Ireland to the Lebanon and back: a case study of the use of child-centred play therapy and Parental Psychoeducation to Reduce the Separation Anxiety of a pre-school child during his father’s military deployment

摘要

Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health issues experienced by children and adolescents, and there is broad agreement that children from military families are likely to experience increased anxiety and uncertainty during the pre-deployment and deploymentudstages of a parent’s military service (Chandra et al., 2010; Esposito-Smythers et al., 2011). This case study documents the intervention of Child-Centred Play Therapy (CCPT) with a four year old Irish boy who struggled with anxiety and a stutter, whose father was about to be deployed to the Lebanon for six months. In addition to the difficulties associated with the military lifestyle, maternal stress, attachment difficulties and genetic predisposition were identified as important factors in the conceptualization of this case. The importance of working with both parents and the wider social system to help them to understand the child’s anxiety and to respond in an empathetic, emotionallyudsensitive way is highlighted. The therapist worked with the father before his deployment, to develop creative ways of maintaining the connection between himself and his son whilst he was away. The child’s journey through anxiety, anger, and cathartic release to decreased anxiety and greater self-confidence, is documented, and recommendations are made for clinicians working with children with anxiety in transient populations.