Getting to Know O’Connor: Experiencing the Ecosystemic Play Therapy Model With Urban First Nations People

• Published in: The Family Journal
• Main Author: Boyer, Wanda
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2010
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1066480710364090; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1066480710364090

Children’s play behaviors are generally fun for them, but the same cannot be said for children who need clinical help. Play therapy seeks to resolve psychosocial difficulties and reestablish a child’s ability to play and function normally (O’Connor, 2000). Ecosystemic play therapy (EPT) integrates a variety of techniques and theories to create a single model that ‘‘addresses the total child within the context of the child’s ecosystem’’ (O’Connor, 2000, p. 87). Particularly when balancing between a culture of origin, a dominant culture, and the needs of an acculturating child, it is important to use play therapy models that include the caregivers in the therapeutic process (O’Connor, 2005b). The ecosystemic model is that caliber of therapy. This article will act as a catalyst for becoming reacquainted with the ecosystemic model, including a brief history, the major components and techniques, and a case example involving an Urban First Nations family.