Paraverbal therapy in pediatric cases with emotional complications

Journal/Book: American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 1979; 49: 44-52.

Abstract: Children often respond to hospitalization with severe anxiety and depression, frequently manifested by withdrawal or hyperactive and aggressive or hostile behavior. The use of paraverbal therapy, a specialized therapeutic approach, is described in the short-term treatment of patients exhibiting emotional disturbances secondary to illness or trauma. Paraverbal techniques engage the child by the use of various media (e.g., body movement, the components of music, and folk and improvised songs). This multisensory method affords the therapist, as participant-observer, many choices of communicative channel when patients are inaccessible through traditional psychotherapeutic approaches. The variety of components in paraverbal therapy enables the therapist to shift from one modality to another according to the patient's developing needs. The therapeutic effect of work with a severely burned 4-yr-old boy is presented in detail. (15 ref)

Note: paraverbal therapy with body movement & music components & songs; treatment of secondary emotional disturbances; child medical patients

Keyword(s): Medical patients; psychotherapeutic techniques; music therapy; affective disturbances; children

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