Abstract
John (age 5) and his sister, Beth (age 14), were seen in family therapy to help the family deal with the divorce of the parents. As the children spoke about their concerns, John expressed plaintively, “But where are my guinea pigs going to sleep?” Beth, also distressed, turned to her brother and said angrily, “Who cares about your stupid guinea pigs. Don’t you understand, we’re going to have to choose who we want to live with!”
Beth’s question of whether or not her brother understood the situation represents the critical question that we must address as we talk with children about feelings. John did understand his parents’ divorce but in a way that is very different from his sister’s way.
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Nannis, E.D. (1988). A Cognitive-Developmental View of Emotional Understanding and Its Implications for Child Psychotherapy. In: Shirk, S.R. (eds) Cognitive Development and Child Psychotherapy. Perspectives in Developmental Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3635-6_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3635-6_4
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