Richi Barua
Professor Ewan
FIQWS
8 April 2019
Research Proposal: Therapeutic Puppetry
The use of puppetry for therapeutic purposes can be perceived by many people as either negative or positive. The mixture of therapy and puppetry is a topic that I want to research for the expository essay because therapy is a necessity for a lot of people, and puppetry is something that many people tend to enjoy. When these two distinct ideas combine, I assume that people, especially children, enjoy therapy more. Puppetry is a widespread practice and it consists of various different puppet styles. Each puppet is very unique and therefore I think that people might enjoy when puppets are used within the practice of various therapies.
Although different people have different perspectives on this topic, I believe that many people will assume that therapeutic puppetry is beneficial. I assume that people will appreciate the usage of uniquely decorated puppets in order to understand emotions. I also assume that many people, especially children, might want the usage of puppetry to increase in the field of mental health. Children are well attracted to performing objects, and therefore, I think many others and I myself can assume that puppets can be beneficial to children in order to bring out their emotions.
Other people who have an opposing view on this topic might primarily think that puppets are useless. I assume that their belief expands on that one single idea. They might think that puppets only distract people instead of helping them. They might also think that puppetry should not be used for therapeutic conditions since, to them, puppets are just objects that cannot distinguish human emotions. In general, I think that these people assume that puppetry might be a waste of time because they are not living beings, which to them might mean that puppets cannot help human beings.
The topic of therapeutic puppetry is very debatable. I want to explore this topic since people have different perspectives on it. There are certain questions that I specifically want to focus on as part of my research for the expository essay. Questions that I will be focusing on are: In which cases, is puppetry used as a therapeutic tool? Is there a limitation to the use of puppetry in therapeutic circumstances? Which age group does therapeutic puppetry target? What are the effects of puppetry when it is used in therapeutic settings? Also, is therapeutic puppetry positive or negative when it is used towards children? The overall thesis question that I am trying to answer is whether puppetry should continue to be used for therapeutic/mental health purposes in order to help children. This will be discussed by analyzing what puppetry has done in the mental health community and by researching how people continue to utilize puppetry in therapeutic settings for children.
The use of puppetry in therapeutic settings is something that intrigues me because I always loved the nature of puppetry. Puppets always made me feel happy about my surroundings, and therefore, I am curious as to how it affects children as a therapeutic tool. By researching this topic, I will be able to learn about children and I will learn about this art form. The expository essay excites me since I will be able to learn about something that has always been a part of me. By doing this project, I hope to grow as a person and learn.
Addendum 4/8/2019:
Throughout the course of writing the expository essay, I decided to change my direction on the same topic. I altered my thesis question for the project. My previous thesis question asked whether puppetry should continue to be used for therapies for children. This thesis question is actually a closed question, and therefore, I decided to change the question. The thesis question that I am now focusing on is: What are the effects that puppetry has on therapies for children? This question is an open question, meaning that it is not a yes or no question. This thesis question is really interesting since I will be able to explore the advantages and the disadvantages puppetry might have on therapies. By exploring this particular thesis question, I will be able to learn more about the field of therapy and the art form of puppetry.
Therapeutic Puppetry: Therapeutic Puppetry’s Affect on Children
Puppetry has been utilized as a therapeutic tool for many years in order to help children around the world. Children, in general, face psychological development as they grow up. During the years of them growing up, children can experience various issues, which can affect them mentally. Puppets have been a tool that many adults have been using in order to deal with situations that children face. Many people think that puppets actually help children, and therefore, they start to utilize puppets. Does it really though? What does puppetry actually do to children? How do children with mental disabilities get impacted by therapeutic puppets? The main question in this situation is: what are the effects of puppetry on therapies for children?
Puppetry allows children to express themselves in many cases. “The Use of Puppets in Play Therapy” by Richard Bromfield takes a look into the impacts that puppets have on children. Bromfield states that puppets can represent humans and it can “allow a child to displace feelings from the significant persons with whom they were originally connected” (435). This allows children to feel safe and that causes them to ultimately trust puppets (ibid.). In a therapeutic setting, the trust that children find among puppets can lead them to use those puppets more often. Using a puppet can allow children to “express aggression or love toward” the “puppet without the risk of actual retaliation or rejection” (ibid.). Being able to feel comfortable and being able to trust puppets results in the stimulation of children’s mental health since they are able to express themselves and build trust into something without being scared. This can allow children to feel better mentally and it can allow children to feel safe.
