ABSTRACT

As most clinicians soon discover, children unlike adults seldom come to the child guidance clinic through their own volition, and seldom do they come equipped with sufficient "intrinsic" motivation to participate willingly in a psychotherapeutic experience. There is a class of behavior, however, that actually may be dangerous to the child and the entire family, and cannot be allowed the luxury of continuing for the next three to six months while the therapist establishes rapport and a good positive transference. Such is the case with the juvenile "firebug," and the early successful removal of the fire-setting behavior obviously has priority regardless of the therapist's orientation. Comparative psychologists have been aware of the phenomenon of stimulus satiation for a number of years. The most salient finding from the clinical evaluation was the patient's utter fascination with and rapt attention to a lighted match.