notes from a therapy session, part 1

So yesterday Princess and I went to a mental health therapist for our first session together (she had previously seen Princess, myself, and my wife separately. What happened? What did I learn?

The therapist, who I will call "Kay"  had us both sitting on the floor and starting us off with some games. First with a "hurts check" or something. She told me she had previously told Princess that the office was a "no hurt zone." That applied to physical and verbal hurts. She gave me little tube of ointmennt (aquafor) and had me look at Princess's hands, arms, and legs to see if I could find any little "hurts" I could rub a little ointment on. I did. Princess played along. I was wondering if Princess would get to return the favor, and noticed that there was still brusing on my hand where she bit me some days before, but no, after I was done, we went on to the next game.

The next game, or activity, as making handprints/footprints on a piece of black paper. The technique was to put baby lotion on Princess's hands and feet, then sprinkle white baby powder over the paper with the hands and then feet affixed. It was supposed to mark a "beginning" for this particular journey for Princess, or something like that.

The weird thing in retrospect was that I was afraid the thing would be lost or destroyed if I took it home, so I asked the therapist if it could stay at the office, at least for the time being. Don't know if she gets that request often.

Then we played a bubble game. I, the dad, would give directions to princess on how to pop a bubble; the therapist would blow the bubbles, and game on! Princess remembered a time when she was enclosed by a bubble -- something that I had vague memories of once she mentioned it. It was at a community fair or something.

Anyways, I would give directions. Pop the bubbles with your elbows. With your toes. By clapping your hands. With your nose!  With your mouth! (or, maybe not a good idea, therapist indicates, soapy water and all).  Not sure of the purpose of that one either.

Next, I was given a roll of yellow paper and told to wrap Princess up like a mummy, starting at the feet. As I proceeded , the therapist would ask Princess questions about the body  parts I was  wrapping. What are your feet for? What our you looks for. What is your belly for?

"Belly bumping"  says Princess.

When we came to the hands, Princess says hands are for "poking," I don't recall if first she said this unprompted or as a "yes" answer to "are fingers for poking" but the therapist did ask  again to make  sure that is what Princess said,  before saying something to the effect that  poking is not really the best use of one's hand.

After I got Princess completely wrapped (except for nose and mouth), Kay said the next step was to, on the count of three, break loose and escape the mummy wrapping. Princess did that in about 1.2 seconds.

Then she sent Princess out to draw some pictures, and we talked.
(continued on next post)