For a very long time, health professionals have been utilizing puppets as a therapeutic tool for the benefits of kids in hospitals. “Using Therapeutic Toys to Facilitate Venipuncture” by Jose Ronaldo Soares Da Silva et al. describes the effect of therapeutic puppetry among sick children. Da Silva et al. primarily focus on venipuncture and describe it as “one of the most stressful, invasive, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures for children because the use of needles increases fear, anxiety, and insecurity in children, manifested in reactions such as crying, anger, and even aggression” (62). Feeling scared and feeling anxious can be a common occurrence among children and due to various treatments in the hospital, children are most likely to feel nervous. To reduce the stress among these children, health professionals have established therapeutic puppetry settings such as play therapy settings for children in hospitals due to the assumptions that they hold.
Play Therapy is something that Da Silva et al. describe “as the most important activity in the life of a child” and something that “ is crucial to children’s motor, emotional, mental, and social development” (62). Play therapy is also said to be “one of the most effective instruments to reduce stress” since a “therapeutic toy is designed to alleviate children’s anxiety caused by experiences atypical for their age” (ibid.). “A Review of the Literature – The Use of Interactive Puppet Simulation in Nursing Education and Children’s Healthcare” by Ackland Tilbrook et al. investigate if play therapy or therapeutic puppetry, in general, actually help children or not. Tilbrook et al. state that a test was conducted to see if play therapy really reduces stress among four to ten-year-olds. The result of the experiment shows that the children who received some sort of play therapy before a certain medical procedure seemed to be less aggressive and calmer than those who did not engage in play therapy (Tilbrook et al. 77). The difference in the behavior between the two groups seems to show that puppetry, in this case, has positively impacted the children who utilized them. This difference is significant because it is able to show how puppets have actually affected each individual that participated in the experiment.
Puppets’ utilization in order to help children reduce their anxiety has shown a positive result in the research that Tilbrook et al. discuss. Sick children who used puppets seemed to be calmer than others. This can be supported by Bromfield since he states that children are able to express feelings through puppets since they are non-living objects (435). By using a puppet, a child can release any sort of feeling, which can help him/her feel less burdened and have more confidence. This is perhaps the reason why children were less aggressive after play therapy was provided for them. The puppets that were utilized during the play therapy experiment helped children by preparing them for treatments, and therefore, therapeutic puppetry in this research seems to be beneficial for children.
It is common for therapeutic puppetry to be used for children in hospitals, but it is also used by some people at their home, for their own children. “’Objects in Transition: the Puppet and the Autistic Child’” by Melissa Trimingham takes a closer look into the author’s experience of using puppets in order to support her child who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, which is a type of autism. Trimingham states “During more drawn out interplay, the puppet, who was worked and talked by me, slowed him, drew his attention and generally calmed the potential situation: practically speaking, it also helped to get the work done” (254). In here, Trimingham has noted that the puppets that she has used and directed have significantly helped her son by aiding him to understand and by aiding him to calm down in certain circumstance. It can be seen that Trimingham’s son received help from the puppets since he was able to transform through those puppets. The use of puppets as therapeutic tools helped Trimingham connect to his son and helped his son feel comfortable.
The puppets that Trimingham had used were also specified in the text. A puppet named Ronald, for example, helped her son express frustration ( Trimingham 254). The use of Roland the puppet, in this case, tremendously benefitted the mother and the child. Ronald helped her child by allowing him to express his feelings, which could have made him feel better. The child was able to express feelings through the puppet and the mother was able to understand. Ronald and several other puppets that were utilized by Trimingham helped the mother and the child communicate. The objects created a bridge between her and her child and it created a safe space for both of them.
Trimingham’s experience on using therapeutic puppets shows that she has indeed gained benefits from puppets. The puppets were able to help her child, who suffers from autism. The child was able to understand his mother and follow directions. This experience is similar to the experiences of children gaining help from puppets in hospitals. In both cases, puppetry seems to be a huge part of these people’s lives. Therapeutic puppetry’s effects in these two situations seem to be positive, but is this true for all? Since puppets impacted these children positively as a therapeutic tool, does this mean every child will have a positive impact from puppets? Will every child use puppets as a therapeutic tool effectively? Will every child be impacted the same way by therapeutic puppetry?
