Fairytale therapy is a direction of practical psychology, which literally means treatment with fairy tales. Its goal is to help a child or adult solve internal psychological problems. The main feature is the softness of the impact and efficiency. In this article we will consider various methods of fairy tale therapy, as well as options for practical application.
Fairytale therapy methods
Fairytale therapy as a correction method is very effective and capable of solving serious psychological problems . The reason is the positive reaction of people to the fairy tale, regardless of age. Most patients do not experience internal rejection or protest.
Psychologists identify four basic directions in this technique:
- Diagnostic. Helps to identify the scripts that a person uses when solving life situations. Using diagnostics, he determines character traits, personality strengths and weaknesses, talents, life positions, etc. By conducting diagnostics, the specialist determines the root of the client’s problems.
- Correctional. Helps a person create a harmonious image of himself, tune in to a healthy pattern of behavior, and correct negative patterns of perception of the world.
- Prognostic. Helps a person determine what results his behavior and current life position will lead to.
- Developmental. Helps relieve emotional and muscle tension, reduces anxiety, develops imagination, and facilitates adaptation to new conditions.
The effectiveness of treatment with fairy tales lies in the fact that most people perceive the fairy tale very positively, and there is no rejection or internal conflict. At the same time, there is a deep impact on the spiritual and moral level.
Types of fairy tales
It is customary to distinguish 6 main types of fairy tales , each of which has its own purpose and special therapeutic effect:
1. Fictional tale. These tales contain centuries-old wisdom, which the people put into them thanks to their own bitter experience. This also includes original stories, which are essentially the same fairy tales, parables, and myths. A fictional tale has a didactic, psychotherapeutic and psychocorrective effect. Initially, it was not created for treatment at all, but today this type of story is successfully used by a huge number of psychotherapists.
2. Folk tale. The oldest folk tales are usually called myths. The oldest basis of fairy tales and myths is the unity of nature and man. In ancient consciousness, it was customary to revive human relationships and feelings (grief, love, suffering, etc.), to personalize them. The same approach is used today in fairy tale therapy.
Directions in fairy tale therapy
The methods of working with a fairy tale are very different, since any phenomenon can be described in the form of a fairy tale. Moreover, each specialist uses the fairy tale in his own way. Nevertheless, there are several popular forms of working with fairy tales that most therapists use.
Diagnosis using a fairy tale
The basis of the technique is the patient’s reaction. It is thanks to her that the therapist draws conclusions about the person’s condition, his problems and life situation.
To do this, several conditions must be met:
- Create a trusting atmosphere during the session.
- Show the patient a sincere interest in his problems.
- Sincerity and openness of the therapist himself.
Forms from working with a fairy tale:
1. Telling a fairy tale. The point is to tell the story, not to read it. Real feelings and experiences are very important here. During the session, the psychologist observes the child’s reactions and comments. Sometimes the child interrupts, asks questions, composes another storyline, etc. These are the most important moments in the work; they characterize the patient’s psycho-emotional state.
2. Writing a fairy tale. Here the therapist and the child create a story together, put their feelings into it, dramatize it, and change the plot. Here you can do anything: remake an old fairy tale in a new way, swap the places of good and evil heroes, put yourself in the place of one of them. The technique helps the child open up and reveals hidden emotional states that are not reflected in behavior.
3. Drawing a fairy tale. As a rule, this technique is used as the second stage of working with a fairy tale. The patient is asked to draw, sculpt or make an applique based on the story he heard. Here he can throw out his feelings and worries and free himself psychologically. In poor condition, the patient draws gloomy pictures of monsters, dark colors predominate in the drawing. But with systematic sessions, each subsequent drawing becomes brighter and more positive. For drawing, you can use any suitable materials: gouache, watercolor, pencils, felt-tip pens, etc.
