Abnormal Child Psychology - Assignment Example

Social Work Affiliation: Introduction At three years old, a child’s cognitive ability and memory is still in its developmental stages and hence the child may forget a lot of things including the aspect of separation or even grief. If however these are not addressed properly at this stage when the child is young, psychoanalytic theory explains that they will be buried in the unconscious and are bound to come up later during adulthood. Peer relationships at this stage are not so strong and only assist in the social behavior of a child but they can also be used to assist a child cope. Observation is however necessary in order to observe any changes that might be deviating from the norm not only when the child is alone but also when playing with peers (Elliot, 2014). Social The social effect of the separation and loss is evident majorly through the child’s play and this is further proved by Melanie Klein’s Kleinian theory. In this theory, Klein explains the concept of internal objects during a child’s play where the internal objects are an image a child forms in their mind about an external figure which they have internalized and they project the image of this in the play (Spillius, 2007). Keen observation of when a child is playing will lead to identification of the internal objects and will therefore be used to deduce the feelings of the child of what they are experiencing and towards which external object for that matter (Falcao, 2015). How the child is also interacting with the peers during play time and even when just holding conversations with them is important to be listened to. The stories the child is telling with the peers are pointers of the internal feelings of the child. The other thing is that children who have experienced loss or separation at this young age will start isolating themselves from their peers during play time. According to Segal, (2006), this is as a result of the envy and anger they may be experiencing brought about the loss. They cannot understand why the other children have what they do not have themselves and hence separates from them. The other common behavior is taking away their toys and other playing things and destroying them and especially if they have representation with what they have lost in real life. Emotional Emotions of the child are identifiable in their mood which will be different from that of other children or from how it used to be prior to the separation or loss. Emotionally troubled children keen on crying on any small occasion and the crying is not the usual of being hurt but it is deep and embedded in pain. The cries may be prolonged and mostly end up with the child crying themselves to sleep (Brain & Mukherji, 2010). The other display of emotion is the child being abnormally quiet and especially when interacting with the peers. Children at this age of three years are chatterboxes and do not keep quiet for longer than five minutes and this is especially even more pronounced when there are children around who are age mates or simply friends. When the child is therefore unusually quiet even when around peers, this is an indication that the child is emotionally preoccupied with other things and which are weighing down on him or her (McGuigan & Robertson, 2015). An observer should look out for any early depression signs where the child barely eats sleeps a lot and seems exhausted all the time and they have reduced their interaction with the peers. According to Maughan, Collishaw & Stringaris, (2013), these are early signs of depression and if not addressed as early as possible, they might lead to psychological disorder for the child as young as they are and the bad thing is that they do not understand it themselves. Psychological There are some feelings that the child may have repressed which will not come out through social or emotional means and hence it is better to try to make the child release them through psychological mechanisms. Child psychologists in their sessions with children provide them with drawing book and pencil and observing what they will draw keenly as it will be an indicator of what they are going through or feeling (Mash & Wolfe, 2006). They encourage the child to draw anything they want in the book and leave them alone so that the child does not feel any type of pressure but observe at a distance at the non-verbal communication from the child. Research has shown that depressed children or psychologically troubled children and especially undergoing traumatic event such as separation or loss will express their feelings through the drawings and it is through them that the proper treatment plan can be devised (Maughan, Collishaw & Stringaris, 2013). It is important for the psychological aspect of the separation and loss to be identified so that the correct way to address it can be formulated as early as possible. Dream analysis can also be used on these children and especially the ones who are able to talk and understand the aspect of dreaming. If the children resist being expressive through drawing or the dream analysis, free association is the best way to learn what is in their thoughts and preoccupying their minds. The individual associating simply tells the child to talk about what is in their mind, or what they are thinking or feeling (Mash & Wolfe, 2012). This might bring up several issues not related to the topic but some things can be picked up which might be of assistance to the therapist. Conclusion There are obvious telltale signs that a child and especially a three year old is suffering from separation or loss and they are obvious even among his or her peers and more during play time. It is important to therefore keep on observing such a child from the moment they wake up, how they eat, how long they are sleeping, how their play is and interaction with other children as well as the talking and any other emotions such as crying. It is also important to have a psychological expert with children examine them for psychological troubling through methods such as drawing, dream analysis or even free association with them. From all these, the best treatment plan for the child will be formulated and they will start undergoing different types of therapy to enable them cope and eliminate chances of the issue being repressed in the unconscious and coming out years later when the child is an adult. Reference Brain, C. & Mukherji, P. (2010). Understanding Child Psychology. New York: Nelson Thornes. Elliot, A. (2014). Contemporary Social Theory: An Introduction. London: Routledge. Falcao, L. (2015, April 27). Death drive, destructive drive and the desobjectalizing function in the analytic process. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 96(2): 459-476. Mash, E. & Wolfe, D. (2006). Abnormal Child Psychology. New York: Cengage Learning. Mash, E. & Wolfe, D. (2012). Abnormal Child Psychology, International Edition. New York: Cengage Learning. Maughan, B., Collishaw, S. & Stringaris, A. (2013, February). Depression in Childhood and Adolescence. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 22(1): 35-40. McGuigan, N. & Robertson, S. (2015, August). The influence of peers on the tendency of 3- and 4-year-old children to over-imitate. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 136: 42-45. Segal, H. (2006). Dream, Phantasy and Art. London: Routledge. Spillius, E. (2007). Encounters with Melanie Klein: Selected Papers of Elizabeth Spillius. London: Routledge. Read More