The answers to the questions mentioned above are no. Each child has its own individual characteristics, which cause them to react differently to puppets. “Using Puppets with Children in Narrative Therapy to Externalize the Problem.(PRACTICE)(Report)” by Sue Butler et al. mentions how therapeutic puppetry might not be for everyone. Butler et al. state that “some children might be distracted, fearful, or otherwise not amenable to using a puppet for externalizing the problem” (232). Children, depending on their age, might not also prefer puppets (ibid.). Different people meet different preferences and they might generally not be interested in puppets, they might be scared of puppets, or they might be distracted by them. This creates a boundary between puppets and children, which means that in those cases, puppets generally don’t provide any sort of help at all, or they have a negative effect.
Negative relationships between puppets and children have been seen in experiments before. “Young Children’s Trust in Overtly Misleading Advice” by Gail D. Heyman et al. discusses children rejecting puppets. Heyman et al. describe an experiment where “a puppet identified as The Big Bad Wolf offered advice to participants. Regardless of the form the advice took, 3-year olds performed poorly by failing to systematically reject it” (646). This is referring to a study where children did not even end up taking any sort of help from a puppet despite the puppet clearly wanting to help. This ties back to the idea that, in many cases, puppets don’t necessarily attract children. In here, the children are not even attempting to communicate with the puppet. This could mean that the children are most likely not interested in the object. These types of situation show that therapeutic puppetry doesn’t always positively impact children. Every child is different, and therefore, things can occur differently for everyone.
Therapeutic puppetry seems to cause different impacts on different children. In the case of children in hospitals, Tilbrook et al. state that puppetry has definitely helped hospital children when a test was conducted among them. The result shows that those who did interact with puppets seemed to be much more mentally stable (Tilbrook et al. 77). In the case of using therapeutic puppetry in everyday life, Trimingham states that puppetry has worked well as a therapeutic tool for her child. Puppets have directed him and helped him communicate and navigate through his life as an autistic child (Trimingham 254). In both of these situations, the effect that puppetry had on these children were positive, but this positive impact does not go for everyone. Butler et al. state that not all children are likely to accept help from puppets (232). Some children don’t necessarily have a liking towards puppets, or they might be scared of puppets, which causes them to not utilize puppets at all. In such cases, therapeutic puppetry doesn’t necessarily work out for these individuals, which means that they are not impacted positively by puppets or they are not impacted at all.
Analyzing these cases doesn’t necessarily lead to a confirmed conclusion. Puppetry actually has various effects on therapies for children. It is not something that can be declared as either good or bad. Overall, the idea is that puppetry does have positive impacts on therapies for children, but at a certain point, puppetry does not have any effects or has negative effects on therapies for children. Why is it like this though? Can something be added to the practice of puppetry in order for it to impact all children equally? What can be done to therapeutic puppetry in order to enhance it? Although these questions cannot be answered yet, the sources that are shown in this paper are indeed a great start to investigate these questions. Perhaps the answers to these questions can be reached one day, and perhaps it might all start from this single paper.
Annotated Bibliography
Bromfield, Richard. “The Use of Puppets in Play Therapy.” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, vol. 12, no. 6, Dec. 1994, pp. 435–444. SpringerLink, doi: 10.1007/BF01875812. Accessed 3 April 2019.
Richard Bromfield ’s primary idea is that children can trust puppets. Bromfield states that puppets are objects, meaning that they cannot harm children and therefore, children don’t have to worry about whether to trust them or not. This leads children to trust puppets and express their ideas through them. This source is reliable since it goes in depth into the relationship between puppets and children, and it considers how children think. This source is significant to the expository essay research because it shows how puppets can be an important part of children’s lives. The text demonstrates how puppets help their minds to develop and it shows how puppets are beneficial for their mental health. The thesis in the text is that puppetry is a good therapeutic tool for children since it allows them to have better mental health. This text describes the effects that puppetry has on therapies for children, and therefore, this source is beneficial to the expository essay research.
Butler, Sue, et al. “Using Puppets with Children in Narrative Therapy to Externalize the Problem.(PRACTICE)(Report).” Journal of Mental Health Counseling, vol. 31, no. 3, Jul. 2009, pp. 225–233. Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, doi: 10.17744/mehc.31.3.f255m86472577522. Accessed 3 April 2019.
