THE USE OF FAIRY TALES IN ADULT HYPNOTHERAPY
From the creator of Transactional Hypno-Analysis, Jure Biechonski
MSc.
Abstract
Our internal thoughts, which cause us to experience unwanted
feelings, are rooted in our perception of reality. This
perception is caused by our imagination. As these cognitive
errors are irrational, it would be a waste of therapeutic
time to try to understand or explain them rationally. If
unwanted thoughts and feelings are caused by imagination,
then it is through the use of imagination that these issues
can best be resolved. By accessing the archetypal wisdom
of the collective unconscious and remembering the fairy
tales farmed by our ancestors’ cultural heritage
we can bring to awareness more personal meanings in order
to understand how these archetypal characters are feeding
our sub- personalities. Working with fairy tales in adult
hypnotherapy is an effective way to by-pass the critical,
logical, conscious factor and access the original unconscious
emotional parts. By accessing these parts we can better
facilitate personality integration at a feeling level of
mind.
Working with fairy tales offers the possibility to view
imagination, not only as a defence mechanism, flight from
reality, or a distortion of reality, but also as an expression
of creativity and health, arising from hope, and offering
a more positive perspective.
What is a fairy tale?
· A folk story is a narrative, usually created anonymously,
which is told and retold orally from one group to another
across generations and centuries
· A form of education, entertainment, and history
· A lesson in morality, cultural values, and social requirements
· A story which addresses current issues as each teller revises
the story, making it relevant to the audience and time/place
in which it is told
Fairy tales can be used to encourage:
· imagination, fantasy, and even humour
· frank and open discussion without intimate revelations
· examination and reframing of human problems
· analysis and understanding of repressed unconscious material
Types of folk stories:
Folktales - fictional stories dealing with human relationships,
morality, conflicts, human problems and solutions
Fairytales - stories of fantasy adapted from folktales, some
(but not all) of which are designed to amuse children
Myths - stories explaining the origin of the world and dealing
with cosmic issues, such as earth and sky, heaven and hell,
gods, goddesses, and human beings; myths are often regarded
as true by members of the group whose origin is being described
Legends - stories relating incidents often
thought to be true, including tales of historical figures,
heroic exploits,
supernatural beings, and "urban legends" about
presumed current happenings
Fables - stories in which animals take on human roles and
illustrate moral teachings
The folk stories that we use tend to be folktales and fairytales. Therapeutic value of fairy tales:
· Fairy tales open a window to the past
For centuries folk stories have illuminated people's lives,
revealed patterns of human behaviour, focused on human conflicts,
problems and solutions, and documented the long history of
human conflicts.
· Fairy tales provide a mirror to the present
Called "the language of the soul," folk stories
reach people on a deep emotional level, allow serious
discussion without intimate revelation, provide gentle, non-threatening
ways of looking at difficult issues, depersonalize
and universalize human problems, and help people evaluate their own feelings
and thoughts.
· Fairy tales present a vision of the future
Folk stories encourage creative thinking, finding new solutions
to age-old problems, re-scripting of one's life, and establishing
hope for the future.
Interpretation of Fairy Tales
The German poet Schiller wrote:
“ Deeper meaning resides in the fairy tales told to me in my
childhood than in the truth that is taught by life.”
Fairy tales help inculcate the norms of society into young
minds consciously, but subconsciously may provide an attractive
stereotyped number of roles, locations, and timetables for
an errant life script. To date, the scientific structural
analysis of scripts has been based on the Script Matrix (Steiner,
1966).
The history of psychoanalytic interpretations of fairy tales
goes back to the times of Freud. Bettelheim has produced
one of the most thorough interpretations and has stressed
the significance of these stories in children's development.
A Study on the Relationship between Fairy Tales and the
Unconscious
The symbolic interpretation of fairy tales as well as their
relation to the unconscious has become a challenging field
of speculations for a number of Freudian and Jungian analysts
(e.g Bettelheim, 1976; Dundes, 1989; Kaes et al, 1989; Kast,
1995; La Genardiere, 1996; Von Franz, 1982).
