SOCW 6111 Walden University Week 8 Play Therapy Discussion Paper Children who have been abused or traumatized in some way may benefit from working with a t

SOCW 6111 Walden University Week 8 Play Therapy Discussion Paper Children who have been abused or traumatized in some way may benefit from working with a therapist. Children often reenact trauma through repetitious play in order to establish mastery over their emotions and integrate experiences into their history on their own terms. Through the use of toys and props, children may naturally share their emotions and past experiences without feeling the pressure they might encounter with traditional talk therapy. For this Discussion, review the course-specific case study for Claudia and the Chiesa (2012) and Taylor (2009) articles. Post an explanation of ways play therapy might be beneficial for Claudia. Using the insights gained from the articles, describe ways you might have worked with Claudia to address her fears and anxiety related to the mugging she witnessed. PRACTICE
Working With Children
and Adolescents:
The Case of Claudia
Claudia is a 6-year-old, Hispanic female residing with her
biological mother and father in an urban area. Claudia was born
in the United States 6 months after her mother and father moved
to the country from Nicaragua. There is currently no extended
family living in the area, but Claudia’s parents have made friends
in the neighborhood. Claudia’s family struggles economically and
has also struggled to obtain legal residency in this country. Her
father inconsistently finds work in manual labor, and her mother
recently began working three nights a week at a nail salon. While
Claudia is bilingual in Spanish and English, Spanish is the sole
language spoken in her household. She is currently enrolled in a
large public school, attending kindergarten.
Claudia’s family lives in an impoverished urban neighborhood
with a rising crime rate. After Claudia witnessed a mugging in her
neighborhood, her mother reported that she became very anxious
and “needy.” She cried frequently and refused to be in a room
alone without a parent. Claudia made her parents lock the doors
after returning home and would ask her parents to check the locks
repeatedly. When walking in the neighborhood, Claudia would
ask her parents if people passing are “bad” or if an approaching
person is going to hurt them. Claudia had difficulty going to bed
on nights when her mother worked, often crying when her mother
left. Although she was frequently nervous, Claudia was comforted
by her parents and has a good relationship with them. Claudia’s
nervousness was exhibited throughout the school day as well. She
asked her teachers to lock doors and spoke with staff and peers
about potential intruders on a daily basis.
Claudia’s mother, Paula, was initially hesitant to seek therapy
services for her daughter due to the family’s undocumented
status in the country. I met with Claudia’s mother and utilized
the initial meeting to explain the nature of services offered at
the agency, as well as the policies of confidentiality. Prior to the
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SOCIAL WORK CASE STUDIES: CONCENTRATION YEAR
meeting, I translated all relevant forms to Spanish to increase
Paula’s comfort. Within several minutes of talking, Paula noticeably relaxed, openly sharing the family’s history and her concerns
regarding Claudia’s “nervousness.” Goals set for Claudia included
increasing Claudia’s ability to cope with anxiety and increasing her
ability to maintain attention throughout her school day.
Using child-centered and directed play therapy approaches,
I began working with Claudia to explore her world. Claudia was
intrigued by the sand tray in my office and selected a variety
of figures, informing me that each figure was either “good” or
“bad.” She would then construct scenes in the sand tray in which
she would create protective barriers around the good figures,
protecting them from the bad. I reflected upon this theme of good
versus bad, and Claudia developed the ability to verbalize her
desire to protect good people.
I continued meeting with Claudia once a week, and Claudia
continued exploring the theme of good versus bad in the sand tray
for 2 months. Utilizing a daily feelings check-in, Claudia developed
the ability to engage in affect identification, verbalizing her feelings
and often sharing relevant stories. Claudia slowly began asking me
questions about people in the building and office, inquiring if they
were bad or good, and I supported Claudia in exploring these
inquiries. Claudia would frequently discuss her fears about school
with me, asking why security guards were present at schools. We
would discuss the purpose of security guards in detail, allowing
her to ask questions repeatedly, as needed. Claudia and I also
practiced a calming song to sing when she experienced fear or
anxiety during the school day.
During this time, I regularly met with Paula to track Claudia’s
progress through parent reporting. I also utilized psychoeducational techniques during these meetings to review appropriate
methods Paula could use to discuss personal safety with Claudia
without creating additional anxiety.
