NCJ Number
142198
Journal
Journal of Strategic and Systemic Therapies Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: (Winter 1989) Pages: 18-23
Date Published
1989
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article presents samples of therapeutic stories used with children being treated for sexual abuse and discusses suggestions for their use, directives they contain, and techniques for individualization.
Abstract
One of the story samples was used with a 5-year-old girl who had been sadistically sexually abused by her natural father. The story was designed to help the child find a way to be powerful around her father, since power has little to do with size but is more directly related to the way one thinks, reasons, and deals with one's fears and assets. The other story presented is intended to help a child disclose sexual abuse. The article argues that therapeutic stories can effect permanent change by speaking to the healthy core of each individual; they can be used even with very young children, since the unconscious of children can understand at a higher level than the conscious mind. The stories have maximum effect when they are individualized, and they may be used by therapists of all theoretical orientations in all stages of therapy with all ages of patients. They bypass conscious resistance when told without explanation, and they are most effective if they do not give answers to problems but assume that the unconscious of the listener will find the best solution for that person. They may provide positive directives for future functioning, but they should not make promises. Stories are generally more effective if heard repeatedly. 9 references