Contents of Fairs as an Intermediary Resource in Psychotherapy of Children’s Group: Experience Report

Abstract

Fairy tales populate the children’s universe, being understood by psychology and education as an important instrument in the formation of the intellect of the human being, stimulating psychic and emotional development. The contributions of fairy tales in a situation of child group psychotherapy were investigated. Nine children, of both sexes, aged between 6 and 9 years, from the waiting list for psychological care at the UnirG School of Psychology Service participated in the study. The same was carried out on the premises of that school service. For data collection, interviews were conducted with parents and playful interviews with the child, as well as information from observation and free drawings, expressed during the therapy group. There were 12 sessions performed dynamically, using a different tale for each service. With each story, children manifested behavioral and psychic contents related to the tales that most identified themselves, reproducing their fantasies, traumas, and needs in dramatizations and drawings. Among the narrative resources used, those that most demonstrated awakening psychic contents in children were John and the Beans’ Foot, Neve White and Ugly Duckling. The identifications with the stories mention the experiences brought by each child and that individual identifications with the stories are clear and direct demonstrating the relevance of the use of short stories as a valuable resource in psychological care.