An investigation of the effects of child-centered play therapy on depression, anxiety, self-compassion, and quality of life levels in children aged 8–12 diagnosed with cancer

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of the Child-Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) approach on levels of depression, anxiety, self-compassion, and quality of life among children aged 8–12 who have been diagnosed with cancer. The research was conducted using a quantitative experimental design with a pre-test post-test control group model. Participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups, and the study was carried out with a total of 34 children aged 8–12 who had received a cancer diagnosis. The experimental research was conducted in 2024 at a medical faculty hospital located in the Central Anatolia Region. The experimental group received CCPT once a week for three months, totaling 12 sessions. In the control group, no therapy was applied. As data collection tools, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 (PedsQL 4.0), the Children's Anxiety and Depression Scale (ÇADÖ-Y), and the Self-Compassion Scale for Children (ÇÖŞÖ) were utilized. Data were analyzed using non-parametric tests, including the Mann-Whitney U Test and the Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks Test. The research findings indicate that CCPT has supportive and restorative effects on the psychological resilience of children diagnosed with cancer in the 8–12 age group. The results revealed that children in the experimental group who received CCPT showed statistically significant improvements in quality of life, anxiety, and depression levels. In terms of anxiety, significant decreases were observed in the post-test scores of the experimental group in subdimensions such as separation anxiety, social phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. A similar trend was found in depression symptoms, with a significant reduction in scores related to major depressive disorder within the experimental group, while no statistically significant change was observed in the control group. Regarding the impact of CCPT on self-compassion, the post-test scores of the experimental group were found to be significantly higher both compared to their own pre-test scores and to the post-test scores of the control group. Based on these findings, it is recommended that psychologists integrate CCPT into therapeutic processes, families support this approach to improve their children's emotional well-being, and researchers further investigate the effects of CCPT on different age groups, psychological symptoms, and types of illness using larger sample sizes. Keywords: Child-centered play therapy, cancer, depression, anxiety, self-compassion, quality of life