Tyler in the Labyrinth: A Young Child's Journey from Chaos to Coherence.

CHILDREN'S books; OPEN spaces

This paper describes the treatment of a young boy who was abused and neglected in infancy. It examines the challenges of working in the intimate territory of early trauma when a child is too fragmented to play. The therapist supported affect regulation to help the child experience a coherent sense of himself. As the boy became more integrated and related, the opening of transitional space became possible, and with it, the emergence of creativity. His growing capacity to play and his discovery of the rich utility of stories are discussed. A children's book of Greek myths, in particular, the story of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth, held special meaning for him, and for the therapist too. As the child became increasingly related and symbolic, he eventually began to tell his own extraordinary story. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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