This article, “No Worry Allowed. Get Out!” A Case Study Tribute to the Life and Work of Michael White, focuses on anxiety in children and the use of narrative therapy. According to the author, anxiety disorders are common in youth affecting about 10 percent of our youth’s population. Furthermore, the category of young children are affected even more my anxiety showing an increase to 15 percent; five percent higher than the overall average of all children under 18 years of age. The article discusses that young children with anxiety may suffer from intense and persistent fears, shyness, and social withdrawal, when faced with an unfamiliar environment or situation. These children face a higher risk of having a diagnosis of social anxiety, separation anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder. However, recently studies found that pronounced worry in children is associated with negative opinions about themselves and their ability to problem-solve; including their capability to perceive and achieve good problem solving skills. This study showed a link between the child’s ability to possess confidence in their problem solving skills and worry. Hence, linking …show more content…
The premise of using narrative therapy in child focused problems is to allow the child to characterize the good in therapy by making the familiar strange and the strange familiar. In this study the idea of making the strange familiar is the process in which the child becomes conscious of their personal strength and capabilities. This article references the work of Michael White in narrative therapy; he believed his work was entirely a way to assist the person in building a strong personal story. A way to replace the old, possibly negative story they have already built; through the exploration of alternative personal stories in
There is no doubt that children have a very innocent mind and it is not as easy for them to understand unfortunate events. Though they are still affected by things such as the death of a family member, natural disasters and circumstances of that kind. In the film Beasts of The Southern Wild, Hushpuppy faces a few fatalities which are approached using coping methods. These methods are found in the BASIC Ph Coping Model developed by Dr. Mooli Lahad who is the director of the Community Stress Prevention Center in Qiryat Shmona in Israel. Hushpuppy’s relationships with adults, her mom and also her dad, can easily be linked to some of these coping methods.
Elisa Black has been experiencing chronic anxiety for the majority of her life, starting at age two. Many times it is unclear why exactly why certain individuals develop anxiety while others go through life unaffected. Black talks about the guilt she feels, having not experienced any “grand traumas” in her life, explaining how she had a “wonderful life” and “many advantages and gifts and wonderful parents and friends, and [she] still had this fear that [she] couldn 't explain” (Black 2016). Over the years, many theories about anxiety have been developed, some explaining why exactly anxiety can occur without a large external trauma happening in the person’s life, and how certain people are naturally more susceptible than others.
One important component of Attachment theory talks about fear children have in which children have less fear when they are aware of their primary caregivers’ availability and affection leads to a secure attachment to form between a caregiver and child. On the other hand, Erikson states that if the virtue of hope is not established then an infant will have a fear and start to mistrust and this will affect the development. This will have an effect on the confidence that the children develop during infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. A child can start to present separation anxiety and stranger anxiety at around 9 to 18 months a child had a stranger anxiety when they were young, that may affect their development based on the type of Patterns of attachment are secure, avoidant, and ambivalent. If a child had a secure attachment he will probably not have any form of trust issues and long-lasting relationships, a secure attachment will impact his self-esteem and have a good healthy relationship with his parents and friends and seek out social support from others because of him being able to function by himself in his adolescence and adulthood. On the other hand, if a child experienced avoidant or
Björklund, D. F. (2000). Children‘s thinking: Developmental function and individual differences (3rd. Ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth.
John and Janet Doe brought their 16 year-old daughter, Jane Doe, into my office for evaluation. They are concerned about her regression in academic function. To gather more information for my evaluation, I interviewed Jane, her mother, and one of her teachers, and gathered Jane’s educational and medical records. I obtained further data from behavioral observation and standardized psychological testing. After collecting all of the information I needed, I have concluded that Jane has developed Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).
Many people see therapy as something for people who are weak mentally, “Therapy is the art and science of helping children make sense of thei...
