Play Therapy Series Part 1: Practising in Singapore

​Abstract:
Play therapy in Singapore is still in its infancy stages and hence, is experiencing challenges as well as exciting opportunities. The challenges in training, professional development, research and professional accreditation, when adequately addressed albeit arduous, would provide a nurturing and fertile ground for growth.

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PHOTO CREDIT: ginatepper.com

Dr. Seuss in Oh, the Places You'll Go shared that "It takes courage to play in a world that does not play."  Indeed, it probably would take similar courage to practice Play Therapy in Singapore, given that the therapeutic use of play and play therapy are still in its infancy stage. In the next three entries, I will share with you the challenges and opportunities in practicing Play Therapy in Singapore. ​

​In the West, Play therapy is one of the empirically proven psychological treatment modalities that are beneficial to children facing a wide spectrum of problems (Bratton et al., 2005). Originally conceived in Europe as an extension of Freudian psychoanalysis to children, play therapy as a discipline has developed its theoretical basis in the United States, with pioneering works by, for example, Virginia Axline (1950) and Haim Ginott (1961). Today, the growth of this discipline is evident both in the expanding membership of professional associations (e.g., the Association for Play Therapy [APT] in the United States or the Play Therapy International [PTI] in United Kingdom) and in its wide recognition among mental health professionals in the West.

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In the last decade, play therapy, as an effective intervention approach for working with children, has been gaining popularity among mental health professionals in Singapore. In addition, the general public is more aware of the importance of play in a child’s overall development. However, professional play therapy service is still in its germinating stage as research, trainings and accreditation are still under way.
 
Available research tends to be Western centric that questions the applicability and relevance to the Asian context. In Singapore, play therapy and it application has been slow in accumulating empirical evidence to test the effectiveness of different play approaches in dealing with children’s problems. There is limited local research relating to play therapy that has been published. The first author is probably one of the very few scholars and practitioners in Singapore who has researched on the effectiveness of play therapy. Her research reported the effective use of a communication board game for adult patients who were diagnosed with advanced cancer (Pon, 2010). The research results indicated an increase in positive emotional states, purpose of life, quality of life, and quality of death. More research on the cross-cultural applications of various play therapy models needed to be conducted to identify what works for clients in Singapore and Asia.
 
Of course, developing culturally relevant and sensitive play therapy for Singaporean families requires more than research. Play therapists who work in Singapore, in particular, recognize in their day-to-day practice with families, the need to adapt and reinterpret what they have learned in their professional training, often on the fly during a therapy session. To facilitate the expansion of play therapy in the local setting, the play therapy programs design should not only align with the international levels but equally important is the training of play therapy modalities such as such as Child-Centered Play Therapy, Filial therapy, Gestalt Play therapy, and Theraplay® to be adapted and applied to cross-cultural settings. The local practitioners must be equipped with culturally specific knowledge and skills for selecting and evaluating evidence-based strategies that work with various types of clients in Singapore.
 
The progress and development of play therapy in Singapore is impacted by the lack of public recognition that this modality is a specialization or, rather, an extension of mental health training. In fact, the public is only beginning to be aware of what play therapy is, what play therapists do, and the importance of training and supervision for the professionals who will use play therapy competently. With the expansion of play therapy trainings offered from various sources to the local practitioners, there lacks a system for formal accreditation. Many mental health professions are still ignorant of the need for rigorous training, supervision, and experiences in being a Registered play therapist.
 
Finally, the challenges extend beyond therapy in the playroom. Kenny-Noziska, Schaefer & Homeyer (2012) postulated that practitioners needed to consider many factors and to customize interventions and strategies to fit the needs of our individual clients. Catipon, Dey and Garcia (2013) reiterated this when they highlighted that a key challenge working with parents was varying expectations resulting from limited understanding of play therapy. To the untrained, play therapy appears fun and simple. Parents who are more familiar with traditional interventions could conclude prematurely that play therapy is lightweight. Indeed, without evidence based research, culturally relevant training and professional accreditation, parents and professionals might continue to languish play therapy as being a ‘fun’ therapy not effective for serious issues.
 
Play therapy in Singapore is still in its infancy stages and hence, is experiencing challenges as well as exciting opportunities. The challenges in training, professional development, research and professional accreditation, when adequately addressed albeit arduous, would provide a nurturing and fertile ground for growth.
 
 
Please contact Dr. Alicia Pon (E: aliciapon@gmail.com) for references and questions for this article.

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About The Author
Dr. Pon is a Registered Play Therapy – Supervisor (RPT-S: S1618) for both the Association of Play Therapy (US) and Play Therapy International (HK). She supervises social workers, psychologists, counselors, and psychotherapists for licensing in Play Therapy for both the Associations. Dr. Pon is also an Approved Play Therapy Provider (APT Provider: 10-279) and have presented in numerous international conferences, and conducted workshops in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China. Read more about Alicia

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