Journal Potuguese Release - February 2024 - Flipbook - Page 28
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the pandemic; the father could participate in only a few sessions, when we
managed to schedule appointments after his work shift. In these meetings, where
the whole family got together, playing freely was the main objective (César,
2012)1.
A Cry for Help
Even in the first days of the January 2020 holidays, Aurora, the young mother of
Daniel (eight years old) and Leo (four years old) was very distressed at not
achieving a balanced relationship with her eldest son, who “throws himself at the
television” and does not commit to his obligations, from taking care of personal
hygiene to school obligations during class time. Born at 7 months of pregnancy,
he was assessed during the literacy period and received a diagnosis of AttentionDeficit Disorder (ADD), in addition to living with an uncomfortable dysgraphia and
psychomotor immaturity, which forced his mother to follow up on school tasks,
correct spelling, and “correct the ugly handwriting”. Always complaining, he got
irritated when his mother pressured him: he screamed, cried, and accused her of
being a bad mother. It left her "out of her mind", since she did the best she could.
In those moments, anger also dominated her, from which words emerged that
she would never have used if she could think before speaking. She therefore felt
very guilty and convinced herself that she really wasn't a good mother.
Aurora was also concerned about her younger son. Like his older brother, he was
born prematurely, but perinatal complications and the effects of early birth were
more invasive in his development. Parents began to protect him, offering him
little encouragement in the autonomy of daily life activities: “He is our baby,”
“required a lot of care,” “was always weak,” and “Cries to get everything he wants
and I end up giving in so as not to get angry anymore”, said Aurora. A kind of
vicious circle was established, where Daniel's defiant attitudes and Leo's insistent
crying resulted in a joint explosion of irritability. In this way, by giving in to her
children's demands, Aurora obtained a moment of peace: "I end up giving them
what they ask to put an end to the complaints" to, soon after, be taken by guilt
and the uncomfortable feeling of impotence in the face of the conflicts.
The family had moved to the city of the maternal grandparents two years before,
in the hopes of receiving family support for the care and treatment of their
1
The names of the participants have been changed so that their identities are preserved, and as the author I
obtained the consent of the family for the publication of this article.
The Bad and the Good Ghosts: A Story of Reauthoring in Narrative Therapy with Children
Journal of Contemporary Narrative Therapy, February 2024 Release, www.journalnft.com, p. 2446.