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

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.

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.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being between the ages of 4-6
• Having literate parents
• Having adequate Turkish receptive-expressive language skills
• Not having a previously diagnosed psychiatric problem declared by the parents
• Not having participated in a training programme on psychosocial well-being before
• Not attending any pre-school education institution at the time of the training
• Volunteering to participate in the study by themselves and their parents

Exclusion Criteria:

• The participant wants to leave the study
• The participant has not participated in one or more of the trainings to be given within the scope of the programme
• The participant shows any diagnosed atypical development
• Children who show a level of resistance that disrupts their adaptation to normal life in pre-tests, during the study or in post-tests, children with anxiety disorder or other psychiatric problems