Ben From Stepmom Ben, the

¶ … Ben from Stepmom Ben, the son from Stepmom (1998), presents with issues of erratic behavior and a seemingly incorrigible tendency to defy directions and evade adult supervision. While it is true that children often exhibit a tendency to behave in a mischievous manner, Ben's case is particularly conducive to therapy because it appears to be in response to the many changes that take place in his familial environment.

For example, the fact that he got lost in Central Park is especially significant in that it occurred under the supervision of Isabel and is likely a response to his anxiety surrounding the fact that Isabel now shares the role of mother with Jackie, his biological mother. Moreover, the erratic behavior appears to be a subconscious response to the many changes that have taken place in his family dynamic.

Specifically, his parents' failed marriage, his mother's terminal illness, and the increasingly large presence of his stepmother Isabel have all facilitated his erratic behavior. The evidence for his issues being subconscious is that he appears to harbor little ill will towards Isabel. I do not believe that he is angry or aware of his emotional unease, and his mischievous behavior is conducted out of an instinctive need to escape a family environment enraptured in conflict between other family members.

In order to treat Ben's disruptive behavior disorder, I would deploy strategies of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and play therapy. As it stands, Ben has extreme difficulty in regulating his behavior and conceptualizing the consequences of his actions. Ben's propensity for playing is not unhealthy and has potentially cathartic tendencies that will allow him to release his anxiety. Because Ben has difficulty in remaining on task, I would make sure to use directive play therapy and would have him perform specified tasks.

However, the fact that he has a great deal of energy also leads me to believe that his limited attention span precludes a lengthy verbal discussion. Play therapy will allow Ben to articulate his feelings towards his family members and endow him with an intellectual understanding for why he has behaved in such a mischievous manner and the reasons for why his behavior is deleterious to his emotional growth.

One play therapy technique that I would use is to have Ben play with toy figurines of family members, so that he can act out events between family members. I would observe the types of events that are simulated and whether the behavior exhibited by the characters is conducive to a healthy familial relationship. After he has enacted a sequence, I would engage Ben in a dialogue surrounding the consequences of the actions portrayed in the sequence.

This exercise would allow Ben to intellectually understand the consequences for the behavior that he exhibits, which will cause him to act with greater foresight and understand his conflicted emotional state. Helping Ben to understand the consequences of his actions borrows from the principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and my hope is that the play therapy will result in him using his cognitive faculties to regulate his emotional turmoil.

I would also have Ben construct a genogram that includes Isabel, as this would allow him to internalize a complete image of the family portrait that includes both Isabel and his biological mother. In order to improve Ben's.