Revealing Mindsets: An Effective Approach to Play Therapy Concerning the Treatment of Childhood Behavioral Disorders

Social work needs to investigate new approaches to play therapy concerning the treatment of childhood behavioral disorders. A case vignette of a 12-year-old boy named Joel, who was diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), offers valuable insights. A revealing mindset emerged in Joel once he was given the license to control his treatment. He directed his treatment and thus opened more in play. His social functioning gradually improved as he learned to appropriately resolve conflict. This approach to play therapy may hold promise. Young people who experience behavioral disorders may initially struggle to bond with social work practitioners. Those diagnosed with ODD struggle with patterns of resistant, defiant, or disobedient actions toward authority figures like parents, teachers, or other adults, which may disrupt social functioning (Bagherizadeh et al., 2015; Panahian-Amiri et al., 2021). There are no severe aggressive behaviors or violations of social norms among those diagnosed with ODD (Panahian-Amiri et al., 2021). Three to eight percent of young people are diagnosed with ODD, which impacts boys more notably (Bagherizadeh et al., 2015). These individuals may struggle to meet the expectations of parents, teachers, and communities (Bagherizadeh et al., 2015; Morshed et al., 2019). The cognitive, social, and emotional skills of those diagnosed with ODD may be arrested (Panahian-Amiri et al., 2021). ODD requires appropriate treatment as it could lead to conduct disorder, substance use, and antisocial personality disorder (Bagherizadeh et al., 2015; Morshed et al., 2019). Treatment involves medicine, behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, family therapy, group therapy, or play therapy (Panahian-Amiri et al., 2021).