IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAY THERAPY METHOD IN ISLAMIC COUNSELLING GUIDANCE FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

This study examines how play therapy can be integrated into Islamic counselling to support early childhood development. Researchers conducted qualitative interviews with Islamic counselling practitioners and analysed existing literature on the topic. The findings show that play therapy methods like Islamic storytelling, educational games, and creative activities can be adapted to Islamic values while building children's cognitive, emotional, and spiritual skills. The study emphasises the need for counsellor training and family-school collaboration to implement this approach effectively.

Key points

• Play therapy can be adapted to Islamic values through compassion-based approaches and spiritual principles appropriate to child development
• Techniques include Islamic storytelling, educational games, and creativity-based activities
• The integrated approach helps build children's cognitive, emotional, and spiritual skills
• Special training for counsellors is needed to implement Islamic-based play therapy
• Collaboration between families and educational institutions is important for maximising results

Limitations

This is a qualitative descriptive study based on literature analysis and practitioner interviews, with no measurement of actual child outcomes or comparison of different intervention approaches. The study does not provide evidence of whether this method actually improves children's well-being compared to standard approaches.