ISSN: 2308-0876
NOTE: THIS JOURNAL IS SHIFTED TO NEW
WEBSITE (www.kwpublications.com)
Open access
Healing a sense of self-acceptance and independence among vulnerable groups via developmental methods is a matter of concern by developmental psychologists. Additionally, Malaysia, as a bridging country, is involved in refugees’ journeys. Thereby, this paper is focused on findings from a study carried out on refugee children. This study aimed to investigate the psychosocial development of refugee children with anxiety through the Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) process. Nine Farsi speaking refugee children between the age ranges of 8 to 12 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, have participated in 90 CCPT sessions in Sahabat Support Centre. Data were collected on each child’s CCPT session via individual participant observation of the researcher, field notes, video recording and photos taking, alongside participants’ weekly journal entries. Thematic analysis showed that the CCPT process revealed improvement in self, social and emotional development among the respondents. This study proved that CCPT is an effective tool to elevate the suffering of children in one of the most vulnerable group, such as the refugees. Community workers, school teachers, counsellors, and therapists are able to utilize play therapy as an appropriate medium to elevate the children’s suffering and meet their fundamental psychological needs accordingly.
Althy, A. L. (2005). Effects of a trained therapy dog in CCPT on children’s biobehavioral measuresof anxiety. Master Dissertation. University of North Texas.
Barker, J., & Weller, S. (2003). “Is it fun?” Developing children centred research methods. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 23(1/2), 33-58. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443330310790435
Bronstein, I., & Montgomery, P. (2011). Psychological distress in refugee children: a systematic review. Clinical child and family psychology review, 14(1), 44-56. DOI: 10.1007/s10567-010-00810
Choy, G., McInerney, V., & Jeffrey, P. L. (2006). Multidimensions of perfectionism and self concept in school aged children. In Proceedings of the 2006 Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE) Annual Conference, Adelaide, Australia.
Einarsdóttir, J. (2005). Playschool in pictures: Children’s photographs as a research method. Early child development and care, 175(6), 523-541.
Erikson, E. H. (Ed.). (1963). Youth: Change and challenge. Basic books.
Erikson, E. (1968). Identity: Youth and Crisis. New York: Norton.
Halle, T. G., & Darling-Churchill, K. E. (2016). Review of measures of social and emotional development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 45, 8-18.
Hands, C., Thomas, J., & Legere, S. J. (2015). Refugee children in the UK. Occasional Review ofPediatrics and Child Health, 26(1), 37-41.
Landreth, G. (2002). Play therapy, the art of relationship. Professional Psychology Research and Practice, 33, 515-522.
Landreth, G. (2012). Play therapy: The art of the relationship (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
Maibom, H. L. (2007). The Presence of Others. Journal of Philosophical Studies, 132(2), 161-190. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-004-0018-x
Rebok, G., Riley, A., Forrest, C., Starfield, B., Green, B., Robertson, J., & Tambor, E. (2001). Elementary school-aged children's reports of their health: a cognitive interviewing study. Quality of Life Research, 10(1), 59-70.
Spence Children's Anxiety Scale. (ND). Retrieved from:
https://www.scaswebsite.com/1_1_.html
Surin, T. S. (2016). Assessing developmental delay in refugee children. Faculty of medicine,University of Virginia, USA. Retrieved from: https://med.virginia.edu/family-medicine/wpcontent/uploads/sites/ 285/2017/02/Tamara-Saint-Surin-
Developmental-Delay-Refugee Children_Web.pdf
Tyndall-Lind, A., Landreth. G., & Giordano, M. (2001). Intensive group play therapy with child witnesses of domestic violence. International Journal of Play Therapy, 10, 53-83.
UNHCR. (2016). Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees. Retrieved from: http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/briefingpapers/ refugees/
United Nations Children’s fund. (2012). Retrieved from:
https://www.unicef.org/reports/stateworldschildren-2012
Watson, D. L. (2007). An early intervention approach for students displaying negative externalizing behaviors associated with childhood depression: A study of the efficacy of play therapy in the school. Capella University. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section A. Humanities and social sciences, 68(5), 1820.
In-Text Citation: (Taheri et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Taheri, M., Mansor, M., & Madon, Z. (2021). A Qualitative Study among Refugee Children with Anxiety in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The Effect of Child-Centred Play Therapy on the Social-Emotional Development. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(12), 407–417.
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode