Once upon a time, in childhood, our mothers and grandmothers read fairy tales to us for the night, not even suspecting that, perhaps, in this way they used one of the most effective methods of psychological corrective action - fairy tale therapy. A psychological fairy tale for children is considered a means of introducing them to the world of life situations, twists of fate, history. This is the so-called key to change and knowledge of everything around, to its creative and creative transformation. Listening to the story he is reading, the kid partially lives in an unreal, imaginary world, mentally rearranging all events and himself in the chain of these events. In other words, it is from here that the child draws his first information about reality, which he had not yet imagined possible to know, as well as about the future, which he had not yet thought about. What is the main meaning and basic principles of applying psychological tales for children?
The essence of fairy tales
Such a psychological process enables the child to realize and understand the meaning of his problems, to see rational ways to solve them. Perhaps this will seem something supernatural, but, in fact, the metaphors from fairy tales, in view of their inherent special properties, play the role of building interconnections and mutual understanding among children, as well as a lever for forming an appropriate attitude towards oneself as an individual. After all, the way it is: fairy tales contain complete information about the dynamics and development of life processes. Here you can identify a number of existing problems, as well as ways to resolve them. And the most important point is that in the tale there may be a symbolic peculiar warning about certain events, about how the course of action will develop in the future. And this, after all, is the main essence of correctional work: the child gets acquainted with the realities of life using the example of characters from fairy tales.
The theory of Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky was based on the idea that the main goal of the fairy tale is to educate a child in humanity - this "marvelous ability to worry about other people's misfortunes, enjoy the successes of another, relive someone else’s fate as one’s own." He suggested that a fairy tale has the ability to improve, enrich and humanize the children's psyche, as a result of which every child listening to a fairy tale narration begins to feel in the role of its active participant, identifying itself with that hero who carries the ideas of goodness, justice, freedom.
The main point of therapeutic fairy tales is that here the leading character is confronted with his basic fears, desperately trying to overcome them. Often all the events in the narrative are fictional and unrealistic. It so happens that in addition to the main character, one or several secondary - the so-called assistants - are involved, contributing to the success of the main character. They either have superpower or special abilities. A fairy tale chosen in such a way contributes to comparing the child himself with the character, which allows him to possess greater determination and make a choice towards the right decision on the way to overcome his own fears. So, correctly selected psychotherapeutic tale is capable of creating truly real miracles.
Destination
Psychological tales for children of different ages have an amazing power of emotional impact on their inner world, while being a powerful lever for spiritual development. It is the content of such narratives and the symbolic reflection of psychological phenomena included in its meaning that allows fairy tales to become the main tool that has a significant impact on the formation of children's worldview.
If we talk about private matters, you can set an example on the ordinary psychologist of a preschool or educational institution. In working with children, a specialist is regularly asked two basic questions: “How?” So what?". For example, providing psychological assistance to students every day, the psychologist tries to find a way out of the current situation and understand what exactly happened, how to help the child overcome his difficulties. Various methods, such as psycho-diagnostics, observation, talking with parents, talking with teachers and so on, will help a professional solve a problem with what specifically bothers a small patient. But after receiving the answer to this question, we have to move on to the second, more significant one. And here psychotherapy and psychocorrection come to the rescue, one of the components of which is a psychological fairy tale and analysis of the reaction caused by it in children.
Graduation of fairy tales by age category
Each age has its own methodology for selecting thematic fairy tales. And the meaning of each of them is aimed at achieving a specific goal, namely, the elimination of fears in the child that arose due to any special external factors. Often, children's fears are similar to each other, so specialists in the field of child psychology have developed a whole system, divided by various age indicators and providing focus on a specific childhood phobia.
- Psychological tales for children 3 years old. At this age, through reading fascinating magical stories, the child is instilled with a sense of attachment, care, attention. The child’s psychology is adjusted taking into account the orientation toward the emergence in him of feelings of compassion, creation, love for parents, brothers, sisters - in a word, neighbors. In addition, psychological tales for children 3 years old are aimed at combating such an aspect in education as inability and unwillingness to share. Using an analogy method, parents (educators) try using the example of characters from fairy tales to show how they can live together and not quarrel with others, having learned to share their property equally. An analysis of a psychological fairy tale at the age of 3 conducted by the child at the age of 3 allows him to understand that giving is as pleasant as receiving. Donation of household items (toys) or food items (sweets and candies) is carried out in exchange for a request or for the appropriate reason - as a gift for the holiday. It is clear that at this age the child is not yet able to think as broadly as an adult. But at this stage of the emergence of his human abilities, even at the age of 3, a psychological fairy tale can have its effect and become the initial mechanism in correcting a child's perception of the environment and interaction with both adults and peers. And the practice of today confirms this.
- Psychological tales for children 4 years old. At this stage in the development of child psychology, brief narratives are aimed at eliminating common fears in a child, the most common of which are fear of the dark and nightmares. We all remember how in childhood we were scared by a nonexistent "granny." No, no, and I recall the time when it was scary to enter your own room if the light was not on there. Therapy with fairy tales with psychological overtones is aimed at ridding or at least minimizing panic activity in the thinking of a four-year-old child, manifested in fear and timidity.
