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<p>School nonattendance, <i>futoko</i> in Japanese, is often seen as being caused by children’s internal problems; however, it relates to sociocultural discourses such as classroom community and neoliberalism. Play therapy, in which <i>futoko</i> is the most frequent concern, shares the essentialist view, creating a dilemma for play therapists because the view regards clients themselves as the core problem. A discursive perspective can alleviate this essentialist dilemma. However, despite this perspective being increasingly used in psychotherapy research over the past decade, few play therapy studies have adopted it. Harré's discursive idea of positioning theory was adopted to examine play therapy for its ability to analyse sessions full of play, including nonverbal and body actions. Previous research on adult psychotherapies has shown that successful therapy corresponds to shifts in position: discursive subjectivity. To reveal how play therapy can be described through positioning theory and bring about position shifts for a <i>futoko</i> client, this study applies positioning theory to analyse a Japanese <i>futoko</i> student’s play therapy case. This study combined a theory-building case study with a reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis identified four positions that the client shows: ruler, fighter, challenger, and teammate. The frequency difference in these positions implied that position shifts occurred from the beginning, contradicting previous research suggesting that shifts from fixed to flexible positions assist in therapy. This discrepancy is explained by the philosophical ideas of play that make sociocultural discourses fictional and disrupt meaning, allowing the client to position himself in any discourse. This study labels the therapeutic function as the discursive power of play. This power seemingly led him to optionalise neoliberalism to deny classroom community discourse. This study indicates the procedures for using positioning theory and the unique discursive therapeutic characteristics of play. Future studies should examine how therapists challenge dominant discourses in play therapy settings.</p>

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Discursive power of play: play therapy with a Japanese boy exhibiting school nonattendance

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月4日

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  • Hatsuho Ayashiro

摘要

School nonattendance, futoko in Japanese, is often seen as being caused by children’s internal problems; however, it relates to sociocultural discourses such as classroom community and neoliberalism. Play therapy, in which futoko is the most frequent concern, shares the essentialist view, creating a dilemma for play therapists because the view regards clients themselves as the core problem. A discursive perspective can alleviate this essentialist dilemma. However, despite this perspective being increasingly used in psychotherapy research over the past decade, few play therapy studies have adopted it. Harré's discursive idea of positioning theory was adopted to examine play therapy for its ability to analyse sessions full of play, including nonverbal and body actions. Previous research on adult psychotherapies has shown that successful therapy corresponds to shifts in position: discursive subjectivity. To reveal how play therapy can be described through positioning theory and bring about position shifts for a futoko client, this study applies positioning theory to analyse a Japanese futoko student’s play therapy case. This study combined a theory-building case study with a reflexive thematic analysis. The analysis identified four positions that the client shows: ruler, fighter, challenger, and teammate. The frequency difference in these positions implied that position shifts occurred from the beginning, contradicting previous research suggesting that shifts from fixed to flexible positions assist in therapy. This discrepancy is explained by the philosophical ideas of play that make sociocultural discourses fictional and disrupt meaning, allowing the client to position himself in any discourse. This study labels the therapeutic function as the discursive power of play. This power seemingly led him to optionalise neoliberalism to deny classroom community discourse. This study indicates the procedures for using positioning theory and the unique discursive therapeutic characteristics of play. Future studies should examine how therapists challenge dominant discourses in play therapy settings.