Treatment of Selective Mutism with Non-Directive Play Therapy Techniques (Case Report)

Selective Mutism is a diagnostic group that can be encountered while working with children in the mental health field. While children in this diagnostic group have different characteristics, generally they often talk to some people in their immadiate surroundings and don’t talk to rest of them. This situation prevents children from communicating with their social environment and negatively impacts their social emotional development. At the same time, the situation can be quite challenging for the people around the child (parents, teachers, etc.). Different treatment approaches can be applied in Selective Mutism, which is under the title of Anxiety Disorders in DSM-5. This study handle to a 20-session Non-Directive play therapy with a child who has been diagnosed with “Selective Mutism” at the age of 4. The play has been used as a therapeutic tool by different theories. Non-Directive play therapy is also based on counselor centered psychotherapy. It is thought to be particularly beneficial in terms of not forcing children to talk and providing a safe space for expressing themselves to the child. The purpose of this study is to reach to highly resistant diagnostic group and eventually share the positive results in their treatments