
Question 4: In Cognitive-Behavioral Play Therapy (CBPT), bibliotherapy is used primarily to:
- Elicit unconscious symbolism through projected stories
- Model adaptive cognitions and coping strategies relevant to the child's issues (Correct answer)
- Strengthen the therapeutic alliance through shared storytelling
- Assess the child's developmental reading level
Correct answer: Model adaptive cognitions and coping strategies relevant to the child's issues
In CBPT, bibliotherapy uses carefully selected books to model rational thinking and adaptive coping behaviors for children.
Question 5: A core assumption of Jungian Analytical Play Therapy is that the psyche:
- Is primarily shaped by operant conditioning in early childhood
- Has a self-healing capacity expressed through archetypal symbols in play (Correct answer)
- Develops through a fixed sequence of psychosocial stages
- Is best understood through the ABCs of behavioral analysis
Correct answer: Has a self-healing capacity expressed through archetypal symbols in play
Jungian play therapy views the psyche as inherently self-regulating and healing, with the child's spontaneous symbolic play expressing archetypal processes.
Question 6: Filial therapy differs from traditional child play therapy primarily because:
- It uses only directive techniques with the child
- Parents are trained to conduct therapeutic play sessions with their own children (Correct answer)
- It is limited to group therapy formats
- The therapist remains the sole agent of change throughout treatment
Correct answer: Parents are trained to conduct therapeutic play sessions with their own children
Filial therapy (developed by Guerney) trains parents as therapeutic agents so they can conduct CCPT-style sessions with their own children.
Question 7: When a child enacts the same traumatic theme repeatedly in play, a trauma-informed play therapist would MOST likely interpret this as:
- Resistance to the therapeutic process requiring limit-setting
- Posttraumatic play serving as the child's effort to master overwhelming experience (Correct answer)
- A sign that play therapy is contraindicated for this child
- Deliberate manipulation of the therapeutic relationship
Correct answer: Posttraumatic play serving as the child's effort to master overwhelming experience
Repetitive traumatic play is understood as the child's attempt at mastery and meaning-making, a core concept in trauma-informed play therapy.
RPT Play Therapy Theories & Techniques 3
When conducting sand tray therapy with a child, the therapist's stance during the world-building phase is best described as: