Date of Award

Summer 2025

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Jonathan H. Ohrt

Abstract

This multi-manuscript dissertation comprises two interconnected articles that collectively explore facilitating Child-centered play therapy (CCPT) through telemental health (TMH) using a virtual playroom. Chapter Three includes a qualitative manuscript using thematic analysis to understand the experiences of eight counseling students who participated in a training where they learned how to create and utilize a virtual playroom, followed by a virtual play session with elementary-aged children. The results from this study provided six emergent themes and subthemes. Chapter Four includes a quantitative manuscript using a single-case research design. More specifically, this study used a reversal design to investigate the impact of providing the intervention of CCPT through TMH using the virtual playroom for an elementary-aged child with disruptive behaviors. The results of this study support the use of CCPT in TMH to reduce disruptive behaviors. Overall, this dissertation aims to advance the counseling field by understanding how to engage children in telemental health, specifically child-centered play therapy, and its effectiveness in treating mental health disorders.

Rights

© 2025, Keeland Kelley LoDato

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