Freud was the first to experiment with the symbolic nature
of fairy tales. Like myths and legends, the fairy tale touches
the most primitive parts of the psyche. In the "Interpretation
of Dreams" (1900), Freud turns to fairy tales to advance
dream analysis.
Roheim (1953) claims that fairy tales resemble dream experiences.
He argues that a large part of mythology is derived from
dreams. Thus, fairy tales are probably the outcome of dream
experiences spread by word of mouth. Furthermore, according
to Swartz (1956) the tale, like the dream:
(a) deals with opposites or contrasts,
(b) is illogical,
(c) has manifest and latent meaning,
(d) uses symbolisms,
(e) expounds and expands the concept of reality,
(f) is a dramatized form of expression,
(g) contains sexual as well as cultural elements,
(h) expresses wishes,
(i) has humour and
(j) employs the mechanisms of condensation, substitution,
displacement, devaluation and over evaluation.
More recently, Cramer (1991) notes that the defence mechanisms
of denial, projection and identification may be encountered
in a number of popular fairy tales. Kaes et al. (1989) suggest
that the fairy tale is closest to the dream in terms of its
content, its processes and its subjective usage. According
to these authors, the fairy tale serves three functions:
as a link, as a transformation, and as an intermediary. More
explicitly, it links present fantasies with present irrational
behaviours and feelings; it transforms unconscious fantasies
to structured narrations whereby the form and symbolisms
express underlying desires; finally, the tale acts as an
intermediary between the body, childhood experiences, present
socialisation and future hopes.
Ferenczi (1913/1919) proposes that fairy tales represent
a return to the stage of the omnipotence of the self. "In
fairy tales, the fantasies of omnipotence continue to reign...”(p.65).
While in reality we feel weak, fairy tale heroes are strong
and invincible; while our actions and thoughts are limited
by time and space, in the fairy tale world we live eternally,
we can be at a million places at the same time, we can foresee
the future and we have knowledge of our past.
Bettelheim's book "The Uses of Enchantment" (1976)
has become a landmark in the psychoanalytic theory of fairy
tales. According to Shapiro & Katz (1978) Bettelheim
interprets the symbolic meaning of the fairy tale on three
levels. First, a character is discussed as representing crucial
others in the child's life; second, as representing an experienced
part of the personality (good or bad self) and finally, as
representing internal processes (id, ego and superego).
Jung attributed special importance to fairy tales when he
claimed that in these stories one can best study the comparative
anatomy of the psyche. In myths and legends one gets all
the basic patterns of the psyche through an overlay of cultural
material; in fairy tales there is much less specific conscious
cultural material.
All fairy tales attempt to describe one psychic reality -
the Self - while many fairy tales symbolically describe the
initial stage in the process of individuation - the achievement
of self - realization, by telling of a king who has fallen
ill or grown old. The ego is usually represented by the hero
and thus considered as the restorer of the healthy personality.
Though nearly all tales circle around the self - symbol,
many stories reflect motifs, which remind us of Jungian concepts
such as the shadow, the anima, the animus, or the persona.
For example, in the story of Rapunzel, the anima is in the
hands of an evil creature (the witch) from which the hero
and the anima must escape; i.e. the hero has to protect his
anima from the evil influence of the unconscious.
Bruno Bettelheim claims that in child or adult, the unconscious
is a powerful determinant of behaviour. When the unconscious
is repressed and its content is prevented entrance into awareness,
then eventually the person’s conscious mind will be
overwhelmed by derivatives of these unconscious elements.
But when the unconscious material is permitted to enter into
awareness and work through imagination some of its forces
can then be made to serve positive purposes.
Dickens understood that the imagery of fairy tales helps
children better than anything else in their most difficult
and yet most important and satisfying task: achieving a more
mature consciousness to civilize the chaotic pressures of
their unconscious.
