An Arts-based research on group sandplay therapy for children in local children's centers who are overly dependent on internet and smartphones experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic era

The purpose of this study is to find a clue of psychological intervention in group sandplay therapy for children in local children's centers who are overly dependent on internet and smartphones experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic era. Art is a process of expressing imagination, and it is in line with the fact that play is a symbolic and creative activity. Therefore, it can be said that children's imaginary play scenes and imaginary stories appearing in sandplay therapy are a form of art. Sandplay enables non-verbal expression, and the unconscious contents expressed by children are useful in understanding children's emotions. In this process, the researcher understands the client through imagination which is the intersubjective method and experiences an accepting relationship where healing and change occur. However, previous studies have limitations in that they approached children's dependence on the Internet and smartphones based on language. Therefore, these researchers conducted an arts-based study from an analytical psychology perspective to understand the experiences of children in local children's centers who are overly dependent on the Internet and smartphones through the group sandplay therapy process. To this end, co-researchers attending the doctoral program in child counseling and psychotherapy have categorized and discussed four themes: ‘wanting to be loved’, ‘suffering from anxiety’, ‘tolerating being alone/not communicating’, ‘trying to protect oneself’. Finally, it was intended to alleviate the psychological difficulties of children in local children's centers who are overly dependent on internet and smartphones, and to provide an open method for resolving the Internet and smartphone dependence phenomenon.

Permainan Plasticine sebagai Media Konseling Anak Pelaku Bullying Usia 5-7 Tahun

The main factor for bullies to act aggressively and to harass others is the inability to define and express emotions. The importance of positive reinforcement in the process of child development and growth, especially in introducing the meaning of emotions and how to express emotions well. This study aims to elaborate several theoretical foundations regarding bullying, emotions and the implementation of child counseling using plasticine media. The research method used is literature study method. Methods of data analysis using content analysis methods. The results of this study are the elaboration of the theoretical basis and implementation of child counseling using plasticine as a whole, which includes: 1) managing emotions as a way to reduce aggressiveness, 2) implementing child counseling in cases of bullying, 3) counseling stages using plasticine games, 4) advantages of plasticine media , 5) measurement of counseling achievement parameters using plasticine media.

Anxiety in Pregnant Women During Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic in East Java, Indonesia

The 2019 coronavirus pandemic has been recognized as a trigger for anxiety, especially in pregnant women. Pregnant women are among those with a high-risk for contracting coronavirus, not only for themselves but also for the unborn child. Continuous information is needed for pregnant women to avoid anxiety because anxiety will result in complications for both mother and child, such as low birth weight baby and postpartum psychological disorder. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of anxiety in pregnant women during the Coronavirus pandemic in Madura, East Java, Indonesia. This study was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted from April 13 to May 8, 2020. Data were collected using a Google form distributed to all pregnant women in the Madura Region based on the list of pregnant women from the midwives in each city in this region. Seventy pregnant women returned the completed form, and data were analyzed using frequency tables and percentages. Results showed that 31.4% of pregnant women experienced very severe anxiety, 12.9% experienced severe anxiety, and the remainings did not experience anxiety. In conclusion, the coronavirus pandemic indeed increases anxiety in pregnant women which will need to be addressed to avoid negative impacts on the mother and unborn child. Counseling is needed to reduce anxiety by asking the women to stay at home, wash their hands, wear masks, eat nutritious food, have their pregnancy checked, perform exercise for pregnant women at home, and seek for help when facing emergencies.

Development of the child’s ego strength scale: An observation-based assessment of the board game behaviors in play therapy in Korea

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to develop a scale for assessing children’s ego strength through the observation of children playing board games in a therapeutic setting. To assess the ego strength of children in this developmental stage, it is necessary to observe their attitudes during game play therapy, which is the most comfortable psychotherapy technique for children at this developmental stageMethodData were collected from 127 play therapists and play therapist-supervisors, who observed 55 children aged 7–9 who received play therapy in Korea. The scale was created through factor analysis and verification of criterion-related validity.ResultsWe generated a Child’s Ego Strength Scale (CESS) consisting of five sub-factors (Coping Strategy, Cognitive Strategy, Ego Restriction, Interpersonal Functioning, Frustration Tolerance) through exploratory factor analysis. The scale met the goodness of fit criteria in a confirmatory factor analysis. The analysis of therapy sessions of children with strong and weak ego strength, as identified by play therapists, showed a significant difference between the two groups in all five sub-variables. There was a significant correlation between the CESS scores and scores of ego strength-related variables of the Rorschach scale, indicating good criterion-related validity.ConclusionThe CESS appears to be a practical method for the assessment of ego strength in the field of child counseling.