Richi Barua
Professor Ewan
FIQWS
1 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 people tend to enjoy. When these two distinct ideas combine, I assume that people 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 therapy.
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. Children are well attracted to performing objects and therefore, I think me and many others 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 distracts 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 and therefore, to them, this 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 question 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.
Therapeutic Puppetry: How Therapeutic Puppetry Affects Children
Puppetry has been utilized as a therapeutic tool for many years in order to help children around the world. Children, in general, face mental and psychological development as they grow up. In the years of the growing up, children can experience various issues which affect them mentally. Puppets have been a tool that many adults have been using in order to deal with situations that children face. Puppetry has used for a good purpose because many people assume that it genuinely helps children. Does it really though? What does puppetry actually do to children? How do children with and 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. “The Use of Puppets in Play Therapy” by Richard Bromfield builds on this theory. Bromfield states that puppets can represent humans and can cause children’s emotions to be displaced from another person (435). This allows children to feel safe and that causes them to ultimately trust puppets (ibid.). Bromfield continued to state that children can express any type of emotions toward a puppet since they are non-living objects and this means that children are able to express themselves (435). Being able to feel comfortable and being able to trust puppets results in children utilizing puppets more which can affect them in various different ways.
Children being close to puppets is one of the reasons why 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. describe the effect of therapeutic puppetry among sick children. Da Silva et al. primarily focuses on venipuncture and describe Venipuncture 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 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 these among children, health professionals has therefore established therapeutic puppetry settings for children in hospitals.
Puppets can affect a child in many ways. Da Silva et al. states that “play is the most important activity in the life of a child, and is crucial to children’s motor, emotional, mental, and social development” (ibid.). 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 Tilbrook et al. takes a deeper look into this matter. Tilbrook et al. state that a test was conducted to see if play therapy really reduced stress among four to ten-year-olds. The result of the experiment showed 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 (Tilbrook et al. 77). It is shown that play therapy has definitely benefited the children here since a difference was seen between those who didn’t receive play therapy and those who did. His difference is significant because it is able to show how puppets have each individual that participated in the experiment.
Puppets have been utilized to help children reduce their anxiety with treatments such as surgical procedures. It is said that puppets help children bring out their emotions due to several factors and one of them being that a puppet is a non-living object which usually attracts children. Using puppets as a therapeutic tool for sick children showed positive results since those who had received play therapy seemed to be less stressed and anxious. This can mean that children might find puppets to be beneficial to themselves. They might find it playful and something that can help them. Therapeutic puppetry in the case of hospital children seemed to be beneficial for some children that resided there since puppets seemed to be attracting them.
On a more personal note, therapeutic puppetry seems to also impact children outside hospital settings. “’Objects in Transition: the Puppet and the Autistic Child’” by Melissa Trimmingham takes a closer look into her experience of using puppets to support her child who suffers with autism. Trimmingham states that “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” (4). Trimmingham has generally used a puppet to guide her. She has noted that the puppets have significantly helped her son. Trimingham even specifically pointed out the puppets who have specifically helped her such as Ronald who helped her son express frustration (ibid.). Trimingham’s son seemed to utilize the puppet in order to express his feelings. The use of Roland the puppet, in this case, had tremendously benefitted the mother and the child. The child was able to express feeling through the puppet and the mother was able to understand. The puppets were a bridge between Trimingham and her child.
The use of puppets as a therapeutic tool by Trimingham really showed benefits to her. Her child who suffers from autism getting help from a simple object can really show that therapeutic puppetry has benefitted her positively. In both cases, the use of puppetry for hospital children and Trimingham’s child, therapeutic puppetry seemed to take a huge part in their lives. The puppets seemed to transform the behaviors of the children but is this true for all? Although, 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?
The answer to the question mentioned is no. Each child has its own individual characteristics which results them to react differently to a puppet. “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. states “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.). It is noted so far in the paper that therapeutic puppetry has helped certain children but for certain people, puppets distract them and do not affect them in any positive ways. In “Young Children’s Trust in Overtly Misleading Advice” by Gail D. Heyman et al. state “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). In a study, the children did not even end up taking any sort of help. This ties back to the idea that in many cases, puppets don’t necessarily attract children. In many cases, puppets might be just a worthless object.
The use of puppetry seemed to be different in many cases. As a therapeutic tool, puppetry has definitely helped the children residing in the hospital and it has helped a child suffering from autism to guide through his life. On those cases, it was seen that therapeutic puppetry had a positive impact among those people. On the other hand, therapeutic puppetry does not impact everyone equally. Some children don’t necessarily have a liking towards puppets, or they might be scared of puppets which causes them not utilize puppets at all. In such cases, therapeutic puppetry doesn’t necessarily work out for these individuals which mean that they are not impacted positively. Therapeutic puppetry is not something that can be declared as either good or bad. To really understand therapeutic puppetry, it is important to take in different accounts and experiences that people have with puppets. With the analyzation of different viewpoints, one might be able to understand the effects of therapeutic puppetry.