By the third month of treatment, Claudia began determining
that more and more people in the environment were good. This
was reflected in her sand tray scenes as well: the protection of
good figures decreased, and Claudia began placing good and bad
14
PRACTICE
figures next to one another, stating, “They’re okay now.” Paula
reported that Claudia no longer questioned her about each individual that passed them on the street. Claudia began telling her
friends in school about good security guards and stopped asking
teachers to lock doors during the day. At home, Claudia became
more comfortable staying in her bedroom alone, and she significantly decreased the frequency of asking for doors to be locked.
15
APPENDIX
7. What local, state, or federal policies could (or did) affect
this case?
Chase had an international adoption but it was filed within
a specific state, which allowed him and his family to receive
­s ervices so he could remain with his adopted family. In addition, state laws related to education affected Chase and
aided his parents in requesting testing and special education s­ ervices. Lastly, state laws related to child abandonment
could have affected this family if they chose to relinquish
custody to the Department of Family and Children Services
(DFCS).
8. How would you advocate for social change to positively
affect this case?
Advocacy within the school system for early identification and
testing of children like Chase would be helpful.
9. Were there any legal or ethical issues present in the case?
If so, what were they and how were they addressed?
There was a possibility of legal/ethical issues related to the
family’s frustration with Chase. If his parents had resorted to
physical abuse, a CPS report would need to be filed. In addition, with a possible relinquishment of Chase, DFCS could
decide to look at the children still in the home (Chase’s adopted
siblings) and consider removing them as well.
Working With Children and Adolescents:
The Case of Claudia
1. What specific intervention strategies (skills, knowledge, etc.)
did you use to address this client situation?
Specific intervention skills used were positive verbal support
and encouragement, validation and reflection, and affect
identification and exploration. Knowledge of child anxieties/
fear and psychoeducation for the client and her mother were
also utilized. Child-centered play therapy was utilized along
with sand tray therapy to provide a safe environment for
Claudia.
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SOCIAL WORK CASE STUDIES: CONCENTRATION YEAR
2. Which theory or theories did you use to guide your practice?
I used theoretical bases of child- (client-) centered nondirective
play therapy.
3. What were the identified strengths of the client(s)?
Client strengths were a supportive parenting unit, positive peer
interactions, and the ability to engage.
4. What were the identified challenges faced by the client(s)?
The client faced environmental challenges. Due to socioeconomic
status, the client resided in a somewhat dangerous neighborhood,
adding to her anxiety and fear. The client’s family also lacked an
extended support system and struggled to establish legal residency.
5. What were the agreed-upon goals to be met to address the
concern?
The goals agreed upon were to increase the client’s ability to
cope with anxiety and increase her ability to maintain attention
at school.
6. Did you have to address any issues around cultural competence? Did you have to learn about this population/group
prior to beginning your work with this client system? If so,
what type of research did you do to prepare?
Language barriers existed when working with the client’s
mother. I ensured that all agency documents were translated
into Spanish. It was also important to understand the family’s
cultural isolation. Their current neighborhood and culture is
much different than the rural Nicaraguan areas Claudia’s parents
grew up in. To learn more about this, I spent time with Paula,
learning more about her experience growing up and how this
affects her parenting style and desires for her daughter’s future.
7. What local, state, or federal policies could (or did) affect
this situation?
The client and her parents are affected by immigration l­egislation.
The client’s family was struggling financially as a result of their
inability to obtain documented status in this country. The client’s
mother expressed their strong desire to obtain legal status, but
stated that lawyer fees, court fees, and overwhelming paperwork
hindered their ability to obtain legal residency.
100
APPENDIX
8. How would you advocate for social change to positively
affect this case?
I would advocate for increased availability and funding for
legal aid services in the field of immigration.
9. How can evidence-based practice be integrated into this
­situation?
Evidenced-based practice can be integrated through the use
of proven child therapy techniques, such as child-centered
nondirective play therapy, along with unconditional positive
regard.
10. Describe any additional personal reflections about this case.
It can be difficult to work with fears and anxiety when they
are rooted in a client’s environment. It was important to help
Claudia cope with her anxiety while still maintaining the ­family’s
vigilance about crime and violence in the n
­ eighborhood.
