Correcting childhood fears by means of rationalization

Abstract

The article describes the strategy of overcoming fears in children by means of rationalization based on the analysis of situations causing fear. The strategy presented in the article is based on P. Dubois’ principle of rational therapy. The concept of “rationalization” is briefly analysed as a psychological defence and as a corrective strategy. The article describes a constructive process of overcoming fears, which involves the child’s assessment of his / her own capabilities and potential support from others. The emphasis is placed on the stage of understanding, designing and testing the quality of alternative forms of behaviour, which leads to the deployment of familiar programs amended with newly acquired elements in response to new (changing) conditions. The correctional technique described in the article is aimed at finding a reasonable way out of a frightening situation. The article provides a detailed description of all stages of the correctional strategy, including four main types of corrective measures: drawing, individual correctional interviews, psychological training, and simulations of frightening situations. It outlines the main goals and objectives of each stage of the correctional strategy and also presents an original scheme and an example of an individual correctional interview based on the principle of rationalisation as a key element of childhood fear correction by means of rationalisation. The authors describe training sessions where behaviour models developed in the framework of individual correctional interviews are practiced. It is suggested that using the strategy presented in the article will lead to the development of a constructive and economical behavioural strategy allowing, on the one hand, to remove the negative emotional impact of fear, and on the other, to avoid dangerous or frightening events.