He also explores various studies in relation to play therapy. Ogawa focuses on two types of therapy, Release Play Therapy and Child-Centered Play Therapy. Ogawa addresses how play is significant because it is used as a means of expression and resolution of children’s terrifying experiences. Ogawa highlights a study of play therapy, where the children affected by 9/11 refused to talk about their experiences when directly questioned, but narrated their painful stories when they played with toys. He suggest that the therapeutic environment “Defrosted frozen
Everybody has felt anxiety at some point in their life. Whether it is taking a test or expressing their feelings for someone else, everyone gets nervous for some reason. Some people get more nervous than others and sometimes that nervous feeling never goes away. Having an anxiety disorder causes a person to feel nervous or scared, even if there is no reason to be. There is a constant fear that something bad or humiliating is about to happen. Anxiety can affect anyone no matter the age group, from young children to grandparents. It affects society as a whole because people may not know the signs that they have anxiety. In school students are not taught about mental illnesses like anxiety and depression until they reach high school. Anxiety can affect the way people interact with their family and peers. In this paper, I will argue why anxiety and mental health problems are a global issue, the
Research has shown that children who are at highest risk for toxic stress are those exposed to social isolation, poverty, family violence, and parents with substance abuse or depression (Franke, 2014). If adults and authority figures can identify toxic stress in children during the early stages, measures can be taken to prevent the harmful effects that are associated with this high stress level. Treatment of toxic stress should be aimed towards helping children learn to deal with stress in a healthy manner and responding to the child’s needs (Franke, 2014). Providing children with a strong support system is crucial so children have an outlet to communicate with and receive advice on healthy coping mechanisms. Examples of a buffering support system could be a parent, relative, social worker, or counselor. Recent research has also found that treatment of toxic stress can occur through teaching relaxation methods such as breathing techniques and guided imagery (Franke, 2014). It may also be beneficial to focus on the caretaker of the child by providing educational opportunities regarding toxic stress and by administering social resources for the parents, such as parenting classes to help with problem solving skills (Franke, 2014). It is also important that the nation as a whole raise awareness of the issue of toxic stress and provide schools,
Anxiety is a typical developmental pattern where children tend to worry about certain things at different ages. Preschoolers are often worried about the dark or being separated from their parents. After about age 7, children begin to feel anxious about friendships, speaking in class, school grades, or letting their friends, family or teachers down. Teens worry about friends, their future and health. Big changes such as a new school, a move, changes in the family structure, upsetting things like loss of a frien...
The first half of the story is told from the protagonist Jack’s perspective, who is a five year old boy. I was able to relate to Jack’s habit of referring to objects in third person and also playing with toys while telling a story, all of which reminded me of myself when I was young. The love and help he gave his mother furthered my appreciation for him, however a...
Using narratives to gain an insight into human experience is becoming an increasingly popular method of exploration. Assuming that people are in essence narrative beings that experience every emotion and state through narrative, the value of exploring these gives us a unique understanding. Narrative is thought to act as instrument to explore how an individual constructs their own identity (Czarniawska, 1997) and explain how each individual makes sense of the world around them (Gabriel, 1998). It may also give us an understanding into individual thought processes in relation to individual decision making practices (O’Connor, 1997). It is evident from studies such as Heider and Simmel (1944), that there appears to be an instinctive nature in people to introduce plots structures and narratives into all situations, with an intention to construct meaning to all aspects of life in its entirety. The value of narrative is that it is a tool that allows us to understand what it means to be human and gives us an insight into a person’s lived experience whilst still acknowledging their cultural and social contexts. Narrative is thought to be significance as it is ‘a fruitful organizing principle to help understand the complex conduct of human beings (p.49)’ (Sarbin, 1990) The construction of a person’s narrative is thought to be dependent on each person’s individual awareness of themselves and the circumstances that surround them. However, a debate to whether a person is able to formulate a valid narrative in the face of a mental illness such as schizophrenia has emerged. Sufferer’s symptoms are often thought to interfere with their abilities to perceive within a level deemed acceptable to their society’s norms and therefore the validity ...
Antwone Fisher was an individual that endured so many things. He faced a lot of challenges that may have seemed impossible to recover from. This story was an example of the many things that some children may experience. Antwone was not raised in an upper crust home. He did not grow up in a home in which his mother and father was present. Instead of having positive role models, he had to live with individuals that were abusive to him. When observing Antwone’s personality, one may refer to two different theorists such as Bandura and Rogers.
Cognitive development changes over time in how people think, how they solve problems and how their capacities for memory and attention change. As children are entering their adolescent age, they begin to start formal operations. They develop the ability to think scientifically and apply the rigor of the scientific method to cognitive tasks. According to Piaget, the most relevant stage to cognitive development in formal operations. He also mentions that cognitive advances at each stage are reflected not only in the solutions that children’s devise for problems but also in their explanations for how they arrived at the solution. From Piaget research as parents, they can decide if their child is ready for the responsibility that comes with new decisions. Can my child handle the responsible of getting behind the wheel of a car, but also can I trust that my
King, N. J., Muris, P., & Ollendick, T. H. (2005). Childhood Fears and Phobias: Assessment and Treatment. Child & Adolescent Mental Health, 10(2), 50-56. doi:10.1111/j.1475-3588.2005.00118.x