The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of a neuroscience-based Family Play Therapy (FPT) program and to explore the participants’ process of change in a multilayered manner across affective, behavioral, neurophysiological, and meaning-r...
The purpose of this study was to verify the effects of a neuroscience-based Family Play Therapy (FPT) program and to explore the participants’ process of change in a multilayered manner across affective, behavioral, neurophysiological, and meaning-related dimensions, thereby explaining these changes within an integrative framework of neurophysiology, emotion, and relationships. For this purpose, eight families (N=29) who reported difficulties in family relationships participated in an eight-session FPT program with an identical session structure. Nine play media were used: play genogram, image cards, Halli Galli, It’s a Gift, Message Jenga, emotion roulette, strength cards, hand tracing, and family photo making.
The study employed a convergent mixed methods design grounded in a single-group pretest–posttest design. Quantitative data included self-report measures of empathy, communication, and parenting attitudes; observational ratings conducted by an observation team based on the System for Observing Family Therapy Alliances–Observational Version (SOFTA-o); and neurophysiological responses (EEG) measured before and after each session using a two-channel frontal device (neuroNicle FX2). Quantitative analyses were conducted in SPSS 26.0 using nonparametric tests, including the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Friedman test. Qualitative data consisted of verbatim transcripts from all eight sessions, observation notes, and in-depth interviews. Using Creswell’s (2007) six-step procedure and thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke (2006), the study derived patterns of meaning change and family interaction attunement processes, and then integrated findings by focusing on convergence and complementarity with quantitative results.
The results were as follows. First, the effects of FPT were verified using self-report measures and SOFTA-o ratings. In the self-report measures, empathy showed an increasing trend from pretest to posttest for fathers, mothers, and firstborn children; secondborn children also showed an increasing trend, but it was not statistically significant. Communication improved for all family members, with increases in open communication and decreases in problematic communication. Parenting attitudes improved for fathers, mothers, and firstborn children, with gains in supportive expression and rational explanation and decreasing trends in punishment, supervision, interference, and inconsistency; however, secondborn children showed smaller changes and no statistically significant differences. In the SOFTA-o ratings, Engagement, Emotional Connection, Safety within the System, and Shared Purpose increased significantly over sessions, indicating a gradual improvement in the quality of family interaction across the course of therapy.
Second, regarding neurophysiological responses (EEG) measured before and after FPT, fathers and firstborn children showed increasing trends from pretest to posttest in the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma bands—associated with emotional stability, attentional focus, and emotion–cognition integration. Mothers and secondborn children also showed increasing trends in mean values, but no statistically significant changes were confirmed. With respect to play-media-specific EEG responses, a statistically significant difference across media was found only in the Gamma band (highest for emotion roulette and lowest for hand tracing).
Third, qualitative analyses of the process of change based on transcripts, observation notes, and in-depth interviews indicated the following. In the early phase, the play genogram and image cards facilitated exploration by externalizing family structure and relationship patterns. In the middle phase, Halli Galli, It’s a Gift, Message Jenga, and emotion roulette helped family conflict, needs, and emotions to be addressed more safely through the therapist’s re-labeling, empathic responses, and rule setting. In the termination phase, hand tracing and family photo making promoted integrative experiences and meaning-making through physical contact and positive memories. Notably, even when some family members showed limited statistical change in self-report measures and EEG, qualitative data revealed a gradual deepening of emotional openness and expanded participation within the therapeutic relational context.
These findings suggest that changes in FPT are better understood not through a single indicator but as a process in which multiple indicators—self-report measures, observational ratings, neurophysiological responses (EEG), and qualitative data—interlock in complementary ways. This study is meaningful in that it presents a model of a convergent mixed methods approach that integratively examines FPT-related change across neurophysiological, emotional, and relational levels grounded in neuroscience theory.