Integration of Play Therapy for OCD Assessment and Treatment in Children and Adolescents


Emily Prusator, LCSW, RPT

Workshop Description

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is estimated to impact up to 4% of the general population, and the majority of people who receive this diagnosis have an onset in childhood or adolescence. Unfortunately, experts believe that OCD is under-diagnosed and has increased in prevalence and severity since the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, play therapists must be trained in how to recognize the signs of OCD in children and adolescents. This training will provide attendees with an overview of how OCD presents in children and adolescents along with strategies to assess this using standardized tools and play-based techniques. Participants will also learn play-based interventions to use when providing psychoeducation about OCD and skills for integrating play therapy into OCD treatment.

Program Schedule

This three-hour workshop will include didactic presentations, demonstrations, and opportunities for role-play.

1:00-1:10pm - Introductions and agenda review

1:10-1:40pm - Prevalence and presentation of OCD in children and adolescents

1:40-2:30pm - Assessment of OCD in play therapy

2:30-2:40pm - Break

2:40-3:30pm - Treatment of OCD and integrating play therapy

3:30-4:20pm - Practice of play therapy interventions for OCD

4:20-4:30pm - Questions and closing

Workshop Objectives

By the end of the course participants will be able to:

  • Describe how OCD presents in children and adolescents
  • Utilize standardized and play-based assessment tools to identify OCD in children and adolescents
  • Provide play-based psychoeducation for clients and caregivers
  • Integrate play therapy techniques with OCD treatment approaches
  • Recognize when referrals for specialized or complementary treatments are necessary

References

Aspvall, K., Cervin, M., Andrén, P., Perrin, S., Mataix-Cols, D., & Andersson, E. (2020). Validity and clinical utility of the obsessive compulsive inventory-child version: further evaluation in clinical samples. BMC psychiatry, 20, 1-10.

Aymerich, C., Pacho, M., Catalan, A., Yousaf, N., Pérez-Rodríguez, V., Hollocks, M. J., ... & Salazar de Pablo, G. (2024). Prevalence and Correlates of the Concurrence of Autism Spectrum Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Brain Sciences, 14(4), 379.

Bedford, S. A., Hunsche, M. C., & Kerns, C. M. (2020). Co-occurrence, assessment and treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder in children and adults with autism spectrum disorder. Current psychiatry reports, 22, 1-11.

Bloch, M. H., & Storch, E. A. (2015). Assessment and management of treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder in children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 54(4), 251-262.

Bruce T. J. (1999). OCD in Children and Adolescents: A Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment Manual. The Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research, 8(4), 319–321.

Gold‐Steinberg, S., & Logan, D. (1999). INTEGRATING PLAY THERAPY IN THE TREATMENT OF CHILDREN WITH OBSESSIVE‐COMPULSIVE DISORDER. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 69(4), 495-503.

Krebs, G., & Heyman, I. (2015). Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents. Archives of disease in childhood, 100(5), 495-499.

Mantei, M. (2023). A Longitudinal Examination of Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Severity as a Predictor of Posttrau-matic Stress Disorder Development. Florida Undergraduate Research Journal, 73.

March, J. S., & Mulle, K. (1998). OCD in children and adolescents: A cognitive-behavioral treatment manual. Guilford Press.

Myrick, A. C., & Green, E. J. (2012). Incorporating play therapy into evidence-based treatment with children affected by obsessive compulsive disorder. International Journal of Play Therapy, 21(2), 74.

Nazeer, A., Latif, F., Mondal, A., Azeem, M. W., & Greydanus, D. E. (2020). Obsessive-compulsive disorder in children and adolescents: epidemiology, diagnosis and management. Translational pediatrics, 9(Suppl 1), S76–S93. https://doi.org/10.21037/tp.2019.10.02

Nissen, J. B., Højgaard, D. R. M. A., & Thomsen, P. H. (2020). The immediate effect of COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents with obsessive compulsive disorder. BMC psychiatry, 20, 1-10.

Rea, I., Guido, C. A., & Spalice, A. (2021). Clinical features in patients with PANDAS/PANS and therapeutic approaches: a retrospective study. Frontiers in Neurology, 12, 741176.

Storch, E. A., Murphy, T. K., Geffken, G. R., Soto, O., Sajid, M., Allen, P., ... & Goodman, W. K. (2004). Psychometric evaluation of the Children's Yale–Brown obsessive-compulsive scale. Psychiatry research, 129(1), 91-98.

Storch, E. A., McGuire, J. F., Wu, M. S., Hamblin, R., McIngvale, E., Cepeda, S. L., ... & Goodman, W. K. (2019). Development and psychometric evaluation of the children’s Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale second edition. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 58(1), 92-98.

Tanir, Y., Karayagmurlu, A., Kaya, İ., Kaynar, T. B., Türkmen, G., Dambasan, B. N., ... & Coşkun, M. (2020). Exacerbation of obsessive compulsive disorder symptoms in children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatry research, 293, 113363.

Vogt, G. S., Avendaño-Ortega, M., Schneider, S. C., Goodman, W. K., & Storch, E. A. (2022). Optimizing Obsessive-Compulsive Symptom Measurement With the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scales-Second Edition. Journal of psychiatric practice, 28(4), 294–309. https://doi.org/10.1097/PRA.0000000000000640

Weidle, B., Jozefiak, T., Ivarsson, T., & Thomsen, P. H. (2014). Quality of life in children with OCD with and without comorbidity. Health and quality of life outcomes, 12, 1-12.

Instructor

Emily Prusator is a licensed clinical social worker in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Human and Organizational Development and Women’s and Gender Studies with a minor in Child Development from Vanderbilt University. Emily earned her Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University with a concentration in Gender Violence Intervention. She has received specialized training in play therapy and received her RPT credentials in 2020.

Emily has ten years of experience in fundraising, research, and advocacy for survivors of trauma. She has been providing direct, clinical grief and trauma services for children and their families for over six years in school, community, and office settings. Emily’s earliest clinical work was in providing school-based Trauma-Focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to children ages 6-17 years with complex trauma. More recently, her work has centered on providing group and individual services to children and adults who are navigating trauma, loss, or the intersection of both. Emily has also received training in play therapy, including integration of sand therapy, the expressive arts, sensory integration work, and particular assessment methods such as the Extended Play-Based Developmental Assessment. Emily is certified in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and EMDR to support children, youth, and adults in processing traumatic experiences.

Emily is passionate about promoting healthy attachments between children and the important adults in their lives. She pursues this passion through her ongoing training role at the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing and her clinical role at the Gil Institute for Trauma Recovery and Education.

General Course Information

Participants will have ample opportunity to discuss their specific needs and clinical questions.  Participant feedback will be sought out throughout the session

Clinical case discussions will adhere to HIPPA regulations regarding client confidentiality.

Target audience is Mental Health Professionals: Registered Play Therapists, Social Workers, Psychologists, Licensed Professional Counselors and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists.

The program is Intermediate Level and assumes participants have a working knowledge of child development as well as foundational play therapy principles.