In a fairy tale, internal processes are externalised and
become comprehensible as represented by the figures of the
story and its events. This is why we might still remember
in our adult life the contents of fairy tales told to us
in our childhood but fail to remember stories that we have
read or seen in the cinema or on television just few years
ago.
If we accept the transpersonal and existential concepts that
the purpose of therapy is to go beyond symptoms-removal,
we soon find ourselves engaged in a process of uncovering,
first, the underlying problem(s), and then, at a deeper level,
the underlying feeling; a feeling that has been judged resulting
in an inability to cope with it. Deeper still, at the very
root, lies the issue of personal identity.
Working with fairy tales might help our clients to answer
the following eternal questions:
1. What is the world really like?
2. How am I to live my life in it?
3. What is the meaning of life for me?
4. How can I truly be myself?
5. What does it mean to me to live authentically?
“
If we want to understand our true selves, we must become
familiar with the inner workings of our mind” Bettelheim
1978.
Using our imagination, childhood fantasies can deepen our
understanding of the collective unconscious and bring a
better understanding of archetypal entities within our
unconscious
thinking.
Imagination – a definition (Gale Encyclopaedia
of Psychology)
Imagination involves the synthetic combining of aspects
of memories or experiences into a mental construction that
differs
from past or present perceived reality, and may anticipate
future reality. Generally regarded as one of the "higher
mental functions,” it is not thought to be present
in animals. Imagination may be fantastic, fanciful, wishful,
or problem-solving, and may differ from reality to a slight
or great extent. Imagination is generally considered to be
a foundation of artistic expression, and, within limits,
to be a healthy, creative, and higher mental functions.
Symbols exist because the unconscious minds of modern man
preserves the symbol-making capacity that once found expression
in the beliefs and rituals of the primitive. And that capacity
still plays a role of vital psychic importance. In more
ways that we realize, we are dependent on the messages
that are
carried by such symbols, and both our attitudes and behaviour
are profoundly influenced by them. Jung 1964.
In the previous era, imagination was consigned to the world
of artists and madmen. This narrow conception of the imagination
leaves out of consideration the fact that imagination continually
deforms and transforms our experiences; that imagination
plays a central role in perception, no matter how objective
we think we are.
Freud claims that our neuroses are illnesses of the imagination.
He claims that not only traumas make us ill, but so does
our imagination. We experience things in our imagination
that are indistinguishable from the historical facts of
life. Early childhood in particular is a mixture of imagination
and history.
As our neuroses, irrational thoughts, unwanted feelings
are created by our imagination, they have nothing to do
with
rational understanding, we live in an era in which we have
the pseudo-scientific need to understand why we are behaving
or feeling the way we are. As we are dealing with the irrational
and the illogical, and we are mainly dealing with imaginary
fantasies, trying to understand the unconscious material
logically will be a waste of therapeutic time and a therapeutic
mistake. We might find ourselves projecting our own fantasies
and interpretations onto our clients. As some of the Jungian
and Freudian concepts of personality do differ, the question
is: Which interpretations are correct?
A theory is commonly thought to be something that exists
in opposition to a fact. A theory is a hypotheses about
what is true, a speculation about reality, it is something
that
is not known to be true. As such, to avoid dehumanising
psychology we will have to agree that everything we are
dealing with
is subjective rather then objective. Every time we are
expressing our so-called ‘professional’ opinion, we are
dealing with assumptions about reality rather than scientific
facts.
The only interpretations we can accept are the interpretations
of the client him/herself. So by the end of each hypnotic – therapeutic
intervention we need to ask the client ‘what does it
mean to you?’ We are dealing with individual perceptions
about reality, and each individual reality differs from another.
We need to do our best to avoid falling into the “Guru
trap” by resisting the temptation to give ‘professional’ opinions.
To do so might be an abuse of power in that we dis-empower
the client. It is part of our collective unconscious, our
childhood upbringing and our religious heritage to look for
definite answers and solutions. Yet even different Christian
beliefs that seek answers in the scriptures can quote the
same book while finding different answers to the same questions.
