[ Contents | Search | Next | Previous | Up ]
From: Ellen-Marie Silverman
Date: 07 Oct 2004
Time: 10:52:53 -0500
Remote Name: 205.188.116.198
Dear Amanda, Stories possess a natural attraction to all of us, including children. As children identify with the characters in a story, they have the ability to learn along with them and become open to expressing their thoughts and feelings about their own experience, albeit sometimes disguised initially as discussions of the characters. From experience with bibliotherapy, they can become increasingly willing and able to directly reveal their own thoughts and feelings about their circumstances, especially when encouraged to do so. That is, they become willling and able to tell their own stories of pain and hope. This is akin to what I would call narrative speech pathology, which uses children's unique stories as told by the children themselves as a basis of treatment. While most proponents of bibliotherapy for children stress that no special training is required for therapists to incorporate this technique into therapy programs other than a love of reading and "an understanding" of children, my personal belief is that narrative speech pathology requires at least elementary coursework in counseling theory and technique. What I like about both techniques is that they are child-centered and experiential, using life experience to enhance the child's self-awareness, self-acceptance, problem-solving skills, understanding, and compassion. Thank you for your thoughtful question. Ellen-Marie Silverman