ChagalFiaba

The fairy tale as a therapy tool: an experience with the multidisabled blind

Abstract

This paper describes our clinical experience based on a fairy tale workshop carried out with a group of multidisabled blind children. It aims at showing how the huge communicational potential of the fairy tale can be helpful non only to the children taking part in the workshop but also to the team members involved. As a mediator of symbolization processes, the fairy tale appeals to the emotions that are not immediately accessible to thought and, thanks to its simple language, can reach the listeners’ inner world. In this perspective, the pleasure shared by the group members (both children and team members) becomes a precious ally for the establishment of a “narrative bond”: the fairy tale helps explaining also traumatic facts and events of life. In the situation reported here it becomes the fabric on which institutional life gets organized.

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