Dibbs in Search of Self Case Conceptualization Assignment PDF

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Jessica Howarth PSYC 336 Case Conceptualization Assignment

Dibs in Search of Self For this assignment, you will read Dibs in Search of Self, a child psychotherapy classic written in 1964 by Virginia Axline. Based on the book – and your understanding of developmental psychopathology and child mental health – you will then be asked to formulate a case conceptualization and treatment recommendations. Specifically, you should address the following:

(1) Using DSM-5 criteria, what diagnosis (or diagnoses) would you assign to Dibbs? Justify your answer by describing the symptoms of the disorder(s) that you identify and providing specific examples of the ways in which Dibbs expressed these symptoms in the book. I would give Dibbs the diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum. I say this firstly because he began showing symptoms found in the DSM-5 such as deficits in his social emotional reciprocity like responding to social interactions with aggression or avoidance. Dibbs also had deficits in his nonverbal communicative behaviors such as not wanting to make eye contact, never looking directly at anyone or answering their questions. He remained huddled in a ball in the beginning to avoid contact. He also had some hyporeactivity to sensory input where he is playing with some paint and reacts strongly to it being on his hands. Dibbs also showed some cases of deficits in developing or understanding relationships, for example; he had no friends at school and when a boy did approach him he struck him with a book. He also has issues with his parents and their relationship, one time screaming that he hates his father.

like selective mutism, avoidance of eye contact, aggression towards other. (2) Explain how you understand Dibbs from a developmental psychopathology perspective. Specifically: In what developmental domains (e.g., emotional, social, language, cognitive) is he struggling? What developmental processes have gone awry?

Dibbs seems to be struggling specifically with emotional and social processes. He is struggling with emotion processes and it appears that he has some level of emotional dsyregulation. For example, he often throws tantrums where he is crying loudly. Another time he exclaims that he wants his sisters shots to hurt as they had to leave to take her to the doctors office. It is clear to see that he is having difficulty managing more aggressive emotions and feels very overwhelmed when met with these emotions. In another example he was playing with the dollhouse and put a gun against the dad dolls head, showing resentment and anger towards him. He also is having some difficulty socializing, mentioned before. He is showing behaviors such as selective mutism where he will not respond to his classmates, teachers, and some family members. Cognitively he is having difficulty displaying behaviors that are normal for a kid his age, and this is affecting his life greatly. I would not say that he has any learning disabilities as his IQ test is in the highly gifted range and during play therapy he gets to show off his intellegence. For example; he knew that the mirror in the play room was a two way mirror but the people werent there on a certain day, and he would go into the playroom and perform tasks like putting the colors in order, and spelling them all out with ease.

What developmental contexts (e.g., biological, individual, family, social, cultural) are relevant to our understanding of Dibbs’ emotional, behavioral, and developmental problems? Also consider relevant developmental resources (e.g., protective factors). What transactional processes likely contributed to the development of Dibb’s difficulties? There are some developmental contexts that we should take into account. First of all, it seems like Dibbs has some trouble with his family structure. His father is kind of mean to him, yelling at him, locking him in his room, and one time calling him an idiot because he spilled a drink at dinner. Psychologists said that Dibbs was a rejected and emotionally deprived child, possibly because he was unplanned and that father clearly did not want him in their life as well as blaming his mother for his existence. His father also seems to do things that really upset Dibbs, like cutting down one of his favorite trees that was right outside his window. In fact, at one point Dibbs’ parents were even told that they were the problem so this can give us an understanding of Dibbs’ emotional, behavioral and developmental problems. It seems like there was very little developmental resources for him at school in the beginning, but over this process his teachers said there was great progress and wanted to be involved meeting with his mother multiple times.

(3) Based on your response to (1) and (2), what treatment (or treatments) would you recommend (particularly at the start of the story) and why? You can incorporate into your

recommendations aspects of Axline’s non-directive play therapy approach but you should include at least one additional treatment component or modality. Keep in mind also that the story was written in 1964! What does current research suggest with respect to recommended child and family interventions (e.g., evidence- based treatments)?

Dibbs is obviously a very intelligent young boy, who just needs some extra support in order for his autism spectrum disorder to be treated properly. I enjoyed Axlines idea that the key to success with Dibbs was to have an accepting and respectful relationship with his mother. Having this emotional support will give him someone who he can feel safe and secure with, allowing him to open up and talk about his feelings. Avoiding the repression of his feelings will help with his anger issues and help with his social emotional understanding and skills and also his communication skills. Family relations and support are so crtitical and it seems like something that Dibbs is truly lacking, it is possible that some family based treatment thearpy could help Dibbs as well as his parents with their own mental health and also how they should act as a family. I felt like this play therapy was very similar to the newer model of developmental individual difference relationships based model (DIR) as both of them follow the childs lead in playing and engaging with who is in the room wich is usually with both the parents and someone like Axline to mediate. This program can also be tailored to the specific needs of the child so I think something more modern like this with the parents involved would help Dibbs....