Family interventions and resources of Sandplay therapy with adolescents victims of trauma / Intervenções familiares e recursos da terapia Sandplay com adolescentes vítimas de trauma

Abstract

Introduction: Trauma can be understood as a stressful experience or continuous exposure to an event that can cause harm to the healthy development of adolescents. Situations of physical, psychological, and sexual violence interrupt the natural flow of biopsychosocial development, presenting psychopathologies that often prevent adolescents from adapting to society. Objective: To investigate how psychological interventions, through an individual psychotherapeutic process, using resources such as Sandplay therapy along with meetings with parents, may allow improvement of traumatic symptoms in adolescents and therefore be better conducted by psychology specialists. Methods: Descriptive research with a qualitative and exploratory approach, based on the pre-experimental method, including 10 adolescents who were victims of trauma. The Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Screening Instrument (PSSSI), the Perception Inventory of Family Support (PIFS), weekly psychotherapeutic follow-up with Sandplay Therapy, and meetings with parents of the adolescents were used. Results: In the comparison of PIFS before and after treatment, the results showed significant improvement (p 0.05). In the comparison of the trauma scale (PSSSI) before and after treatment, although all variables showed improvement, only avoidance was statistically significant. After the meetings, parents and caregivers subjected to a sensitization approach could become more receptive and welcoming. Conclusions: The combination of individual and family interventions could trigger significant changes in the re-signification of the trauma, providing not only the adolescent but also his/her family with magnification and fortification of a healthier development, causing those involved to reposition themselves to the experienced contexts.