Assessment

Any parent who struggles to understand or is concerned about his or her child’s behaviour can have the child assessed. The assessment is done in context of a therapeutic relationship and combined with play therapy techniques; therefore the atmosphere is relaxed, playful and supportive. The play therapist is usually able to determine some or all of the following aspects:

• The self-image of the child.
• The extent to which he shows self-acceptance
• The child’s ability to identify, accept and communicate her emotions.
• The nature of the relationships between the child and other family members or significant others
• The child’s perception of her own ability to cope with her present situation.
• The stressors in her life.
• Aggression (nature and function).
• Signs of anxiety and depression.
• Issues that are subconsciously a worry to her (out of her awareness).
• The child’s temperament and functional preferences according to the 16 Psychological Theory of Jung

 

 

Assessment of temperament and preference function

Temperament represents an inborn ‘style’ of behaving that is evident in early childhood and is an indicator to how children react and behave.

With this in mind, the child should be thought of as a force to be steered into competent adulthood and not simply as a piece of clay to be moulded into an obedient citizen. Furthermore, to complicate things a little bit, each child comes with inborn wiring (temperament) that defines whether the child will be easy or challenging to raise. How children perceive themselves and others will be determined by how well their wiring fits in with the environment and how well they are received by the significant others in their environment.

Parenting, and more specifically the way parents connect with the child, is very important. Each child has his or her own temperament and therefore needs to be raised differently from others. Parents cannot alter or regulate the child’s temperamental style, but parenting rather needs to be moulded around the child’s temperament. Therefore parenting techniques must be attuned to the child’s temperament. Parents who try to change the child to fit in their concept of the ‘perfect child’ usually end up feeling very frustrated. It will be more appropriate for parents to observe and learn about the children’s unique behavioural style and then change the way they react to the situation. But it is also of equal importance for parents to understand their own temperaments and behavioural styles and not only those of their children.

 

The assessment of the child’s temperament through the play therapeutic process is therefore an important component in the therapeutic process. It provide me with an insight in how the child perceives his world and an in depth understanding of why he react the way he reacts.

This knowledge regarding the child’s temperament and preference functions I share with the parents in order to assist in enhancing the parent-child interaction.

 

Parents and their input in their child’s life are equally important in the therapeutic process. Therefore, parents are advice to join in the assessment of their own temperament and preference functions in order to understand their own process and parenting styles. Feedback of this assessment further assists in the enhancing of the parent-child interaction.

 

The 16 Psychological Type Theory of Jung is use as the theoretical basis for these interventions regarding temperament and preference functions.