4. Making dolls. The basis of the method is the inclusion of the self-healing mechanism inherent in the psyche of every person. By making a doll, the patient relaxes, stress, anxiety, and fear go away. The person enters a light meditative state. He seems to associate the doll with one aspect of his personality. In fairy tale therapy, the psychologist invites the patient to create a doll based on the fairy tale. It can be any character the patient likes. The technique can be used both as diagnostics and therapy. The result is the patient’s awareness of the problem and the search for a solution through relaxation.
5. Staging a fairy tale. It usually takes place in several stages: reading or telling a story, making character dolls, coming up with a plot, staging.
Each participant can choose a role for himself and give his character the qualities he wants. This can be both a positive and negative hero. He may be similar to the participant, or he may be his complete opposite. Impromptu and a creative atmosphere are very important here. The method is designed to relieve tension and help open up. Participants must be able to express their feelings and sensations. The result is the unlocking of the potential of every child. Children become more sociable, more adapted to life, and come out of their “shell.” Attention! When staging, learning roles, long rehearsals, and a rigid script are unacceptable. Staging a fairy tale is always impromptu.
Methods and forms of fairy tale therapy
Methods and forms of fairy tale therapy.
A fairy tale is a magical world into which we often plunge.
We experience a feeling of sadness, joy... A fairy tale is a miracle!
The forms of working with fairy tales are varied. Everything that surrounds us can be described in fairy tale form. Every person and specialist can use a fairy tale in the quality and perspective that corresponds to his internal structure.
According to E.V. In Czech, there are several methods of fairy tale therapy: telling a fairy tale, drawing a fairy tale, fairy tale therapeutic diagnostics, writing a fairy tale, making dolls, staging a fairy tale.
Fairy tale therapy is multifaceted. Therefore, it is divided into several areas, within which psychodiagnostic, correctional, developmental and therapeutic tasks are solved. And each specialist can choose his own form of working with fairy tales.
Analytical direction. Interpretation of fairy tales. The point of the work is to understand and interpret the essence of fairy-tale situations, images, and plot structures. This direction is based on the idea that every fairy-tale situation carries a huge hidden meaning, the experience of our ancestors in solving complex life problems. Information about this is “encrypted” in fairy-tale images. The use of this method is effective for the development of divergent (creative) thinking, analytical and synthetic abilities and value orientations of children from 5 years old, adolescents and adults.
At the current stage of development of fairy tale therapy, the analytical direction is presented in two forms: research and therapeutic.
The research form is closely related to the names of Carl Gustav Jung and his student and follower, Maria Louise von Franz. “Deciphering” the deep nature of fairy-tale images makes it possible to understand the most complex human motivations and laws of life. For example, C. Jung believed that the archetype of the Spirit is manifested in the fairy-tale images of the Wizard, the Old Man, who appear to the hero at the most crucial moments of his journey. Often, the hero, according to C. Jung, is driven by motivation emanating from the Savior archetype: he seeks to save a kidnapped bride, a fairyland, or the weaker.
The therapeutic form is applied and can be used in group and individual work with children, adolescents, and adults. Within the framework of this form, the tasks of developing abilities to establish cause-and-effect relationships of actions and phenomena, development of creative thinking and imagination are solved.
The therapeutic form is used in two types:
bibliotherapy,
solving fairytale problems
fairytale therapy correctional process psychotherapy
Bibliotherapy involves the formation of a personality’s value structure, a deeper understanding of the meaning of life phenomena and the development of analytical and synthetic abilities. This form of work is good for children from 5-6 years old, teenagers, students and adults. The material used is various artistic fairy tales, as well as psychotherapeutic fairy tales by A.V. Gnezdilov.
The bibliotherapy procedure is quite simple. The group members sit in comfortable, relaxed positions. They may even close their eyes. The presenter reads a specially selected fairy tale. After the story has been heard, the facilitator organizes a group discussion. To do this, questions can be asked, for example: What do you think this fairy tale is about? What do you think she teaches? Why did the hero commit certain actions? What would happen if there were only bad heroes in a fairy tale?
