Transcript Adlerian Play Counseling The Case of Brady

Adlerian Play Counseling
The Case of Brady
Basic Principles
- All behavior is purposeful and goal-directed.
- People have feelings of inferiority.
- People are socially embedded and have a desire to
belong.
- People are self-determined and creative.
- People are unique, integrated, holistic systems.
- Reality is subjective.
Phases of Therapy
- Phase 1: Building an Egalitarian
Relationship
- Phase 2: Exploring the Child’s Lifestyle
- Phase 3: Helping the Child Gain Insight into
His/Her Lifestyle
- Phase 4: Reorienting and Reeducating the
Child
Categories of Toys
-
Family/Nurturing Toys
Scary Toys
Aggressive Toys
Expressive Toys
Pretend/Fantasy Toys
Goals of Misbehavior
- Attention
- Power
- Revenge
- Display of Inadequacy
The Case of Brady
* Brady is an 8 year-old male that was referred by
his 2nd grade teacher for stealing from his peers at
school and for anger management difficulties.
The teacher reports that Brady has been showing
aggression towards his peers during the past six
months, and he began stealing from his peers
about 3 months ago. She also reports that Brady
does not have many friends at school.
Family Atmosphere
* Brady’s mother Sheryl reports that Brady’s father
(Tom) and her separated over a year ago, but the
divorce did not become final until six months ago.
Sheryl had to return to work because of the
divorce, and Brady started in the after-school
program soon after the divorce. Sheryl also reports
that she began seeing someone (J.C.) about three
months ago, and that he sometimes stays at the
house. She reports that Brady has been more
irritable at home in the past few months.
Family Constellation
* Brady is the oldest of two. His brother Mikey is
five years-old, and he began kindergarten at the
school Brady attends this past year. Mikey’s
teacher does not report any aggressive behavior or
stealing at school, although she does report that he
has appeared more withdrawn over the past few
months.
Phase 1: Building the
Relationship with the Child
- The purpose of this phase is to develop a
relationship with the child. The therapist
establishes an atmosphere of unconditional
acceptance, trust, and respect.
- Techniques used: Verbal tracking, restating
content, reflecting feelings, tentative hypotheses,
encouraging, questions, active interaction, setting,
cleaning together
Phase 2: Investigating the Child’s
Life-Style
- This phase involves gathering information from the
client through play, and from the family through play
and questions, to form a hypothesis about how the child
views the world. The therapist explores the family
atmosphere and family constellation, as well as tries to
find out the goals for the child’s behavior. The child
might also be asked to think about and illustrate early
recollections. The final portion of this phase involves
formulating a lifestyle hypothesis for the child based on
all of the information that was gathered.
Phase 3: Helping the Child to
Gain Insight into Life-Style
* Goal disclosure
- Reveal the purpose of the child’s behavior to him/her; look for
recognition reflexes after reveal
* Sharing Inferences
- Made directly to the child or through play media
* Feedback about the Relationship
- Use “I-statements” to share personal reactions to child’s behavior
and attitudes or use play media to be more subtle
* Pointing out Parallels
- Make connections between child’s behavior and attitudes in and
outside of the playroom
Phase 4:
Reorientation/Reeducation
* Generating alternative behaviors
- Teach the child basic problem-solving skills
- Ask the child how he/she could have done something differently
- Model how to generate alternatives
* Encouragement
- Give positive feedback for child’s effort to try new behaviors, not
results
- Comment on child’s behaviors and attitudes
* Consultation
- After each session discuss progress child makes at home and school
- Teach parents’ Adlerian concepts and play techniques for home use
Using Adlerian Techniques
* The class will be divided into three groups.
Each group will have the opportunity to use
some Adlerian techniques with “Brady.” The
group will then process what it was like to try
out these techniques. Finally, each group will
choose a spokesperson to describe the
experience to the class.
References
Kottman, T., (1995). The king of rock and roll: An application of
Adlerian play therapy. In T. Kottman, & C. Schaefer, Play
Therapy in Action: A Casebook for practitioners (pp 133-167).
Northvale, NJ: Aronson.
Kottman, T. (1999). Integrating the crucial Cs into Adlerian play
therapy. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 55(3), 288
297.
Kottman, T.T., & Warlick, J. (1989). Adlerian play therapy: Practical
considerations. Individual Psychology, 45(4), 433-446.
Snow, M.S., Buckley, M.R., & Williams, S.C. (1999). Case study
using Adlerian play therapy. The Journal of Individual
Psychology, 55(3), 288-297.
Van Der Smissen, G. (1998, Spring). Adlerian play therapy. Virginia
Association for Play Therapy Newsletter, 1(2). Retrieved from
http://vapt.cisat.jmu.edu/v1n2p1.htm.