Effects of directive vs. nondirective play therapy with institutionalized mentally retarded children.

Institutionalized retarded children were randomly assigned to 11 sessions of directive play therapy (N = 5), nondirective play therapy (N = 5), or no treatment (N = 4). Student nurses were therapists. The Denver Developmental Screening Test was administered before and after treatment. For the Fine Motor and Personal-Social scales, a significant interaction effect (p smaller than .05) was found between treatment group and measurement period (pre vs. post). The interactions tended to support the hypothesis that play therapy was effective in increasing developmental level but not the hypothesis that directive therapy was more effective than nondirective therapy.