It is important that listeners feel and speak not the storyline of the fairy tale, but its hidden meanings. Such discussions of fairy tales “teach us to think,” to understand the hidden mechanisms of what is happening, to abstract from superficial meanings and events. In addition, during a group discussion, each participant has the opportunity to speak out and be heard, learn to build their own line of behavior in the group, while defending their opinion with reason and listening to the opinions of others [3].
Solving fairytale problems of an “open” type serves the noble goals of collecting material, developing creative (divergent) thinking and imagination. Creative thinking is the ability to find original, stereotype-free solutions to various problems, to achieve results with less effort and more joy, to understand the multiplicity of root causes and consequences of situations, actions and decisions.
Fairytale therapy methods help develop many human abilities. Thanks to them, he becomes more creative, more creative, his consciousness becomes wider, it becomes easier for him to interact with the world around him [4].
Method “Telling and composing a fairy tale”
Any telling of a fairy tale is a treatment in itself. It’s better to tell a fairy tale rather than read it, because... in this case, the therapist can observe what happens during the counseling process with the client. A specialist and a child can compose a fairy tale together, simultaneously dramatizing its entirety or individual elements. A child can compose a fairy tale on his own.
Independently inventing a continuation of a fairy tale and telling it to a child allows one to identify his spontaneous emotional manifestations, which are usually not noted in the child’s behavior, but at the same time act in him.
If the child interrupts the story and offers an unexpected ending, he answers hastily, lowering his voice, with a sign of excitement on his face (redness, paleness, sweating); turns out to answer questions, he has a persistent desire to get ahead of events or start a fairy tale all over again - all this should be considered as signs of a pathological reaction to the test and, accordingly, a neurotic state.
Method "Drawing a fairy tale"
After reading a fairy tale, draw it, sculpt it or present it in the form of an applique. By drawing or working with colored cardboard or plasticine, the client embodies everything that worries him, feelings and thoughts. Thus, freeing yourself from anxiety or other feelings that bothered you.
Image quality doesn't matter. With strong feelings, all sorts of monsters, fire or dark colors may appear in the drawings of a child or an adult. A new drawing on the theme of the same fairy tale may be calmer, the colors will be lighter.
Method "Making dolls"
This is one of the main methods of fairy tale therapy: making dolls. The process of making the doll itself is important.
Any making of a doll is a kind of meditation, since in the process of sewing a doll, a personality change occurs. At the same time, children develop fine motor skills, imagination, and the ability to concentrate. During the process of making a doll, the client's mechanisms of projection, identification or substitution are activated, which allows one to achieve certain results. Dolls play the role of those objects onto which a person’s instinctive energy is shifted.
Making a doll and manipulating it leads to awareness of the problem, reflection on it and the search for a solution.
Manipulating dolls helps relieve nervous tension.
According to a number of experts, when using dolls or toys, all manipulations with them should be worked out in advance: speech sounds should be directed directly to the child; diction must be clear with sufficient voice strength; it is necessary to adapt the voice and speech to the internal characteristics of the character; all movements must correspond to the content of the spoken remarks and their intonation.
By writing fairy tales about our future, present, past life, we seem to describe our real life with the help of metaphors, comparisons, and allegories. When writing a fairy tale, we can feel ourselves in the shoes of the heroes, for example, we can choose the role of a happy, successful hero who overcomes all the difficulties of his life.
Fairytale therapy methods allow you to take a fresh look at your life and write a new happy scenario for your life path.
Fairytale therapy methods help develop many of a person’s abilities: he becomes more creative, more imaginative, his consciousness becomes wider, it becomes easier for him to interact with the world around him.
Fairytale therapy originated with the advent of the word. However, psychologists have only recently discovered this method and began to practice it. As a result, fairy tale therapy for adults turned out to be a very pleasant activity for modern people, squeezed by the criteria of technogenic civilization and logic. We chase comfort and practicality, not suspecting that there is a more interesting world of fantasy and creativity.
