Look, up in the sky! Using superheroes in play therapy.

Abstract

Fantasy and fantasy play are key elements in healthy child development, and as such, are potentially important resources for play therapy. The multi-media genre of superhero mythology has long provided children (and adults) with rich fantasies serving a number of important developmental functions, including emotional release, a sense of power, instillation of hope, a resource for problem solving and identity formation. Whether Captain America, Superman, Spiderman, the Justice League of America, X-Men, or Powerpuff Girls, these mythological figures have flown from the pages of comics, television and the silver screen into the imaginations and play of generations of children. Considering their ubiquity in popular children's culture, a paucity of research or clinical literature has addressed the incorporation of superheroes into child counseling and play therapy. The purpose of this article is to first describe the relationship between fantasy, superhero mythology, and play therapy, and to then provide examples from clinical practice.Long before developmental specialists and child psychologists addressed fantasy play and play therapy, children created stories of great adventure and adversity, playfully or perhaps not so playfully, acting them out. And certainly, long before the first superhero leapt into our cultural consciousness, societies had developed and refined Lawrence Rubin, Ph.D., RPT-S, is a professor of Counselor Education at St. Thomas University in Miami, FL, as well as a practitioner in private practice. Harry Livesay is a licensed, clinical social worker for the Memorial Hermann-Lamar School-Based Health Center in Rosenberg, TX.

The Assessment of Elaborated Role‐play in Young Children: Invisible Friends, Personified Objects, and Pretend Identities

“…Taylor and Carlson () found that children with pretend identities, like children with invisible friends and with personified objects, scored higher on theory of mind tasks than children who did not engage in any type of role‐play, but pretend identities have mostly been investigated separately from research on imaginary companions. For example, there are several studies that explore the positive themes in superhero pretending (e.g., fighting against injustice), as well as the potential for this type of role‐play to be helpful in clinical settings (Boyd, ; Martin, ; Rubin & Livesay, ).…”

Barriers Remain: Perceptions and Uses of Comics by Mental Health and Social Care Library Users

“…For instance, in 1941 Bender and Lourie examined three children's neurotic episodes or negative behaviour and concluded that comics can function ' as a means of helping them solve the individual and sociological problems appropriate to their own lives' (Bender and Lourie, 1941: 550). More recently, the powers of comic-book characters, especially superheroes, have been invoked as ways of reaching traumatised children and helping therapists construct narratives for the healing process (Rubin, 2005;Kaplan-Weinger, 2012;Rubin and Livesay, 2006;Taransaud, 2013;Fradkin, 2016). The author of a book on the workings of the Tavistock Clinic itself also supports the therapeutic use of comics because a child can ' enjoy this format, perhaps because the stylised form and the slightly mocking quality seems to tone down any raw emotions which might otherwise be revealed' (Taylor, 1999: 23).…”

Can We Play Too? Experiential Techniques for Family Therapists to Actively Include Children in Sessions

“…Each family member is asked to identify a favorite existing superhero and will then be asked to create their own personal superhero (adapted from Rubin & Livesay, 2006). They are asked to draw a picture of their superhero (or find the figure among the miniatures if available) and list their superpower/superpowers, important resources, and strengths/skills.…”