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. In certain situations, the effects of puppetry seem to be somewhat positive since it actually helps children to feel better and it helps them to calm down. In other situations, puppetry does not affect children at all. Why is it like this though? Can something be added to the practice of puppetry in order for it to impact children equally? Are there any ways in which puppetry brings the same effects for therapies for all children? Although these questions cannot be answered yet, the research shown is 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
Down, Suzanne. “Puppetry as a Therapeutic Art Form: the Work of Artist and Story Teller.(THE ARTS).” LILIPOH, vol. 16, no. 62, 2011, p. 42.
“Puppetry as a Therapeutic Art Form: the Work of Artist and Story Teller.(THE ARTS)” by Suzanne Down focuses on how puppetry helps develop the minds of children. It talks about puppets being a good role model for children (Down 42). This source is beneficial to the expository essay research since my paper will be based on the thesis question of whether puppetry should continue to be used as a therapeutic tool for children. This source shows how puppetry is beneficial to children and therefore this article is important to the research. The thesis of this article will be considered for my research for the paper.
Bromfield, Richard. “The Use of Puppets in Play Therapy.” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, vol. 12, no. 6, 1994, pp. 435–444.
In “The Use of Puppets in Play Therapy” by Richard Bromfield, a primary idea that is shown is that children can trust puppets. Bromfield states that puppets are objects which means that they cannot harm children and therefore, children don’t have to worry about whether to trust them or not (Bromfield 435). This leads children to trust puppets and express their ideas through them (ibid.). This source is significant to the expository essay research because it shows how puppets can be an important part of children’s lives. The article shows how puppets help their minds to develop and it is beneficial for their mental health. The thesis in the article is that puppetry is a good therapeutic tool for children since it allows them to have better mental health. This article takes a particular stance on the question of whether therapeutic puppetry should continue and, therefore, this source is beneficial to the expository essay research.
Trimingham, Melissa. “’Objects in Transition: the Puppet and the Autistic Child’.” 2010, pp. Trimingham, Melissa (2010) ‘Objects in transition: the puppet and the autistic child’. Journal of Applied Arts in Health, 1 (3). pp. 251–265.
“‘Objects in Transition: The Puppet and the Autistic Child'” by Melissa Trimingham focuses on the writer’s experience as a mother who utilized puppets to help her child who suffers from autism. In the article, Trimingham states how she has utilized puppets to calm her child down when it was necessary (3). She also states how she also used puppets to make her son do certain tasks (Trimingham 4). 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 relevant to the research because it actually shows a personal example of someone with mental disabilities gaining help from puppets. The article shows how puppets can be utilized as a therapeutic tool to help people 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.
Hartwig, Elizabeth Kjellstrand, and Hudspeth, Franc. “Puppets in the Playroom: Utilizing Puppets and Child-Centered Facilitative Skills as a Metaphor for Healing.” International Journal of Play Therapy, vol. 23, no. 4, 2014, pp. 204–216.
“Puppets in the Playroom: Utilizing Puppets and Child-Centered Facilitative Skills as a Metaphor for Healing” by Elizabeth Kjellstrand Hartwig, and Franc Hudspeth goes deeper into the idea of therapeutic puppetry. In the article, Hartwig and Hudspeth, both discuss the use of puppetry in education and therapy. They go in depth into the topic of using puppets as a therapeutic tool and using puppets as a way to develop children’s minds since children are able to use puppets as a way to communicate (Hartwig & Hudspeth 204). This article shows the background of therapeutic puppetry, it shows the history behind the art form, and it also discusses the benefits of therapeutic puppetry. This source is relevant to the expository essay research because this source goes deeper into the idea of therapeutic puppetry and it is able to give a lot of information about the topic. This article will help bring more knowledge to the expository paper and, therefore, it is important to the research.
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.
“Using Therapeutic Toys to Facilitate Venipuncture Procedure in Preschool Children” by Jose Ronaldo Soares Da Silva focuses on sick children in the hospital who suffers from anxiety due to the treatments that are provided to them. Da Silva explains the emotional pain that the children have to go through in the hospital and how puppets help these children overcome their anxiety (61). 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.
Tilbrook, 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, 2017, pp. 73–79.
“A Review of the Literature – The Use of Interactive Puppet Simulation in Nursing Education and Children’s Healthcare” by Ackland Tilbrook et al. focuses on the usage of puppetry by nurses in order to help children with their anxiety fears. Tilbrook et al. go deeper into the benefits of therapeutic puppetry for children residing in hospitals (73). This source is significant to the expository essay research because it emphasizes that therapeutic puppetry is good. The article shows the benefits of puppets being used as a therapeutic tool for children in hospitals. This article could be discussed in the expository paper in order to show the readers how puppetry helps children in various settings and that is why this source is relevant to the research.
Heyman, Gail D., et al. “Young Children’s Trust in Overtly Misleading Advice.” Cognitive Science, vol. 37, no. 4, 2013, pp. 646–667.
“Young Children’s Trust in Overtly Misleading Advice” by Gail D. Heyman shows an example of why many people might oppose the idea of therapeutic puppetry for children. The article shows an example of how in a research experiment, children did not take the advice given by a puppet, which resulted in their failure (Heyman 646). 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 these puppets. The thesis question that the expository essay is based on is whether puppetry should be part of therapy. 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.