All people have imagination, so each of us can become a storyteller. Fantasy helps us form our goals, the image of what we want, the image of the life we want to live. However, in each of us there are many unnecessary ideas or programs imposed on us by parents, television, and the whole society; very often we do not know what we really want. There are tons of fairy-tale stories in our minds, and yet, which of them is our own? A fairytale therapist can deal with this issue, but if you want, you can become your own fairytale therapist.
In conclusion, I would like to say that
fairy tale therapy
is not just a direction, but a synthesis of many achievements of psychology, pedagogy, psychotherapy and philosophy of different cultures. Fairytale therapy is a living, creative process that is enriched by children's discoveries and insights. The word of a fairy tale lives in a child's mind.
In the process of various fairytale therapy classes, pupils gain a lot of knowledge: the first ideas about time and space, about the connection of man with nature, with the objective world; Thanks to a fairy tale, a child learns about the world not only with his mind, but also with his heart. And he not only learns, but responds to events and phenomena of the surrounding world, expresses his attitude towards good and evil, thus personality correction occurs, emotional and behavioral reactions expand. The first ideas about justice and injustice are drawn from the fairy tale. Fairy tales allow a child to experience courage and resilience for the first time. The process of fairy tale therapy gives the child an alternative concept that he can either accept or reject.
List of used literature
1. Brett D. Once upon a time there was a girl like you: Psychotherapeutic stories for children. Per. from English G.A. Pavlova. - M., 1996.
2. Grabenko T.M., Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D., Workshop on creative therapy. - St. Petersburg: Rech, 2003. - 400 p.
3. Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D. The path to magic. Theory and practice of fairy tale therapy. - St. Petersburg, 1998.
4. Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D. Workshop on fairy tale therapy. - St. Petersburg, 2002.
5.Korotkova L.D. Fairytale therapy for preschool and primary school age. - M., 2003.
6. Kudzilov D.B., Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D. Psychodiagnostics through drawing in fairy tale therapy. - St. Petersburg: Rech, 2003. - 146 p..
7. Sokolov D.Yu. Fairy tales and fairy tale therapy. - M.: Eksmo-press, 2001; 2005. - 224 p.
Practical use of the fairy tale therapy method in working with children
Writing a fairy tale, practical methodology
The session follows the following pattern:
- The therapist, together with the child, describes the main character who is similar to the child in appearance, character and age.
- The presenter talks about the hero’s life so that the child sees the similarities between himself and him.
- The hero faces a problem similar to the real situation of a child, he has the same experiences and feelings.
- At the final stage, the fairy-tale hero looks for a way out and a situation and successfully finds it.
In this practice, the presenter necessarily involves the child in the creative process, is interested in his opinion, asks questions, and offers options for developing the plot.
but does not insist on them. Attention! When composing a story, you should not call the main character the name of the child, so as not to impose ready-made models of behavior on him. If the technique worked, the child himself will draw parallels between himself and the main character
Meditative fairy tale therapy for children 5-7 years old
The purpose of the practice is to form the energetic foundation of the child’s personality, to compensate for the lack of parental warmth.
Lesson structure:
- The presenter turns on light meditative music and invites the child to relax and close his eyes.
- The therapist draws the child’s attention to breathing; you need to breathe deeply and slowly. Inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth.
- The psychologist slowly begins to tell the story. Its task is to include all the child’s senses. Through the fairy tale, he should feel the images: what the blue sky looks like, how the stream gurgles, what strawberries smell like, etc. It is important to include all types of sensations (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory).
- At the final stage, the therapist gradually leads the child out of meditation with the following words: “Everything that you have found for yourself in this wonderful world remains with you, we gradually open our eyes and return.” At this stage, it is important that the child retains the sensations from meditation for a longer time, remembers them and learns to enter this state on his own.
This technique reveals the inherent potential in the child, increases self-esteem, and helps to understand various phenomena. Fairy tale meditation is often used when working with children from disadvantaged families.
Staging a fairy tale for children 4-5 years old
The purpose of the technique is to reveal the inner “I” through the image of a toy. The practice is carried out both with one patient and with a group.
