Children naturally seek explanations for things they do not understand. As the child tries to understand and cope with disturbing traumatic life events, he creates his own story from fragments of memories that often would not make sense to an adult. Children often describe their traumatic experiences through talking about monsters or aliens. At this point it is not so important to understand exactly what is happening to the child. Instead, the therapist should focus on understanding that the child is creating an explanation as an attempt to cope with the distressing or traumatic event. It is necessary to encourage the child to describe the traumatic event with letters, symbols or drawings without trying to explore the details of the event. For example, as can be seen in the figure, the child showed his own worries by drawing a make-up box and covered it by scribbling depending on the intensity of his anxieties.
It is not necessary to question the child’s experience; instead, the child should describe the experience of this event as problematic. If direct questions do not work, they are supplemented with retrospective questions. For example: “If you could fly back in time like a bird, could you remember a time when you felt similarly?”
As the child becomes aware of his own definitions, he will try to overcome his anxieties and fears by using the power within himself. At this point, as his therapist, I am right next to him to use his skills effectively.
You can contact us for more information about the process.
Love.
Therapist Furkan BAYRAM
