Possibilities Of A Fairy Tale In Child Psychotherapy

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Author: Shcherbakova Tatyana Nikolaevna, Psychologist - Moscow

On free evenings Yevgeny Petrovich used to tell Serezha fairy tales … he noticed that the more modest and unpretentious the improvisation was, the more it affected the boy. Chekhov "Houses"

As soon as the baby was born, parents think about his development and upbringing, they are looking for effective methods for this, and they select suitable means. One of these means is a fairy tale, and from a very early age.

How can a fairy tale develop a kid when he does not yet understand the meaning of words?

The rhetoric of speech, tempo, rhythm, repetitive lexical constructions, uttered by the most desirable sound in the world - the voice of a loved one - not only soothe, but also make you involuntarily listen, memorize, developing involuntary memory and attention of the baby.

The development of an older child, for example, in preschool age, takes place in the game. Here the child already understands well the meaning of what is happening. On the one hand, a fairy tale forms linguistic flexibility, expands the conceptual vocabulary, allows the use of a wealth of metaphors, and, ultimately, influences the formation of speech and thinking.

On the other hand, the kid not only reproduces the plots of fairy tales, once read to him by his parents, but also creates, fantasizes. Now, with the help of a fairy tale, he learns the most necessary life "skills" - to give in, forgive, listen to others, pity the weak, do selfless acts, avoid dangers, find treasures and, finally, win.

Identifying himself with a hero possessing these qualities, the child, as it were, “acquires” (interiorizes) them - and begins to apply them in a real life situation. In addition, rich, developed imagination is a harbinger of creativity and creative thinking, so highly valued in the modern world.

Already starting from a younger preschool age, you can use a fairy tale for educational purposes. Moreover, these goals can be very diverse.

For example, a fairy tale can be used to teach a child to brush their teeth or clean up toys after themselves. Sometimes it is necessary to change the undesirable behavior of the child - too aggressive, resentful or shy. The tale is also used in the case of a child's adaptation to a new situation for him: getting used to kindergarten or school, the birth of a brother or sister, as well as in the case of difficult life situations, such as quarrels or parental divorce.

Where can you find such tales?

There are two possible options for choosing a fairy tale for a child. First, there are “ready-made” fairy tales specially invented to solve a frequently encountered problem. However, there are difficult cases when a fairy tale needs to be written on purpose - this is the second option for finding / creating fairy tales. For example, when a child has some peculiarity, personality trait - or when some unusual, difficult situation for the child has arisen. Then it will be appropriate to contact a specialist - a fairy tale therapist.

As a result of joint work, the hero successfully copes with the problem - first on a “fairytale”, metaphorical level, and then in a real life situation

How and why do fairy tales work?

The child involuntarily correlates himself with the main character of the tale. Especially if he has close character traits or often finds himself in a similar situation. Often the child does not understand what he is going through in a difficult situation, and anger or resentment overwhelms him. In an attempt to get rid of negative feelings, the child may resort to aggression or, conversely, become unexpectedly shy, withdrawn, shy.

The designation of his feelings and experiences, their assessment as natural for such a situation is very important. It is even more important to understand, to feel what exactly the friend / offender / brother / mother / partner / is experiencing - after all, we are all included in one or another interpersonal relationship. The child understands this not from notations or explanations, but by playing (that is, living) different roles of different characters in the fairy tale. On the other hand, when he manages to come up with a successful way out of a difficult situation, self-esteem rises, new, successful ways of interaction are formed (and consolidated).

When is it better to entrust the work with a fairy tale to a specialist, and when can a parent work with a fairy tale?

A parent can successfully correct the child's behavior using a "ready-made" fairy tale if the following conditions are met:

1) the fairy tale must be written by a specialist and correspond to the age of the child;

2) the situation should be relatively "standard";

3) the child should not be under stress.

If the situation is difficult or the child has pronounced features, a complex unpredictable type of response, then here you need to know how to get out of the situation, how to turn it into a plus for the child. If in doubt, it is better to consult a psychologist.