How the session goes:
- The therapist shows the children to a box of toys and asks them to choose the main character.
- The presenter tells the children about the hero: what his name is, what his character is. He also invites children to describe the hero and express their attitude towards him.
- The psychologist describes the situation in which the hero finds himself and invites children to build a storyline, play as the hero, and dream up their imaginations. The presenter says the following words: “Imagine that you find yourself on an island, in a fairy-tale country, or have flown to another planet. What are you going to do?"
- More than one character can participate in a performance. If desired, children can choose a few more toys from the box and expand the storyline.
- At the end of the performance, the presenter asks the children questions: How did you feel in the role? Why did you behave this way? What conclusions can be drawn?
The main goal of the practice is to help children express themselves creatively, show their real selves, and learn to communicate harmoniously. Under no circumstances should there be formality or hypocrisy here.
We recommend reading this interesting article: Rounding up the result: fascinating mandala therapy Mandalotherapy is considered a safe and environmentally friendly method of psychocorrection and psychotherapy. In the process of creativity, a person gains integrity and strengthens his own “I”
Fairytale therapeutic diagnostics
Psychodiagnostics of a child’s condition can be carried out, for example, through the use of certain dolls and fairy tales, which make it possible to identify certain problems.
For the first acquaintance, it is recommended to use a “beautiful” doll with huge eyes, fluffy and long eyelashes, shiny and thick hair.
To diagnose family relationships, psychologists recommend using flexible rubber dolls, because a static doll can frustrate the baby (disappoint him).
Directly making dolls will help identify deep problems in teenagers and older children. You can use regular foil for this.
After meeting the doll or making it, you need to conduct a diagnostic conversation. It can represent the same telling of a fairy tale by a child, placing a doll in a certain situation.
While telling a story or fairy tale, the child unconsciously combines his thoughts with the thoughts of the doll, puts his experiences into it and thereby tells it to adults. The fact is that in most cases, children do not identify themselves with people - they tend to identify with a fairy-tale character or animal, because the imaginative world is more developed in them.
During the child’s story, an adult can ask interesting questions, the answers to which will help adults understand what the child’s emotional state is and his fantasies about the further development of events.
Fairy tales for fairytale therapy
Fairy tales provided by storyteller Irina Karavaeva. A child can accumulate a lot of baggage in his soul, which will later bear fruit. Fairy tales strengthen the spiritual core of a child.
A fairy tale about a guardian angel Skazka_pro_angela-_khranitelya
Healing sunbeam istselyayuschiy_solnechny_zaychik
Books on fairy tale therapy
1. “Author's fairy tale therapy”, Gnezdilov A.V. The book by the famous St. Petersburg doctor and storyteller contains his fairy tales that help people cope with difficult situations for them - family problems, loss of loved ones, discover new strengths in themselves and find inner harmony.
2. “Fairy tales and tips”, Kozlova E.G. skazki_i_podskazki
This collection contains 350 problems (with tips, solutions and answers) that were offered in math circle classes and solved by children. The book will be interesting and useful to schoolchildren, their parents, as well as mathematics teachers and students of mathematics departments of pedagogical institutes.
3. “Workshop on fairy tale therapy”, Zinkevich-Evstigneeva T.D. praktikum_po_skaz_ter
The guide to fairy tale therapy is addressed to psychologists, teachers, psychotherapists, doctors, philologists, parents and all those who feel close to the fairy tale genre.
4. “Fairy tales and fairy tale therapy” Sokolov Dmitry skazki_i_skazkoterapia
This book is one of the first and most nimble signs of fairy tale therapy, a popular and rapidly developing area of practical psychology. Unlike “serious” textbooks, it lays out the basics of the approach in an easy and colorful way.
The book contains fairy tales that have independent artistic value, which over the past ten years have been loved by many children and adults who met them through the first editions of this book, as well as through magazines, audio cassettes and puppet shows.