“
As psychology is the youngest of all sciences, it therefore
suffers most from preconceived opinions.” Jung 1933
As our imagination is also fed by our childhood experiences
the emotional age of our neuroses is much younger than
our biological age. If we assume for a moment that a
client comes
to a therapist in a child ego-state, and transfers onto
the therapist a parent ego-state, by offering interpretations
we are strengthening the child ego-sate and preventing
the
client from reaching an adult emotional maturity. In
so doing we are reinforcing the dysfunctional parenting
that
this
adult client has experienced in the past. As we work
with the child ego-state, we must remember that the special
gift of childhood consciousness is simplicity. Simplicity
is both
a gift and a power that can be surprising to modern therapists
who have been raised within a cultural atmosphere of
adult
supremacy. Fairy tales offer the therapist a most simplistic
approach.
Fairy tales contain symbolic images. Symbols like metaphors,
represent or suggest something beyond the immediate appearance.
Jung believed that symbols mediate the entire landscape
of our psychic life.
“
A word or an image is symbolic when it implies something
more than is obvious and immediate in meaning. It has
a wider unconscious aspect that is never precisely defined
or fully
explained. Nor can one hope to define or explain it.
As the mind explores the symbol, it is led to ideas that
lie beyond
the grasp of reason.” Jung 1964 pp. 20-21
For Jung the most important role of the symbol was
in its portrayal of the archetypes (Jung, 1958, 1959,
1961)
Archetypes
are inherited elements of human psyche which reflect
common patterns of experience throughout the history
of human
consciousness.
Kopp (1971) speaks of metaphors and symbols as a means
of communicating in which one thing is expressed in
terms of
others. We cannot depend on thinking logically nor
on checking out perceptions.
A theory based on recent neurological research in hemispheric
functioning (Erickson & Rossi 1979) suggests that the
right hemisphere is activated in processing metaphorical
and imaginary types of communication. It is also involved
in mediating emotional and imagistic processes. The right
brain may be the container of both metaphorical language
and psychosomatic symptoms. So by using metaphoric fairy
tales we are communicating with the right hemisphere in its
own language.
Erickson and Rossi (1979, pp. 144) suggest that metaphorical
approaches to therapy are less time consuming than
psychoanalytically oriented approaches. It is therefore
a two-level means
of communicating simultaneously with both conscious
and unconscious
minds.
Working with fairy tales will provide our clients with
two important gains:
1. they can feel a greater empathy for what their own
child is experiencing.
2. they are simultaneously accessing a potential wealth
of resources learned decades ago but not normally available
to them from their adult perspectives.
Therapeutic applications
Using fairy tales in therapy is usually not suitable
for first-time clients or for the beginning of therapy.
Clients
come to therapy and present us with their symptoms;
the unaware client expects, especially in hypnotherapy,
for
a quick symptom-removal.
Therefore, in the beginning of therapy we need to listen
carefully to the client, create rapport, show empathy
and mainly listen to the language the client is using
to gain
an insight into their belief system. The adult client
will find it difficult to allow the therapist to use
imagery
as they have a constant need to understand what is
happening. As therapy progresses the client becomes
aware of the
unconscious suppressed material, but by using the critical
factor of
the conscious mind (which is always present to some
extent even in deep trance) the client makes attempts
to understand
and make logical sense of their illogical neurosis.
The most effective way to bypass the critical factor
of the conscious mind is to use imagery. This approach
is
used as
an uncovering technique in transformational therapy
to give the client and the therapist more insight into
the
identity
of the client.
Spoken to the client…..
·
First, let’s assume that all our so-called presenting
problems (or what I prefer to refer to as issues of concern)
are created by our imagination….
·
While our anxieties are fuelled solely by our past experiences,
they mostly have to do with our imagined fears regarding
the future…. · So
if imagination has the ability to create problems … then
the most logical approach is to use our imagination to undo
those problems.