The versatility of the method is that a fairy tale can be written for any life situation, no matter how difficult it may seem. It is advisable to rely on the ideas, "catchwords" and metaphors of the client (even a small one). Below is an example of a fairy tale written at the request of the child's mother.

Problem: the father left the family when the son was a year old. For 9 years, he did not maintain contact with his ex-wife and son. Ten years later, my father decided to restore the relationship. The boy does not accept his father and loves his stepfather. The father is not going to back down. The mother's request for the boy's acceptance of the situation.

Example of a fairy tale:

The tale of the green bears

Many years ago, on the distant planet Urtamegon, very similar to Earth, there lived a family of green bears: dad, mom and little son. They lived in a small hut built by dad from fragrant pine branches. The shalashik served as an excellent disguise and protected them from the eyes of uninvited guests.

More than anything, these bears, like all bears in the world, loved honey, but for some reason they did not treat bees very well; they loved to swim in a hot afternoon in a milk river, and then, stretching out on the grass, to dry their fluffy fur under the rays of the warm summer sun. Wet fur faded, acquiring a brownish with gray tan color. And then not a single person in the world would have distinguished them from ordinary brown bears.

And then one day, when Illy's mother was catching a fish for little Shkoppi (that was the name of the baby), and he himself frolicked on the sandy shore of the lake, a terrible hurricane broke out. He scattered, scattered to the sides not only a fragile little hut, but also uprooted a large oak tree, and even turned over huge stones from the Blue Mountain like light feathers. In vain that day, mom with a little baby was waiting for dad Just.

He did not come the next day either. And then they went to look for relatives. For a long time they wandered through the forest, until one day they met a large green bear. He was very happy with the mother bear and her baby. Together they hunted, looked for berries, extracted honey and raised the baby Shkoppi. Shkoppi grew up as a surprisingly intelligent bear. At first he went to a bear kindergarten, then to school, where he played and studied with other animals, and they loved Shkoppi for his cheerful character, for his kindness and for the fact that he was always ready to help.

So without worries and worries the life of a little green bear proceeded, until one day … until one day the incredible happened - until dad returned! Shkoppi was confused.

- Where have you been all this time? - Shkoppi asked mentally, - maybe you performed a heroic deed? Or fought forest monsters? Maybe you got out of the dense forest blockages? Why, why were you gone for so long when I needed you so much?

But in the life of green bears - everything is like in the life of people. In search of his family, dad met a beautiful bear from a neighboring blue tribe and fell in love with her so much that for a while he almost forgot about his little Shkoppi. Mishka was angry, offended, worried - after all, he was bored, waited, wanted to see dad. And dad still did not walk and did not walk. And now, when the kid found out why - he became even more angry.

- Never, never forgive you. Go away, thought the bear cub.

Pope Just very much regretted that it had turned out that way. He realized that he was very, very fond of his son, and that it was very difficult to fix everything. He was now afraid that Shkoppi would never forgive him. He wanted to buy the baby various gifts and take him to the yellow forest, where his grandmother-bear was waiting for the baby. Surely, she loved him very much, but the little bear had never seen her before.

He needed time to get to know her better, to get used to it. He also, of course, desperately wanted to receive gifts. But receiving gifts is like forgetting how difficult and upset it was for you, how hard and painful it was for your mother.

And again the resentment clawed at the little bear:

- I will never forgive!

The big green bear Snur, whom Shkoppi considered his dad, was also worried about the baby. After all, he has long cared about the bear cub, managed to become attached to him and love him with all his heart. Now the baby has become very close to him, dear. Green bear Snur was also offended, but he was an adult, strong and smart. He understood that there are different situations in life. He was close to Shkoppi and was ready to support him. He understood the kid.

What happened next?

The end of this tale has not yet been written, because every bear - blue or green - can make mistakes, and everyone dreams of happiness …

The main thing that dad understood is that there may be a blue or pink bear next to him - adults themselves are responsible for their relationships with adults, this does not concern children, but no matter what happens, he loves his Shkoppi and never ceases to be his dad. It took Dad a while to figure it out.

Dad was ready to wait …