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Intervention Technique
- Andrew J. Davis (25 February 2009)
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Andrew J. Davis, Psychology/ Meditation Teacher
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1clearlight{at}talktalk.net Andrew J. Davis
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I would like to suggest as part of the extensive and very patient intervention process for children with Pervasive Refusal Syndrome the use of an object which can serve as a focus of compassion on the part of the child. My rationale is as follows: the child is in the grip of an inner state of emotion which appears to include a terror and deep negativity which they cannot express, and does not allow them to relate positively to anyone or anything more powerful than themselves, which means almost everyone. However, it is possible that at a certain stage they may be persuaded (for example by the technique of 'musing' aloud) to consider a small object such as a doll or teddy bear as a living being who is suffering from a similar terror and negativity. This 'being,' who is even smaller and less powerful than themselves then becomes a focus for the child's own innate tendency for compassion. The state of compassion, protectiveness towards another being, if it can be induced, is one of the most positive and mood enhancing states of mind, of which even very young children are somewhat capable. It has the function of releasing one's mind from self-absorption: turning the mind away from self to focus on other and thus weakening one's own fear. From initial small results, this focus if re-established regularly by the child may help to reintroduce positivity and freedom from fear within the child's inner world. |
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