· ….. and you know from your experience that
the best way to imagine things is by closing your eyes……..
The Hypnotic Induction
There is too much emphasis on hypnotic inductions. Firstly,
which induction shall we choose?
Then we have to make attempts to prove to a resistant client
that they were actually hypnotised and, in my opinion, too
much therapeutic time is spent on that.
The highly anxious client, whose anxiety is being magnified
by the visit to the therapist office, is increasingly anxious
regarding the prospect of being hypnotised or being a good
enough hypnotic subject.
What is the point of using relaxation in working with clients’ anxieties?
They have heard so many times that they need to relax that
the word "relax" can actually cause them to tense
them up even more. Should the numerous and exhausting attempts
at "deeper and deeper relaxed and deeper and deeper
asleep" succeed; the state of anxiety that we want to
work on is no longer present!"
As there are variances in the trainings in hypnotherapy in
North America, it is likely that there are differences between
European techniques and American
techniques as well. However, if you plan to publish this paper in the States
you might want to rework this sections as modern Hypnotherapists in the states
and Canada are likely to take issue with a number of points.
1. "There is too much emphasis on hypnotic inductions." - The need
to provide sufficient convincers for the satisfaction of the hypnosis client
is bothersome, we'll all agree. A qualified hypnotherapist is well-trained
to identify the signs of hypnosis and recognizes the "ritual" of
induction for what it is - a necessary part of a consumer-driven therapeutic
business where the client has a pre-conceived NEED TO KNOW that he got what
he paid for - hypnosis. While a licensed counsellor, psychologist, or psychotherapist
is not encumbered with the necessity to use hypnosis, this is, in point of
fact, precisely what the customer is paying for when he goes to a hypnotherapist
- hypnosis! Proving to the client that they were actually hypnotized may take
a little extra time (about 15 minutes) but it is time well-spent in the long-run.
Not only does it satisfy the client that they got what they came for, but it
generates referrals!
2. "Firstly which induction shall we choose?" Selection of the proper
induction for the client is part of any thorough hypnosis training. The type
of induction chosen depends on the personality type of the client, the time
of day, and other various and sundry factors which influence the suggestibility
and alertness of the client. For instance, the LAST thing you want to use late
in the day is a Progressive Relaxation sort of induction! You're more likely
to get sleep than hypnosis!
3. "Too much therapeutic time is spent on that." During the initial
session, if the client has been sufficiently convinced that he has, in fact,
experienced hypnosis, subsequent sessions require no further convincers. Personally,
I continue to use a formal induction until I train the client in self-hypnosis.
Then I let them take themselves into trance (they love that as it is very empowering).
As for the time spent on induction, an instant or rapid induction takes less
than a minute. Frankly, I find more time is wasted on talking to the wrong
part of the mind! (the conscious mind)
4. "What is the point of using relaxation...?" The American Government
has agreed upon and accepted the following definition for hypnosis: "Hypnosis
is the by-pass of the critical factor of the conscious mind and the establishment
of acceptable selective thinking." Hypnosis has NOTHING to do with relaxation.
You can have hypnosis with or without relaxation. Hypnosis can be performed
standing up - hardly a relaxed state! While physical relaxation often a by-product
of hypnosis, it's usefulness lies in pain management and tests for compliance.
I agree with you that where the client's presenting complaint is anxiety it
is counter-productive to use relaxation! Well-trained hypnotherapists will
quickly utilize anxiety symptoms with an affect bridge to uncover the various
layers and get to the root of the problem.
