Using Puppets to Help Children Restory Lives

Sue Butler, a doctoral student in the Counseling Department in Miami Shores co-authored a scholarly article with Assistant Professor Dr. Jeffrey T. Guterman and Associate Professor Dr. Jim Rudes. The title of the article is “Using Puppets with Children in Narrative Therapy to Externalize the Problem.” In narrative therapy, the process of externalization is aimed at helping people begin to view themselves as separate from their problems. Published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Mental Health Counseling, the article shows how puppets can be used with children in narrative therapy as an effective therapeutic tool for externalizing the problem, identifying unique outcomes, and ascribing new, preferred stories. A case example is provided to illustrate the clinical application.