Axline: Dibs
Aim:
Dibs was a 5 year old boy who couldn’t mix with the other children at school. The aim was to unlock the deep rooted problem they thought must be underpinning Dibs' behaviour, because most of the teachers thought Dibs was not lacking in intellect despite his refusal/inability to fully
communicate.
Case description:
Axline visited the school and observed Dibs. She worked with him in a playroom to observe his play and behaviour. She then met with Dibs’s mother, who agreed for Dibs to attend play therapy sessions once a week for an hour. She kept detailed records of all sessions with Dibs and discussions with his teachers and mother.
Dibs had violent outbursts, never wanted to go home, and played with the dolls house a lot .He would lock the windows and doors. He buried a doll in the sand which he called papa. He hid the soldiers and they also seemed to represent his father. He wanted his father to go away.
Case Analysis:
Freud’s theory helps to explain Dib’s behaviour. An over controlling superego may have lead to an imbalance.
Axline thought Dibs felt humiliation from his parents and the only family member he does not feel this from is his grandmother. His mother seemed to be ashamed of Dibs. Both parents were high achievers but his mother seemed to blame Dibs for her not being able to maintain her career.
Dibs turned out to be a gifted child who could read and write easily and understand complex concepts.
Dibs used the dolls to represent his feelings towards his family members. However despite showing a dislike, in any dangerous situation he put
them in he always rescued them (The way he played with the soldiers and dolls represented the Oedipus complex – note that Axline was not using psychodynamic concepts though)
Dibs had been over stimulated – the mother had been worried that Dibs was not achieving so had been over testing him.
When his mother showed that she loved him and reduced the amount of testing their relationship improved
Play therapy was seen as a way of expressing unconscious wishes and it is cathartic.
It is clear that Dibs used the toy soldiers to represent his father.
Dibs did not like locked doors or walls. He brought this up a lot especially in play therapy. By understanding this was symbolic helps understand
his behaviour
Conclusion:
Freud’s theory helps to explain Dib’s behaviour – 3 parts of personality and the unconscious. By acting out his fears and frustrations in therapy he was able to get rid of them. Dibs was unable to find a balance between the id and superego – play therapy helped establish the ego to take control
Evaluation:
Generalisability:
The study is hard to generalise as it is conducted on one person, Dibs, and so is not reflective of general behaviour. Other children may react differently.
Reliability:
Axline used a variety of methods to obtain her data, interviews, observations, play therapy, increasing the reliability of the data. Case studies collect a vast amount of rich valid data directly from the individual, however it cannot be replicated as it is unique to that individual and
situation
Application:
Play therapy has been used in a range of situations to help children express their feelings
Validity:
The environment was natural for Dibs and so he behaved as he would normally giving good ecological validity. However Axline could not be sure it was the play therapy as she did not control all variables. Also, it is subjective and open to interpretation as Axline may have only focused on
particular behaviours.
Ethics:
It has good ethics as Dibs’ identity was kept secret and he was not put under any harm or distress – in fact he was helped
Aim:
Dibs was a 5 year old boy who couldn’t mix with the other children at school. The aim was to unlock the deep rooted problem they thought must be underpinning Dibs' behaviour, because most of the teachers thought Dibs was not lacking in intellect despite his refusal/inability to fully
communicate.
Case description:
Axline visited the school and observed Dibs. She worked with him in a playroom to observe his play and behaviour. She then met with Dibs’s mother, who agreed for Dibs to attend play therapy sessions once a week for an hour. She kept detailed records of all sessions with Dibs and discussions with his teachers and mother.
Dibs had violent outbursts, never wanted to go home, and played with the dolls house a lot .He would lock the windows and doors. He buried a doll in the sand which he called papa. He hid the soldiers and they also seemed to represent his father. He wanted his father to go away.
Case Analysis:
Freud’s theory helps to explain Dib’s behaviour. An over controlling superego may have lead to an imbalance.
Axline thought Dibs felt humiliation from his parents and the only family member he does not feel this from is his grandmother. His mother seemed to be ashamed of Dibs. Both parents were high achievers but his mother seemed to blame Dibs for her not being able to maintain her career.
Dibs turned out to be a gifted child who could read and write easily and understand complex concepts.
Dibs used the dolls to represent his feelings towards his family members. However despite showing a dislike, in any dangerous situation he put
them in he always rescued them (The way he played with the soldiers and dolls represented the Oedipus complex – note that Axline was not using psychodynamic concepts though)
Dibs had been over stimulated – the mother had been worried that Dibs was not achieving so had been over testing him.
When his mother showed that she loved him and reduced the amount of testing their relationship improved
Play therapy was seen as a way of expressing unconscious wishes and it is cathartic.
It is clear that Dibs used the toy soldiers to represent his father.
Dibs did not like locked doors or walls. He brought this up a lot especially in play therapy. By understanding this was symbolic helps understand
his behaviour
Conclusion:
Freud’s theory helps to explain Dib’s behaviour – 3 parts of personality and the unconscious. By acting out his fears and frustrations in therapy he was able to get rid of them. Dibs was unable to find a balance between the id and superego – play therapy helped establish the ego to take control
Evaluation:
Generalisability:
The study is hard to generalise as it is conducted on one person, Dibs, and so is not reflective of general behaviour. Other children may react differently.
Reliability:
Axline used a variety of methods to obtain her data, interviews, observations, play therapy, increasing the reliability of the data. Case studies collect a vast amount of rich valid data directly from the individual, however it cannot be replicated as it is unique to that individual and
situation
Application:
Play therapy has been used in a range of situations to help children express their feelings
Validity:
The environment was natural for Dibs and so he behaved as he would normally giving good ecological validity. However Axline could not be sure it was the play therapy as she did not control all variables. Also, it is subjective and open to interpretation as Axline may have only focused on
particular behaviours.
Ethics:
It has good ethics as Dibs’ identity was kept secret and he was not put under any harm or distress – in fact he was helped