5." ...deeper and deeper asleep". Hypnosis is not sleep. It is "the
by-pass of the critical factor of the conscious mind and the establishment
of selective thinking." Period. Using words such as "asleep" and "awaken" are
no longer accepted by the profession and can be counter-productive. The client
is not interested in having an expensive nap! I educate the client about hypnosis
to remove fears and misconceptions about the process. I inform them that hypnosis
got it's name from observing individuals in trance who appeared to be "asleep." Later
it was discovered that hypnosis is nothing at all like sleep, but the name
stuck. While we continue to use the name hypnosis, whenever a professional
uses the word "sleep" : (a) it refers to the "sleep" of
the central nervous system (if using relaxation)and, (b) it's one syllable,
perfect for instant inductions. When bringing a client back to their ordinary
level of awareness I use the generally accepted term "emerge."
What I suggest is this - seed the idea of : ….. and you know from your
experience that the best way to imagine things is by closing your eyes……..
then say: …. And I want you to close your eyes and I do not want you
to even relax….
This approach allows us to by-pass the critical factor of
the conscious mind while reducing any performance anxiety,
thus allowing the client to hold onto
the familiar feelings that they have been accustomed to for so long.
We then begin a journey in the middle of a meadow which serves
as a kernel or cot around which the client's well-developed
fantasy production will crystallise.
Subsequently, the client's well-developed theme of the meadow will also serve
as the stage or screen onto which other actions will be projected. Allow the
client to create their own meadow by being as artfully vague as possible and
using all senses and modalities (see, hear, feel, smell).
The next step is to ask the client to imagine an animal that
comes out of the client’s head. (The thinking self.)
Ask the client to: describe the animal.
Then ask the client to imagine an animal coming out of the stomach. (The feeling
self.) I recommend using the stomach as it is less obvious than the heart and
the seat of emotions is usually in the gut. (I have butterflies in my stomach)
Once again, ask the client to: describe the animal.
Next – Engage in a process of inquiry:
“
I am going to count from one to three and you will become the “head animal” … 1,
2, 3 …What the animal is saying to you?”
“ What are you saying to the animal?”
“ What is animal from the head saying to the animal from the stomach?”
“ What happens next?”
“ What would you like to do or to say next?”
By using this quick gestalt dialogue with minimum guidance or interference
from the therapist, the client has the space to create his/her own fantasy.
We need to realise that the most dysfunctional client and the most damaged
clients still have within them a healthy functional part that needs to be accessed.
We need to postpone our need to fix or to sort the problem for the client and
allow them the space to accesses their own inner resources.
When the situation seems to be getting nowhere, the next step is:
“ …And I want you to realise that from the distance a third animal is approaching
the three of you… Describe the animal…..”
“
I am going to count to three and you are going to become that animal. 1,
2, 3… You have listened to the conversation from a distance and observed
what is happening - who would you like to talk to first?”
Once again create a quick gestalt dialogue, using the following sentences only:
“ What would you like to say now?”
“ Who would you like to talk to?”
“ What would you like to do next?”
“ What would you like to happen next?”
The third animal always turns out to be the Higher Self, or the Resourceful
Self, or the Wise Self, an aspect of the client capable of creating a resolution
to the conflicting beliefs responsible for the client’s inability to
cope.
As the story reaches an end, ask: “Is there any body that still need
to do or to say anything?” Remember – you, as a therapist, do not
need to know when to end the session! Always ask the client and always ensure
that the client has the last world. The client is the aware ego that is supposes
to make the final decision.
Bring the client back….
Once the client has opened their eyes, it is likely that your analytical mind
will have made some assumptions about the client’s inner world. I strongly
recommend that you put those assumptions aside and instead look at your client
and ask: “What does all that means to you?”
This is the most important part of the therapy session as you now help the
client to process the material on a logical level in order to give the session
a therapeutic value.
Keep prompting the client to elaborate as much as possible about the session,
using open ended questions and reflecting feelings.
See diagram below:

1. Cognitive bridge - find out how the imagery created by
the client in the “here
and now” relates to events in their present life in the “now and
there”. Access the feeling!
2. Affect bridge - by identifying patterns and themes you ask your client where
else in their life they felt that way, and then find out what is the earliest
memory. “There and then”, in the past, in childhood. Access the
feelings.
