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Play Therapy for Educational Settings Career and Life Planning Project (CLAP for Youth @ JC)
Angela F.Y. Siu Alvin S.M. Leung
by Professor by Professor

Associate Professor, Department of Educational Psychology Dean, Faculty of Education

Trained in clinical psychology, Professor Siu’s The CLAP for Youth @ JC is a project organized by CUHK will cultivate platforms of collaboration with
expertise is in child assessment and counseling. the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and parents, business partners, social service agencies,
Professor Siu is also professionally trained in using CUHK Education is charged with the responsibility and other stakeholders so that interventions and
various approaches of play therapy and it is a natural to lead and oversee project development as well as resources could be aligned and synergized.
extension that one of her research areas is in this to undertake the school-based component of the Project staff will provide training to teachers, youth
domain. She has recently conducted research studies Project. The objectives of the Project are: workers, parents, and other key stakeholders so
incorporating play therapy in schools, looking into the that they acquire competence in helping young
effectiveness of different approaches of play therapy To build an effective, holistic and sustainable people.
programmes for children at different ages and with career and life planning intervention model for
diverse abilities, as well as identifying characteristics different kinds of young people in Hong Kong and CUHK will conduct research work to assess the
of play that can lead to change. to upgrade the professionalism of career and life effects and outcomes of various interventions and
planning in education and welfare. to obtain essential information about the career
One of these projects endeavoured to enhance development and life plans of young people.
preschoolers’ social-emotional development through an interactive play model. To help youth identify their own career interest, and
Children who were assigned to the group with the play approach were able to provide comprehensive information to help them Professor Leung, serves as the Chief Principal
make informed choices for their critical transitions.
develop stronger connections with children in the group and with teachers when Investigator of this Project. Dr. Ho Yuk Fun, Esther,
compared to a similar group using an expressive arts approach. Another research To promote multiple pathways, unleash youth’s serves as the Principal Investigator (PI) of the School-
project was a two-year play therapy programme with a special school. Teachers potential and develop positive attitude and values based team. They worked with Professor Wong
33 were trained to plan and implement engaging activities for children in small classes toward life and career. Cheong Wing Victor, of Hong Kong Baptist University 34
based on an attachment model. Results showed significant improvement in social who is the PI of the community-based team, and
communication among children when compared to a control group. Teachers in To enhance the knowledge and participation of scholars and researchers from CUHK and other
that school also reported gaining a new perspective in building caring and warm parents and public on career and life planning, institutions who serves as Project Investigators.
relationships in their daily teaching. In addition, the project used school-based and to establish a cross-sectoral collaboration
programmes to explore the effectiveness of various directive and non-directive play platform and support network for youth.
therapy techniques to work with primary school children who were identified to be
at-risk for developing emotional and behavioral disorders. Currently, there are two The following are some of the major activities to be
agency-based projects looking into the use of play skills to enhance parent-child carried out by CUHK Education (from 2015 to 2020):
interaction for families with special needs children.
The School-based team of the Project will provide
In addition to these outcome studies, Professor Siu also interested about the general school-based support service to 50 network schools
development of play therapy in Hong Kong, exploring how different parties such in three successive cohorts each for a period of 3
as schools, families and professionals can collaborate using a multidisciplinary years.
approach to contribute effectively to the assessment and counseling of children. She
will continue to work on the study on play therapy and various aspects of social- The School-based team will offer district-based and
sharing of resources and good practice to more
emotional development of children and adolescents.
than 150 affiliated schools.
CUHK will develop a one-stop career and life
planning e-portal to support young people on
career exploration with career information,
assessment tools and resources, and various forms
of social media aiming to provide young people
with useful information about the work and to
nurture positive attitudes and expectations.