Case Study from Mosac Play Therapist:

Here is such a story from a Mosac Play Therapist…

T was 12 when I met his mum in assessment. She described the abuse that he had experienced from his cousin, which mum thought had been happening from when T was 5 and his cousin was aged 14.

T disclosed the sexual acts that he had been subjected to over a long period of time and mum said he had broken down, expressing he needed to get it out. 

She said he was angry, confused and additionally experienced a massive sense of loss and grief when he could no longer see his cousin.

Mum went on to report overwhelming feelings of stress and anger for T, he was finding it difficult to regulate and calm himself, feeling totally out of control at times.

She said he was having terrifying nightmares and had started to sleep in her bed. 

He was now struggling at school with his peers and being bullied.

His confidence and sense of self had been shaken massively and now felt powerless, blaming himself for everything that had happened.

When I first met T in therapy, he was very polite with a gentle nature. 

From the onset of therapy, he was very playful, expressive and communicative with me. 

He loved the sand and creating stories with multiple figures and themes.

It was clear that his stories were representative of his life and experiences, and throughout his play therapy he created what he called ‘chapters,’ each week exploring different relationship dynamics and processing many feelings. 

With every session it was visible that his confidence was growing and he was learning to gain some clarity over really painful and confusing situations. 

He was playing out and expressing his internal and external worlds through the sand and the stories he created.

Towards the end of his sessions he was clearly gaining mastery over his traumatic experiences and was able to talk to me openly, learning and gaining insight into his thoughts, feelings and sense of self. 

At the end he expressed how much he had gained from the sessions and was sad that he was ending. In the last session he revisited everything he had done, vocalising his feelings along the way.

His mum wrote in the feedback…