The Language Of Distress: Understanding A Child's Behaviour
by A. H. Brafman /
2016 / English / PDF
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The book describes a series of cases where the child's presenting complaint is seen to be the expression of an underlying emotional conflict that the child expects the parents to understand and help him or her overcome. The parents interpretation of the child's symptoms cannot but be influenced by their own previous life experiences and if their eventual response does not meet the child's anxiety, the child feels misunderstood and the physical complaint remains unchanged. It can also happen that the parents' interpretation of the symptoms reinforces the child's belief of carrying a serious physical problem.
Seeing both the child and parents, an attempt is made to discover the unconscious fantasy that leads to the presenting physical complaint, and also investigate the parents' experiences that led them to approach their child in the particular manner that, in practice, perpetuated the symptom. The proposal is put forward that the symptom can be seen as a language, a manner of expressing an underlying emotional anxiety - and once this message is formulated by the therapist, in words that can be understood not only by the child but also by the parents, it becomes possible that the parents can approach the child in a more effective manner.
