The Effect of Play Therapy on Anxiety and Life Skills in Children: A Meta-Analysis Study

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effect of play therapy on anxiety and life skills in children. Material-method: The scans in the study were provided through the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), PubMed, Web of Scıence, Science Direct, and YÖK Thesis Center databases from June-September 2023. As a result of the searches, 17 studies on anxiety and 5 studies on life skills were included. Results: In this meta-analysis, it was determined that play therapy was highly effective on anxiety (SMD: 1.339, 95% CI: -1.745- 0.934; Z= 6.468, p = 0.000, I2= 75.22%) and life skills (SMD: 3.049, 95% CI: 1.614- 4.484; Z= 4.165, p = 0.000, I2= 88.81%). The studies showed a heterogeneous distribution, and there was no bias in the publication bias analysis. Conclusion: Play therapy has very positive effects on anxiety and life skills in children and positively affects the mental health of individuals.