Towards developing a Teddy Bear Therapy Training Programme for Psychotherapists

Abstract

Teddy Bear Therapy is a specialised type of intervention which calls for effective

training oftherapists interested in conducting Teddy Bear Therapy. However, no structured

training programme for psychotherapists in this child therapy exists to this date. The current

study therefore developed a training programme for psychotherapists in Teddy Bear Therapy.

The investigation was done by using a qualitative, descriptive research design. This

allowed for a systematic description of the nature of child psychotherapy training

programmes by means of a narrative literature review. From the literature review, questions

were derived to be used in semi-structured interviews with three clinical psychologists. The

data obtained from the interviews were analysed and common themes identified. These

findings were combined with the data obtained from the literature review.

This integration resulted ina training programme in Teddy Bear Therapy. The

training programme incorporates theoretical as well as experiential learning. The programme

outline provides the facilitator with clear instructions as to what each session's objectives and

tasks are. The trainee is provided with a manual that firstly provides background information

necessary to understand the application of Teddy Bear Therapy. Secondly, the manual

provides specific information on the development and process of Teddy Bear Therapy. The

trainee must work through the manual, do exercises, take part in discussions or prepare

readings whenever indicated to do so by the facilitator.

In spite of the contribution which the training programme and its manual can make to

the South African context, it is limited to the theoretical framework of a dissertation and has

not yet been implemented or empirically tested.