- Psychological tales for children 5 years. They are often aimed at depriving a child of the fears of parting with his mother, as well as panic that occurs when the baby is left alone (at a party). The experiences and anxieties that arise for this reason can seriously upset the baby, affecting his psyche negatively. In view of this, preschool psychologists have developed not only narrative readings, but also play events with the participation of children in productions compiled according to a pre-designed thematic scenario. At the age of 5 years, a psychological fairy tale or dramatization of situations that potentially cause fear in babies allows them to find a way out of an unpleasant situation for them through a solution shown or told in a fairy tale miniature. This is one of the mildest, but at the same time the most effective methods of eliminating childhood phobias.
- Psychological tales for children of 6 years. At this stage of life, the child often experiences a problem associated with self-doubt. This is a typical early childhood impairment, based on the fear of doing something wrong. A psychological fairy tale at the age of 6 will have a more effective effect if it is used as home therapy not only by parents, but also by teachers of educational institutions. An integrated approach makes it possible to deeply consider the problem from all sides and close it in the early stages of its manifestation.
- Psychological tales for children of 7 years. Often this age is marked by the problems of suppressing obstinacy, self-will, whims, protests, rebellion and shouting in a child, based, as a rule, on a zealous attitude to a brother (sister) or arising from a conflict with a second child in the family. A psychological tale at the age of 7 can open a child’s eyes to the possibility of peaceful coexistence. Good narratives with emphasized psychological overtones on the example of character behavior argue that there is no need for disputes and feuds with a younger brother or sister. Teachers and psychologists educate in this way the love of children for the family, for a loved one, for relatives.
- Psychological tale for children at 10 years old. This is exactly the same age when rebellion and obstinacy are manifested by a child because of a reluctance to study, go to school, learn lessons, and do homework. A kind of cry of a child's soul. It is completely unsubstantiated, but without fail it is more or less inherent in every child of this age. In addition to psychotherapeutic narratives, regular discussions between parents and the baby, attempts to clarify the meaning and necessity of visiting the school are appropriate here. A correctly constructed dialogue can also play an important role in this way, allowing you to explain to your child an example of how important it is to be an educated person and not miss the opportunity to learn now, before it is too late.
Functions of fairy tales
Undoubtedly, like every psychotherapeutic procedure, reading fairy tales with appropriate subtext provides for the presence of a functional component in the conduct of such events. What features does fairy tale therapy have?
- Communicative - involves the emergence of intense emotional resonance in both children and adults. This is due to the fact that the main idea of the storyline of the tale is directed immediately to two levels of mental perception: consciousness and the subconscious, which makes it possible to create special conditions for communication.
- Associative - with the help of a metaphor the main idea is reflected as a carrier of information. Through associative thinking, children learn the meaning of vital phenomena, life values, the author’s inner world (if the author’s fairy tale).
- Informative - through such psychological work, the child learns a lot of new things for himself. He is given the opportunity to find out by whom and how the world was created, what happens to people in different periods of their lives, what are the stages of the process of self-realization of a man and woman separately, what obstacles and obstacles can be encountered in a person’s life, and most importantly - how these obstacles and failures can be overcome. In addition, children feed information on how valuable friendship and love are, what values you need to determine for yourself in the first place, how to build relationships with loved ones, how to learn to forgive insults.
- Moral - a psychological tool is used to form the so-called “moral immunity” in children and maintain it in memory. This is a kind of ability to withstand negative phenomena of a mental, spiritual, emotional nature, manifested by various representatives of society.
- Aesthetic - not only for children, but also for adults, psychological tales are the source of inspiration that can plunge the reader into a state of aesthetically correct perception of the world. This allows you to activate your creative potential, try to dream, and also learn the world of human relationships.
Analysis
In order for the fairy tale to affect the child and have the proper effect, the reader in the person of a potential psychologist, educator, school teacher or, in the end, the parent should conduct a brief analysis of the material he has read. In turn, this analytical procedure provides for the implementation of some phased actions.
- Determination of the energy-information field of a fairy tale - you should listen to your feelings and impressions obtained after reading the fairy tale, after which you should fix them and describe them.
- Definition of topics - it will be logical to ask what the narrated fairy tale tells itself and what it is able to teach the child. The answer should be considered from the point of view of the four-level evaluation system: mental, emotional, vital, value.
- Analysis of the plot - it makes sense to think about the subject of originality of the plot and the analytics of its genre. It will not be superfluous to analyze the sequence of events described in the narrative.
- Analysis of the characters - it is important to consider the main character from four sides: from the position of your own “I”, from the position of the chosen goal, the motive of actions and the relationship with others.
- Analysis of the symbolic field of a fairy tale - it is worth noting the most striking images and revealing their specific meaning on a personal and emotional level.
- Drawing up a conclusion about the conflict described in the fairy tale - any psychological fairy tale is aimed at achieving a specific goal, namely, the formation of the child’s “moral immunity”, which was mentioned earlier.
