Children's services' drive towards accountability, and children's rights
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evaluation of child therapy services. The challenge is to find methods that
accurately reflect children's views of their therapy. In this article we argue
that play therapy skills have an important place in evaluating child therapy
practice. We discuss four different directive play therapy techniques three of
which have been piloted in the first author's practice to help children express
their views of therapy at the end of their interventions. These are: `The expert
show', the miniature playroom technique and puppet and large doll evaluations.
Explanations and examples are given from pilot research with 12 children. The
issues and challenges inherent in play-based evaluations also are explored. We
argue that expressive therapists are in a prime position to evaluate children's
services and that children appear well able to express their views of therapy
with these child-centred techniques.
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