NCT06845111

Therapeutic Play and Its Effect on Children's Psychosocial Well-Being

The Effect of Therapeutic Play-Based Intervention Programme (TOTEM) Applied to 4-6 Age Group Earthquake Victims Living in Kahramanmaraş on Children's Psychosocial Well-Being

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 53 (actual)
• Sponsor: Kocaeli University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 4 Years – 6 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Therapeutic Play-Based Intervention Programme (TOTEM), which was developed to reduce the negative psychosocial effects of the earthquake in children aged 4-6 years, and its effect on children's psychosocial well-being.

Detailed description

Earthquakes are among the most impressive geological processes and are defined as an unpredictable natural disaster due to their destructive effects on people and structures. In Turkey, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake occurred on 6 February 2023 at 04.17 local time, centred in Kahramanmaraş, and another 7.6-magnitude earthquake occurred about nine hours later. In addition, more than 1000 aftershocks were recorded in the region and these events further increased the scale of the disaster. Earthquakes have the potential to have profound and traumatic effects on people's psychological functioning. Children are particularly affected by these effects due to their vulnerability during natural disasters. Children who experience disasters may face various problems in physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development. Therapeutic play intervention is based on the belief that play is a universal language that allows children to easily express their feelings and thoughts. This approach is an effective strategy that helps the child to explore their problems, seek solutions, express their feelings and emotional regulation. It also promotes cognitive development, reduces anxiety and stress, and increases confidence. Providing appropriate support to children after a traumatic event such as an earthquake is critical for preventing future psychological problems. In this context, providing children with supportive approaches such as play therapy and conducting these methods by expert teams can contribute to children's well-being. Therapeutic games play an important role by providing a universal language for children to express their emotions and cope with stress.

Conditions

• Therapeutic Play
• Psychosocial Well-being
• Nursing Care

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Therapeutic play	In this context, the pre-school teachers in the container area were contacted and the sessions were held every Wednesday-Thursday (8 sessions in total) for 5 weeks, taking into account their availability hours. Children were included in the programme in groups of 12. Before data collection, the necessary materials were provided and stored in an empty container. It was found appropriate to complete the trainings in kindergartens located in the container city (4). A total of 3 evaluations were carried out: a post-test immediately after the end of the programme and a retention test at the end of the first month.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-05-01
• Primary completion: 2024-09-01
• Completion: 2024-12-01
• First posted: 2025-02-25
• Last updated: 2025-11-21

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)