Working With Children and Adolescents:
The Case of Noah
1. What specific intervention strategies (skills, knowledge, etc.)
did you use to address this client situation?
I utilized structured play therapy and cognitive behavioral
­techniques.
2. Which theory or theories did you use to guide your practice?
For this case study, I used cognitive behavioral theory.
3. What were the identified strengths of the client(s)?
Noah had supportive and loving foster parents who desired to
adopt him. He quickly became acclimated to the foster home
and started a friendship with his foster brother. He started to
become engaged in extracurricular activities. Noah was an
inquisitive and engaging boy who participated in our meetings.
4. What were the identified challenges faced by the client(s)?
Noah faced several challenges, most significantly the failure
of his mother to follow through with the reunification plan.
He has had an unstable childhood with unclear parental role
models. There may be some unreported incidences of abuse
and trauma.
101
Transactional Analysis Journal
ISSN: 0362-1537 (Print) 2329-5244 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rtaj20
Scripts in the Sand: Sandplay in Transactional
Analysis Psychotherapy with Children
Cinzia Chiesa
To cite this article: Cinzia Chiesa (2012) Scripts in the Sand: Sandplay in Transactional
Analysis Psychotherapy with Children, Transactional Analysis Journal, 42:4, 285-293, DOI:
10.1177/036215371204200407
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1177/036215371204200407
Published online: 28 Dec 2017.
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Scripts in the Sand: Sandplay in
Transactional Analysis Psychotherapy with Children
Cinzia Chiesa
Abstract
This article discusses sandplay as a therapeutic tool in clinical work with children.
The origins of sandplay are described and
its possible use within the theoretical and
methodological approach of transactional
analysis are described. Several clinical examples illustrate how sandplay can be used
within the child-therapist relationship to
highlight certain aspects of script and its
transformation.
______
Figure 1
Figures in the Sand
(Used with the permission of Kal Khogali)
The Birth of Sandplay
Describing the origins of sandplay in child
psychology means talking about two women:
Margaret Lowenfeld, an English pediatrician
who conceived the idea, and Dora Kalff, a
Swiss psychotherapist and pupil of Jung who
promoted its dissemination.
Vol. 42, No. 4, October 2012
W e owe the idea of using sand as a therapeutic tool to the pioneering and visionary work of
Margaret Lowenfeld. In 1928 she founded a
psychology clinic for children in London that,
in a few years, became a meeting place for
psychotherapists from all over the world. She
dedicated herself to researching tools for understanding those fantasies and experiences of children that cannot be expressed with words.
In contrast to the prevailing interpretational
approach in the psychoanalytic world at that
time, Lowenfeld understood play as a natural
function of the child’s being and connected play
with emotional development in children. She
recounted, in a piece published for the first
time 6 years after her death, the birth of her approach in the use of play in therapy with children:
My own approach to the use of a toy apparatus with children derives from a memory
of H. G. W ells’ Floor Games (1911), the
first edition of which had made a deep impression upon my youth. W hen, therefore,
I came from orthodox pediatrics to the associated study of emotional conditions in
childhood, I began to put this memory to
use. I collected first a miscellaneous mass
of material, colored sticks and shapes,
beads, small toys of all sorts, paper shapes
and match boxes, and kept them in what
came to be known by my children as the
“W onder Box.” (Lowenfeld, 1979, p. 3)
The next step was the construction of two
metal sandboxes in which children could play
with dry or wet sand and place objects in the
“magic box.” Thus was born the method that
Lowenfeld studied and deepened for the rest of
her life: the world technique. Here is how Lowenfeld (1979) described it:
There is a gap between a child’s world and
that of the adults of his environment, and
thus a lack of mutual understanding. . . .
Further, . . . many things are more easily
“said” in pictures and actions than in
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CINZIA CHIESA
words. It is explained to the child that this
is a natural way of “thinking” and that this
is what we would like him to do for us
here. The W orld apparatus is then introduced and the child invited to make “whatever comes into his head.” (p. 5)
Lowenfeld believed that in constructing their
world in the sand, children gained the ability to
observe and transform certain aspects of their
emotional world, thoughts, and memories. From
this emerges a vision of the child as a competent and active subject in the regulation of
his or her own psychic processes. This is now
a widely shared vision, thanks to studies conducted in the field of infant research, but they
were groundbreaking when Lowenfeld began
her work.
