Dr. Claudette Crawford-Brown, a senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work, has decades of experience working with trauma­tized­­ children. Along with her colleagues, she has used play therapy to help children with issues ranging from bullying, migration, and human trafficking.

The University of the West Indies’ Caribbean Institute for Health Research recently released “The Jamaica Home Visit Intervention: 30-Year Study of the Impact of Early Intervention on Adult Ability and Success.” This report highlights the positive effect of parents playing with children, including better mental health and higher self-esteem. Therefore, supporting Dr. Crawford-Brown’s use of play therapy as a healing mechanism for children that have experienced trauma.

Dr. Crawford-Brown emphasized that Jamaica is short on play therapists and is working on licensing more social workers, guidance counselors, and other professionals with the skills and certificates in play therapy.

She received help from UNICEF to introduce a program that provides schools with assessment, counseling, and training materials to help children identify human trafficking, improve their self-esteem, anger management, violence prevention, and conflict resolution skills.

Please see the links to the original article and the University of the West Indies publication below. The image is from the original article.