- Definition of tasks for the future - it is necessary to identify the child’s reaction to what he heard and draw conclusions about how correctly he understood the essence of the information submitted to him, how much he understood the meaning that the author wanted to convey.
Principles
In addition to the main stages of the analysis of psychotherapeutic tales, there are certain principles on the basis of which work with children in this vein is built.
What are these principles?
- Unconditional acceptance of the inner world of the child - provides for the perception of the images presented in the fairy tale, without evaluating the described events, as the only true rational plot.
- Objectivity - involves the consideration of a fairy tale from several points of view, allows you to study its possible sides and fundamental moments.
- Efficiency - the reproduction of this kind of fairy tale is focused exclusively on achieving a specific goal. In this case, this is the formation of tasks for the future.
Features
Psychological tales have a number of features, due to which they can differ from each other. So, when composing or reading fairy tales aimed at developing creative potential in children, we can emphasize the fact that the benefits of this, although invisible, are inherently colossal. Psychologists identify the main three areas in working with patients in this vein:
- Diagnostic effect - is determined by the main scenarios used in certain life situations and circumstances. The teacher determines the character traits of the child, reveals his strengths, abilities, skills, abilities, talents, his perception of the world around him.
- Therapeutic effect - involves assisting the child in creating his own image under specific conditions, giving him the opportunity to tune in to one or another model of behavior in order to achieve the task.
- Predictive effect - meaning that fairy tale therapy allows the child to understand how exactly his actions and behavior can affect his life and communication with others.
It should be noted that it is in psychological fairy tales that those invariable and important values of society, culture, civilization are laid that contribute to the correct formation in children of the necessary customs and principles. But all of them tend to be divided into subspecies.
Didactic tale
Perhaps this is one of the main varieties encountered today in the work of psychologists with representatives of the younger generation, namely, young children. It is often used in trainings with pupils of preschool institutions or secondary schools. Only sometimes there are exceptions when a similar technique is found in work with adolescents and adults.
The goal of a didactic fairy tale is the transfer of new knowledge, skills, the ability to shed light on the meaning and necessity of specific events. As a rule, such a plan of a fairy tale often ends with something like a small task that is directly related to the theme of the fairy tale. This task the child must complete at home.
The function of a didactic fairy tale may be the viewing of a cartoon that has a simple plot, but is able to train any of the skills.
Psychological tale
This is a kind of author’s story containing a share of fiction. Such a fairy tale is oriented so that the listener comprehends the importance and seriousness of the topic raised in the narration and takes into account the main points that should be taken from its content.
The goal of a psychological fairy tale is to influence the personal perception and further development of the child’s sensual and emotional sphere by transmitting important and significant information in a metaphorically vivid way.
Psychocorrection tale
This kind of fairy-tale therapy involves writing and reading out a story to a child in order to exert a soft influence on the behavior and attitude of the baby. It is noteworthy that this technique does not bypass the work of psychologists with adults. Initially, a fairy tale of such a plan demonstrates an ineffective and not productive style of behavior, but subsequently an alternative is proposed. Moreover, all events occurring with the characters of the psycho-corrective narrative can be similar to the situational circumstances of their daily lives, and can be exposed in the light of abstract metaphors.
It is important to note that psycho-corrective tales, which act as work with abstract metaphors, require discussion and clarification. Here it will be appropriate to let the child who has heard this tale speak out. Quite often, the opinion of the child diverges from the opinion of the therapist. In this case, they jointly come up with a version of the tale that is able to satisfy both.
Etymological tale
Psychological tales of this kind have a high degree of influence on the perception of the child. They are informatively deep, wise and beautiful in presentation. The topics covered in them are often those that describe the human relationship to their own "I", and also consider the relationship of people with each other and with the world.
The purpose of such a fairy tale is the provision of timely support, getting rid of suffering, help in problematic life situations. In the case of a child, aspects of his relationships with peers, communication with teachers, and internal conflicts may be included. A fairy tale therapy of such a plan is aimed at overcoming an unpleasant situation in which the child feels sandwiched, as well as at the subsequent treatment of a possible psychological trauma. Often, religious and spiritual parables are used in such a way to create psychotherapy material.
Meditative Tale
This kind of fairy-tale therapy often acts as a prologue, creating a kind of mood before a psychotherapeutic session. It can be aimed at performing certain functions, namely:
- activation of the material of the unconscious and its translation into the conscious;
- awakening of personal and creative potential;
- motivating a child to make a decision.
A peculiarity is that a meditative tale often does not have a clear and clear storyline, strictly limited frames of the beginning and end. However, one way or another, it should evoke an emotionally vivid response from the listener (child), creating fairy tale images in his imagination and deeply immersing him in the fairy tale process, allowing the psychologist to work with the unconscious component and Jungian archetypes.
It should be noted that it is better to listen to such a plan of a fairy tale in conditions of relaxation. The child should be relaxed, in this case it will be much easier for him to be aware of the incoming information. The most suitable moment is before bedtime.