Sue Butler et al. consider that puppetry might not be for everyone. Although this article focuses on how puppets help children, it also takes under the consideration that, in some cases, puppetry might not interest children at all or it might distract them. This source is reliable because it considers several stances on the topic of therapeutic puppetry and then it reaches a conclusion. This source is significant to the research because the authors consider an antithesis, which can be added to the expository paper in order to consider different points of views on the topic of therapeutic puppetry. Considering different points of views can enhance a paper because it is good to look at a topic from different views.
Da Silva, Jose Ronaldo Soares, et al. “Using Therapeutic Toys to Facilitate Venipuncture Procedure in Preschool Children.” Pediatric Nursing, vol. 42, no. 2, 2016, pp. 61–68. CINAHL Complete, URL:
https://web-b-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=2b093644-48d8-4bb9-8be3-aaddbf277a4d%40sessionmgr102. Accessed 3 April 2019.
Jose Ronaldo Soares Da Silva et al. focus on sick children in the hospital who suffers from anxiety due to the treatments that are provided to them. Da Silva et al. explain the emotional pain that the children have to go through in the hospital and how puppets help these children overcome their anxiety. This source is reliable since it describes the actual experience that the children go through and it shows how they really feel when puppets are utilized among them. This source is significant to the expository essay research because it specifically focuses on really sick children. It shows how puppets impact children who are really sick in a positive manner. This detail could be added to the paper in order to show how puppetry affects different types of children. This information will expand the knowledge of the reader, and therefore, this source is significant.
Heyman, Gail D., et al. “Young Children’s Trust in Overtly Misleading Advice.” Cognitive Science, vol. 37, no. 4, 7 Jan. 2013, pp. 646–667. Wiley Online Library, doi: 10.1111/cogs.12020. Accessed 3 April 2019.
Gail D. Heyman et al. show an example of why many people might oppose the idea of therapeutic puppetry for children. In a particular part of the text, a research experiment is described. The experiment is about children not taking advice from a puppet. The argument against the use of puppets here is that the children didn’t take any help from the puppet, and so, there is no necessity to use puppets for therapeutic circumstances since children won’t end up taking any help from puppets. If children don’t end up taking any help from puppets, the argument of not having therapeutic puppetry is brought up into the discussion. Since this is an article containing an antithesis against all the articles that are collected, this article is, therefore, an important part of the research. This source is reliable because the part of the text which shows the antithesis is based on an experiment that was conducted. The experiment showed that children were not very interested in a puppet that was attempting to help them. By conducting the research, the conclusion which is presented in the source was created.
Tilbrook, Ackland, et al. “A Review of the Literature – The Use of Interactive Puppet Simulation in Nursing Education and Children’s Healthcare.” Nurse Education in Practice, vol. 22, Jan. 2017, pp. 73–79. ScienceDirect, doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2016.12.001. Accessed 3 April 2019.
Ackland Tilbrook et al. focus on the usage of puppetry by nurses in order to help children with their anxiety and fears. Tilbrook et al. go deeper into the benefits of therapeutic puppetry for children residing in hospitals. This source is reliable because it is based on experiments that have been conducted. The experiments tested if puppets really help children in terms of lessening their anxiety. This source is significant to the expository essay research because it emphasizes that therapeutic puppetry is good. The text shows the benefits of puppets being used as a therapeutic tool for children in hospitals. This text could be discussed in the expository paper in order to show readers how puppetry helps children in various settings.
Trimingham, Melissa. “’Objects in Transition: the Puppet and the Autistic Child’.”Journal of Applied Arts in Health, 2010, pp. 251–265. URL:http://kar.kent.ac.uk/26300/1/Objects%20in%20transition%20the%20puppet%20and%20the%20autistic%20child.doc. Accessed 3 April 2019.
Melissa Trimingham focuses on her experience as a mother who utilized puppets to help her child who suffers from autism. In the text, Trimingham states how she has utilized puppets to calm her child down when it was necessary. She also states that she used puppets to make her son do certain tasks. The overall idea of this article is that puppets have helped Trimingham when it was necessary for her child due to his disabilities. This source is reliable because the source is talking about a puppet helping one single child instead of talking about many kids. When you talk about a group of people, it is usually hard to consider everyone’s feeling. This text focuses on one person, so you really understand how puppetry affects that person specifically. This source is relevant to the research because it actually shows a personal story of someone with mental disabilities gaining help from puppets. The text shows how puppets can be utilized as a therapeutic tool in order to help children with mental disabilities. Since this source shows a personal experience, it could be an example mentioned in the expository essay, and therefore, this source is important to the research.
