An intervention in treating selective mutism using expressive therapies continuum framework

• Main Authors: Fernandez, Karina Therese G., Serrano, Krista Camille M., Tongson, Monica Camille C.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2014
• Subjects: Selective mutism; Behavior therapy for children; Play therapy; Applied Behavior Analysis; Child Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/5948
• Institution: De La Salle University

Selective mutism is characterized by a child’s inability to speak in certain situations while they manifest adequate speaking in other settings or with particular people. It is considered a type of anxiety disorder where the child dreads situations where there is an expectation to speak for fear of being negatively evaluated. This article discusses how the expressive therapies continuum (Hinz, 2009a) was used as framework for the first stages of the intervention process on a case of a 10-year-old boy with selective mutism. The hierarchy of creative expression outlined by the theory helped in understanding the client’s level of functioning. It also served as a good explanatory model for the creative transitions that the client went through in the first stage of therapy.