3. Somatic bridge – ask the client where in the body they feel those
feelings - what they look like, shape, colour, etc.. Verbalising a feeling
can be misleading as semantically we might get the wrong interpretation. (see
body section)
4. Affect bridge – ask the client how all this relates back to the imaginary
that has occurred in the here and now.
5. Cognitive bridge – and finally to give the session its real therapeutic
value ask the client: “From what you have learned about yourself,
what steps you will take to create a different future.”
By covering those points you help the client to create their own holistic insight
into what will be the ideal future based on their understanding of their past,
present and their vision for the future.
The Body
Engaging the body kinaesthetically activates body memories
which, like sonar, lead to early traumatic experiences or
other deeply held unconscious material.
The body created a neurotic response to a traumatic stimulus under state-dependent
learning conditions, and has stored the association physically.
The body, not only the brain, contains the unconscious mind. The body physically
encodes its learned symptoms, neurotic coping mechanisms, and decisions in
the limbic-hypothalamic systems. Healing occurs by accessing the encoded learned
responses, following the affect or somatic bridge back to the state in which
they were learned, and reframing them. Repressed emotions and the behaviour
patterns which they create are stored in the body, and can best be released
by returning to the state in which they were created (Zimberoff & Hartman,
1998, pp. 13-14).
In case that you are wondering if the client has missed something
make very gentle assumptions, avoiding interpretations
at all cost, share with the client
how you felt in different stages of the client’s fantasy to help them
to gain insight into how their behaviours and feelings are affecting significant
others in their life.
We have to remember that this fantasy is produced by the child within, and
since the child is self centred, he/she will expect the animal to talk about
the things which are really significant, as animals do in fairy tales, and
as the child talks to his/her real animal or toy animal. (Bettelheim 1976)
The child is convinced that the animal understands and feels
with him/her, even though it does not show it openly. Since
animals roam freely and widely
in the world, how natural that in fairy tales these animals are able to guide
the hero in his search which takes them into distant places.
By asking our adult client to imagine animals, talk to them and be the animal
that responds we are returning the client to childhood feelings and memories.
We know from Piaget's work that children under the age of
twelve think concretely rather than conceptually. Children
and adults experience overwhelm (or anxiety,
or fear, or many other emotions) in their bodies with nervous tension, dread,
a “fight/flight/freeze” response. Adults attempt, usually unsuccessfully,
to access the state and to affect it or change it by thinking about it.
Other uses of fairy tales
The options here are unlimited! You can ask your client
about their favourite fairy tale, about any fairy tale,
or a fairy tale they did not like. Then ask
the client to become a character in the fairy tale, create a dialogue with
the other characters, following the points above. How you select fairy tales
depends on the therapeutic intentions. If you want to maximize
the transference aspect of the client’s
interaction, have the client select fairy tale to act the
needed roles.
You can choose a specific fairy tale for the client, to access
repressed feelings, or even create your own fairy tale.
Or allow the client to create their own fairy tale to maximize
the transference issues. It always depends on the therapeutic
intention of a specific therapist with a specific client
in a specific time. References
Afanasiev, A. (1998). Russian Folktales. English translation.
Raduga Publishers.
Bettelheim, B. (1976). The Uses of Enchantment: the Meaning
and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage Books.
Coulacoglou, C. (1998/ 2001). Le Test des Contes des Fees.
Manual. Paris: EAP.
Coulacoglou, C. (2002 in press). The Fairy Tale Test. Manual.
Toronto: MHS.
Coulacoglou, C. (2nd ed. in press). Marchentest. Manual.
Bern: Hans Huber.
Coulacoglou, C. & Kline, P. (1995). The Fairy Tale Test:
a novel approach in projective assessment. British Journal
of Projective Psychology, Vol. 40, no. 2, 10 - 31.
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Tel: Jure Biechonski: + 44 (0) 1277 659404.
Email: Jure Biechonski: Jure.Biechonski@SACHInternational.com
Web: www.sachinternational.com
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