Dibs in Search of Self: Play Therapy and Child Development
This paper offers a reflective analysis of Virginia Axline's Dibs in Search of Self, a foundational text in play therapy. The paper examines how Axline's therapeutic approach helped a severely withdrawn child overcome fear, distrust, and emotional paralysis. It discusses the role of the therapeutic environment in permitting a child to express himself freely, the limitations of teachers' training in addressing deeply troubled behavior, and the insights play therapy offers about the gap between outward behavior and inner ability. The paper concludes with personal reflections on parental influence and the potential of every child to develop meaningful skills.
- Introduction: Book's significance as a play therapy standard
- Teachers' Observations and Limitations: Teachers unable to explain or address Dibs's withdrawal
- The Therapeutic Environment: Play therapy room enables free expression and growth
- Axline's Observations and Dibs's Growth: Therapy reveals Dibs's true intelligence and skills
- Reflections on Play Therapy and Child Potential: Personal lessons on behavior, potential, and parental influence
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper uses direct quotation from Axline's text to ground its claims in primary source evidence, lending credibility to its interpretive points.
- It balances summary with personal reflection, moving from what the book describes to what the author learned from it — a hallmark of effective response or reflection papers.
- The argument builds logically: from teachers' failure to understand Dibs, to the transformative role of the play therapy room, to broader lessons about child potential.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of embedded quotation with brief contextual framing. Rather than dropping quotes without comment, the author introduces each passage and follows it with an interpretive sentence that connects it to the paper's central claim — that behavior does not reflect inner ability.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a thesis-level introduction establishing the book's significance in play therapy. It then moves through three content sections: the teachers' limited observations, the design and purpose of the therapeutic space, and Axline's clinical insights into Dibs's development. It closes with a personal reflection that synthesizes the paper's key takeaways, including questions raised about parental influence. The structure mirrors a standard response-paper format suitable for undergraduate coursework.
Introduction
Dibs in Search of Self is a classic text that demonstrates the principles of play therapy in a manner that traces the development of an entire child — from a state of trauma back to psychological health. It cultivates ideals that have served as guidelines and standards for the field of play therapy. The book demonstrates that the difficulty of resolving intellectual and social issues can be significant for some people, and that the outward actions of those individuals can cause others to judge them inaccurately. The work is meant to give hope to professionals, parents, and teachers dealing with very troubled children, as outward behavior does not always reflect inner ability.
Teachers' Observations and Limitations
From the initial observations of Dibs's teachers, it was plain to see that all their training had led them to no realistic conclusion about his behavior. He was nearly completely withdrawn and responded to direct contact with either indifference or anger. All the teachers really seemed to know was that they did not want to see Dibs fall through the cracks — and that they were neither equipped nor trained to help him (Axline, 1986, pp. 17–19).
Bibliography
Axline, V. M. (1986). Dibs in search of self. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
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