Abstract
M.Ed.
A number of play therapy techniques have been successfully implemented for children with anxiety disorders. As an Intern psychologist at the Institute of Child and Adult Guidance at the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU) in Johannesburg, there have been many referrals of young boys between the ages of 5-8 with childhood fears and anxieties. These fears and anxieties manifest themselves in different ways, such as separation anxiety, generalized anxiety or anxiety over specific objects or people. Literature is abundant on the importance and effectiveness of using stories at the developmental ages between 3-8, as these children respond well to techniques, incorporating imagination and fantasy (Schoeman and van der Merwe 1996; Oaklander, 1988). It would therefore be appropriate to surmise that the use of metaphors and stories could be an appropriate treatment modality for this age group. Mills and Crowley (2001) propose using metaphoric story telling in a specific manner· that is aimed at implementing change. They propose that the metaphoric story, when utilized in the correct manner, creates a IIshared phenomenological reality" between the child and the story and which works on 'multiple levels of communication' (Mills and Crowley, 2001, p.69). This study focuses on using the principles set by Mills and Crowley (2001) for metaphoric story telling as a therapeutic technique, with a boy referred for an anxiety related problem. The study aims at exploring how the child related to the metaphoric story, how he identified with character and events in the story, and finally how he used the messages gleaned in the story to solve parallel problems within the story and consequently implement positive change in his life.