Equally innovative was the role that Lowenfeld (1993, 2008) attributed to the therapist.
Along with the child who is in the process of
constructing his or her world, the psychotherapist is called to discover, together with the
child, that which slowly emerges. The attribution of meaning through interpretation is
avoided. Instead, the therapist is invited to capture the sense and emotional quality that the
objects have for the child who uses them.
Dora Kalff met M argaret Lowenfeld in Zurich in 1956 during one of her conferences on
the world technique. She was struck by the
technique and, maintaining its methodological
system, described the processes observed in the
sand, making use of concepts from Jung’s analytical psychology. Kalff (1966) called this
therapeutic tool sandplay and contributed to its
promotion and awareness around the world, including by founding the International Society
for Sandplay Therapy in 1985.
Sandplay Today
Presently, sandplay finds its application even
in therapeutic contexts that have theoretical
models that differ from a Jungian approach. It
is done now with children and adults, in groups
or with individuals. Even in transactional analysis we can find examples of the use of this tool.
Romanini (1997/1999a) discussed it in her clinical work with children, and Kottwitz (1993)
and D ay (2008, 2010) have described using it
with adults.
286
In this article I present the way in which I, as
a transactional analyst, perceive and use sandplay in psychotherapy with children. I think
that this therapeutic tool fits well into the childtherapist relationship and can be used to work
on various core points of the script as well as to
bring survival conclusions into focus.
The script model I use is the one conceptualized by English (1977, 1988, 2010). I use the
concept of survival conclusions in a developmental perspective, as conceived by English
and later referred to by Rotondo (2001). English emphasized the function of the script in
infant development, with the child needing to
give structure to time and space, to provide
meaning for relationships with caregivers and
meaningful others, and to make sense of reality
(English, 1977, p. 290). During its formation,
the script organizes itself in temporary gestalts,
that is, in shapes that transform themselves over
time into survival conclusions.
I think of survival conclusions as creative responses: the best that could possibly be found
in a certain moment of development. Led by
the Little Professor, they organize themselves
as a form of “mediation between the vital needs
of the child and what he perceives as environmental demands” (Rotondo, 2001, p. 17). Because of their role in this process, and therefore
survival, these conclusions may become, over
time, self-restricting and repetitive, precluding
exploration of new approaches to experience.
I think that the representations children create in sandplay may be observed through the
theoretical frame of this script model, with particular reference to survival conclusions. The
scenes created in the sandplay can be conceptualized as organizations of the internal and external reality that the child experiences in that
particular moment. Through these representations, the child’s survival conclusions find expression, within both the space of the play and
the relationship with the therapist.
A Play Space Between Protection and
Permission
Lowenfeld suggested using a sandbox of 57
x 72 x 7 centimeters, with a blue bottom that
can represent water when needed. These dimensions are related to the child’s potential field of
Transactional Analysis Journal
SCRIPTS IN THE SAND: SANDPLAY IN TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS PSYCHOTHERAPY WITH CHILDREN
vision at a distance of a half meter. The sandplay technique uses dry or wet sand and a
variety of small objects with which the child is
invited to construct a scene inside the sandbox.
I will describe each of the elements that make
up this therapeutic tool: the sand, the objects,
and the sandbox.
Sand is a natural, malleable material that is
capable of preserving the traces of even a delicate gesture when it is dry and of assuming a
definite and complex form when wet (Marinucci, 2003; Montecchi, 1993). These characteristics make it a sturdy but modifiable medium,
capable of embodying polarity and opposites.
According to the quantities of water with
which it is mixed, sand can be dry as powder or wet and heavy. When pure and clean,
it can conjure up order: each grain of sand
is found in a precise place. Sand, however,
can also be muddy and dirty and represent
chaos. Sand can be suitable for construction, but as quicksand it can suck down
anything that is solid. . . . Images made of
sand are easily altered and yet their destruction offers the possibility of new uses.
(Pattis Zoja, 2010, p. 97)
W e can associate the idea of this material
with the idea of transformation that characterizes the child’s psychological development,
with the evolution of subsequent representations of his or her being in the world tha…
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