Palm Beach State College Child and Adolescent Counseling Discussion

Write a post in which you:

• Describe your reaction to the chapters you read in Dibs: In Search of Self.
• Provide an analysis of two adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that you noticed in the book, and select one play therapy technique from the Landreth text that would address one ACE you identified.
• Why do you think play therapy was an effective intervention for Dibs? Would you be comfortable using the play therapy interventions that Axline used with Dibs? Why, or why not?
• Resource: The classic of child therapy. Dibs will not talk. He will not play. He has locked himself in a very special prison. And he is alone. This is the true story of how he learned to reach out for the sunshine, for life . . . how he came to the breathless discovery of himself that brought him back to the world of other children.
• Example on how to write the paper
• An overview of the book Dibs: I
• n Search of Self.The story of Dibs captivated me as it reminded me of a boy, Will, in preschool that I worked with last semester. Everything he did in the book was similar to what “Will” did. As a building substitute teacher, I get assigned to work with high-needs students when I don’t have to cover a class for a teacher. I have had very hard students to deal with and straightforward ones. However, Will was both easy and hard. He used to go back and forth between the two. He was not good in groups but did well with one on one. Dibs also wasn’t great in groups but did well with one on one. He trusted the psychologist and talked more than he has in class with his classmates or teachers. I could tell he was nervous at times, especially when the psychologist took him to the playroom alone. He walked into that room and started looking around to examine everything closely. He was very dependent on the teachers at first to do things for him, such as take off his mittens and coat, then slowly, with the Psychologist, he started taking them off himself.I wonder if he is used to having everything done for him by his parents and maid that he thinks it’s normal for him to want them to do it. Moreover, Dib’s mother seemed nervous and reserved. When the psychologist visited their home, she noticed how spotless their home was and how unoccupied it looked. Also, Dib and his mother have been abused by someone in their house, perhaps Dibs’s father. Dib talked and drew locked doors. He did not want any doors locked, and when he painted a home, he drew a lock. That indicated the importance of a lock to him, and it could be an indicator that he fears locks because he has been locked up in his house or playroom. (Axline, 1964).
• Analysis of two adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) that Dib’s experienced:
• From reading Dib’s story, I could conclude that he has experienced emotional, verbal, and physical abuse and neglected. Both of those could have happened to him personally, or he has watched his mother being abused emotionally or physically. He sometimes had a fearful look on his face, had problems regulating his emotions in class, and would hide under tables when it was time for story time in class. Those kinds of behaviors make me suggest that he experienced emotional, verbal, and physical abuse.Dibs’ mother had told the Psychologist that he was mentally disabled, and they have isolated themselves socially so no one would ever meet Dibs and know that he was different. Both parents have resented Dibs. They resented the pregnancy, and she left a successful career as a surgeon and stayed home with Dibs. Isolation for a child is deprivation of play with other children his age. It would be considered emotional abuse. According to Chung & Chen, child abuse, either emotional or physical, can lead to depression, anxiety, behavioral problems, difficulty managing emotions, and making or keeping friendships.Dibs’ mother had told the Psychologist that Dibs is retarded, and they have accepted that fact (Axline, 1964). It is possible that one or both parents have verbalized their disappointment to Dibs and treated him as if he was developmentally disabled. Dibs’ parents have bought him many toys and expected him to play alone in his room without playing with him. That resulted in emotional neglect and has led to the aggressive behaviors expressed at school and home.
• Play therapy approach for Dibs:
• Personality Therapy would be the best approach to play therapy for Dibs. According to Landreth, personality therapy views the child in three different ways. As a person who has thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and a physical being. It considers the child’s phenomenal field, which consists of everything experienced, internal or external. And the last one is the self. The child’s behavior is consistent with the child’s idea of self. This approach will help any play therapist get a complete understanding of Dibs behavior, personality, and ways to improve his behaviors.
• Play therapy intervention for Dibs results:
• The play therapy was very effective with Dibs because he started trusting the therapist and talking a little more. He also started believing in and depending on himself more. His mother noticed a difference in his behavior at home. She was worried when he started leaving his room more often and noticed his unhappiness. He doesn’t have temper tantrums at home or school anymore. He started talking and saying more words. He stopped sucking his thump now..ReferencesAxline, V., 1964. Dibs in search of self. Ballantine books, New York.Chung, M. C. & Chen, Z. S., 2020. Gender Differences in Child Abuse, Emotional Processing Difficulties, Alexithymia, Psychological Symptoms and Behavioural Problems among Chinese Adolescents. Psychiatric Quarterly.Landreth, G., 2012. Play therapy, 3^rd edition. Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.