CONTENTS

About This Course

Table of Contents

1. School Bullying: What It Is and Why It Hurts
2. The Role of Bullies, Victims, and Witnesses
3. Factors Contributing to Bullying and Violence
4. Screening and Assessment
5. Treatment For Children and Adolescents
6. Prevention and Intervention
7. Legal and Ethical Issues

Supplements
Case Studies
Fact Sheets
References
Resources

The ABCs of Bullying
Addressing, Blocking, and Curbing School Aggression

Toys Appropriate for Play Therapy

In play therapy, toys are the medium for communication. Therefore, they should be selected carefully to allow a child the freedom to express any and all feelings and emotions. The toys must also be interesting to children, or else they serve little purpose. It is important that children feel empowered and masterful when playing with toys, so there should be some that can be manipulated without specific instructions (ACA News, 1998).

The child will use the toys for many purposes, including (Landreth & Bratton, 1999; ACA News, 1998):

• Establishing a positive relationship with the counselor
• Expressing many different feelings
• Exploring and reenacting real-life situations
• Strengthening self-concept
• Enhancing self-control

In the Adlerian approach, there are five general categories of toys for therapy. It is not necessary to have all of the toys in each category; however, it is important to have a representative sample from each. The categories are (ACA News, 1998):

• Family/nurturing toys (to explore family dynamics)
  1. doll house
  2. baby dolls, cradle
  3. animal families
  4. people puppets, child-sized rocking chair
  5. baby clothes, bottles
  6. stuffed toys
  7. pots, pans, dishes, and silverware
• Scary toys (to explore past traumas, mistaken beliefs, perceived threats)
  1. snakes, rats, insects, dragons
  2. dinosaurs
  3. plastic monsters
  4. shark, alligators
  5. wolf, bear, alligator puppets
• Aggressive toys (to explore control and trust issues) (not all therapists believe having aggressive toys is a good idea as it may confuse the idea of not using violence to express feelings)
  1. a stand-up punching bag
  2. weapons (play pistols, holsters, swords, rubber knives)
  3. toy soldiers, military vehicles
  4. foam rubber bat
  5. plastic shield, handcuffs
• Expressive toys (to explore feelings, family relationships, and unique creativity)
  1. an easel, watercolors
  2. crayons, markers, pencils
  3. glue, scotch tape, egg cartons
  4. play dough or clay finger paints
  5. scissors
  6. pipe cleaners
• Pretend/fantasy toys (to explore relationships and practice new behaviors)
  1. masks
  2. a doctor kit
  3. hats, jewelry, purses, other dress-up clothes
  4. blocks, other building materials
  5. puppets
  6. cars, trucks, airplanes
  7. zoo and farm animals
  8. magic wands