Dr. Stagnitti is a very active Senior Lecturer in Education and Training at the Greater Green Triangle University, Department of Rural Health in Warrnambool, Australia.  In case you aren’t that familiar with Australia, Warrnambool is located on the southern coastline, west of Melbourne.  She is also quite dedicated to continuing her research on the importance and success of using play in order to best help children.

Important research findings have been generated by Dr. Stagnitti on the positive impact of using child-initiated pretend play.  These finding were recently published in the January/February 2004 issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy.  "Test-Retest Reliability of the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment", was written by she and Dr. Carolyn Unsworth, both from Australia.  Then in March 2004, The Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, volume 51, issue 1, page 3, carried another of Karen Stagnitti’s papers on "Understanding Play: The Implications for Play Assessment."  

Karen: So far in my career, the play therapy experiences that I have had are in working with children in Australia and children in Japan.

Deborah: It seems like there might be quite a few differences in play therapy between those two parts of the world! What are some of the special things that you have noticed?
Karen: From what I have observed during play assessments and in some of my play intervention sessions, I found it interesting that the Australian children showed a wide range of play themes, while the Japanese children did a lot of domestic activities within their play.  As an illustration of this point, I noticed that the Japanese children did not recognize a toy wrench that I have as part of my play materials.  They were much more familiar with the domestic elements of life.  Whereas all of the Australian children easily knew what the toy wrench was.  In Australia, people tend to "do it yourself" whereas in Japan, only certain people know how to fix things because that is their actual job.

Deborah: What are some of the most exciting and valuable elements of sharing play therapy ideas and theoretical approaches cross culturally?Karen: I think it is fascinating to discover the aspects of play that occur across the board in every culture.  I also enjoy finding the unique differences in the child’s play that reflect the society that the child is from.

Deborah: How involved do parents in Australia become in their child’s therapeutic work?  Are there differences between how the mother, father and extended family participate?
Karen: I have noticed that in play intervention sessions, the siblings often joined in and I didn’t discourage this as I think it is important that they feel included.  As far as parent participation goes, there was a wide range of responses.  There were parents who were deeply involved and also parents who really didn’t see the relevance of play to their child at all.  In my experience, it seemed that mother’s tended to be more aware of what the child was capable of than the fathers.

Deborah: How did you become interested in becoming a play therapist?
Karen: My involvement has been from a love of play and an interest in how complex both play and play therapy are.  One of my passions has been to develop assessment tools for play therapy.  I feel that the concept of play would be taken more seriously if it could be assessed more effectively.  To that end I have spent the last few years developing a play assessment tool called "The Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment" which so far, is showing good reliability and validity.  From this assessment, I have also developed a play program to help children develop their ability to play.  We have been getting some nice results with children that have Autism and other developmental delays.

Deborah: What are some of the ways that you would describe your philosophy of how a child heals through the use of play therapy?
Karen: I believe that play is important to a child’s development because it encompasses emotional, social, cognitive and language aspects of development.  Play is the natural medium that children use to communicate in their world.  And play is also an important measure of the child’s development.

Deborah: What do you find are some of the most interesting points about working with children? 
Karen: I enjoy the fact that playing with children is unpredictable.  You never quite know what is going to happen in a session. It is also very exciting when children start to gain insights regarding their lives and/or develop new skills.  Those are very special times.

Deborah: Throughout your career, you must have had many powerful moments that have touched you deeply.
Karen: Yes, once I saw a child during an Axline session, who let it be know that she didn’t like her nickname.  The nickname was something demeaning like Dumbo.  Her Mum had no idea that this was a problem for her daughter.  After the family stopped using this negative nickname, the child’s self-esteem improved considerably and interactions with other members of the family improved as well.  Another powerful moment happened with a boy who had Autism.   It was wonderful when this boy finally began to gain skills in his ability to play and was actually able to spend an entire hour in true cooperative play with 4 other boys in the sandpit at his local preschool.  This was a major turning point in his interactions with his peers.

Deborah: What do you feel are some of the important things that play therapists should understand?
Karen: I believe that it is quite important for play therapists to learn how to measure play effectively so they can show the improvements that their child clients make to other professionals that are involved in the case.

Deborah: What do you see as some of the most common mistakes that play therapists make? 
Karen: This one is difficult to answer.  Some play therapists feel that what they do isn’t as important as other therapies. I believe that this is a mistaken belief.

Deborah: What are your views on the degree of directiveness that is best in working with a child?
Karen: For children who have no idea how to play, I am quite directive.  As the child begins to direct his/her own play, I become more nondirective.  In my work, most of the children that I see don’t know how to play unless they are shown.

Deborah: We often invite our clients to discover various ways to revitalize their lives so they can grow and create health for themselves.  What are some of the things that rejuvenate you?
Karen: I am fortunate enough to live near a beach and I find walking on the beach very rejuvenating. I also garden and I enjoy going out to cafes for coffee with friends… I like that a great deal!

Deborah: We are always looking for new and interesting ideas of activities to do with our clients.  What have you found to be some of the most powerful techniques in working with a child and their family?
Karen: I have found using pretend play a powerful technique to use.

Deborah: What are some techniques for inviting hesitant children to participate in therapy?
Karen: I have been given a crab puppet, where the crab is inside the shape of a shell.  The fingers go through the shell section to fingergloves, which pop out of the shell.  The "creature" in the shell can be shy, just like the child, and need encouragement to play.  Also, I sometimes have found that leaving toys out and starting to play with them myself will often encourage a child to join in, since there is no pressure on the child to do anything.

Deborah: Overall, what would you say is the significance of play in regards to mental health?
Karen: Play allows a child to express who they are and who they could be.  Play also allows the space that is necessary for a child to explore their ideas and to enter other worlds.

Deborah: What are a few important points that you would like to pass along to other play therapists?
Karen: I would very much like for other play therapists to know that what they do is so vital to children’s health and development.  So, keep on playing!

Many thanks to you, Dr. Stagnitti, for sharing your time and insights with our CALAPT readers.  And appreciation also goes out to our CALAPT past-president, Jessica Stone, for making this interview possible.