ABSTRACT
In his play psychotherapy, Sam made use of a snake family to enact his anxieties, hostilities, fears, rivalries and loves. By the time the therapist contacted the family one month later, Sam's behaviour had become more problematic. At home, he was very difficult to handle; he was terrorizing his two-year-old nephew by attempting to smother him whenever they were alone together; and he had been caught stealing, an activity that he had been engaged in for a long time. Sam's play reflects his perception of being 'attacked', not only due to the adversity actually experienced in the outside world, but due to his feelings that his good objects are being repeatedly attacked by his bad objects. When arrangements for psychotherapy were finally made, Sam could only be seen once a week because of the Children's Aid worker's timetable and school demands. He was seen weekly over a seven-month period, for a total of 28 sessions, by Dr. Teeya Rankin-Scholten.
