Therapeutic fairy tales as a tool for emotional support

What are therapeutic fairy tales?

These are narratives filled with educational and therapeutic content, aimed not only at children but also at those with specific needs such as how to use social stories for autism therapy. Their main goal is to build personal resources in dealing with stress, emotions, or difficult life situations, incorporating elements like moral stories and fairy tales that teach a lesson.

Therapeutic fairy tales use elements of metaphor, symbolism, and allegory to address difficult topics, situations, and problems in an attractive and accessible way. The heroes of the tales experience similar difficulties as the child listening to the tale, providing a safe way for them to work through emotions.

Therapeutic fairy tales can be used in therapeutic work with children by professionals, but also by parents and guardians. They are effective in:

• Coping with difficult emotions, such as anger, anxiety, sadness, jealousy
• Familiarizing with difficult life situations, such as the first day of kindergarten, difficult relationships with peers, parents’ divorce, illness, death of a loved one
• Developing social skills, such as cooperation, empathy, assertiveness
• Building self-esteem and self-confidence.

Therapeutic fairy tales can also be read to the child by a parent or guardian, allowing the child to ask questions and share their thoughts. This method is particularly effective in calming stories for sleep.

Examples of therapeutic fairy tales include:

• „Lazy Larry” – a tale about a sloth who learns the value of working and helping others, a perfect example of a moral story.
• „Friends from the Forest” – a tale teaching cooperation and tolerance, aligning with the principles of fairy tale therapy.
• „Kate and Her Bad Mood” – a tale about a girl who learns how to deal with anger, showcasing how therapy stories can address emotional problems.

Therapeutic fairy tales are an effective way to help children in difficult situations. They support a child’s development, help them cope with emotions and difficult life situations, and build their sense of self-worth and confidence.

How to write a therapeutic fairy tale? A Guide for Psychologists and Educators.

These tales are constructed in such a way that the main character experiences similar experiences as the child with whom the therapist is working. The character learns how to deal with the problem, and the child can identify with them and draw support from their experiences. Essential elements include:

• Main character – resembling the child, with similar interests and problems
• Problem – similar to what the child faces, helping them see they are not alone
• Solution – the story should end positively, showing the child that problems can be overcome

Example structure of a therapeutic fairy tale:

• Introduction: Introducing the main character and their problem
• Development: The character learns how to deal with the problem
• Conclusion: The character overcomes the problem

Therapeutic fairy tales can be used for various purposes, such as helping children develop emotional intelligence, teaching them to recognize and express their feelings, and showing healthy ways to deal with difficult emotions. They become a guidepost in the emotional maze of a young person, especially in fairy tales that teach a lesson.

Therapeutic fairy tales in traditional books and on the imagine stories platform

There are several authors of books with therapeutic fairy tales. Some of them are: Therapeutic Fairy Tales: For Children and Families Going Through Troubling Times by Pia Jones and Sarah Pimenta. This series includes several books, each addressing different emotional and psychological challenges such as anxiety, social isolation, OCD, and parental depression. The books use nature as a support mechanism and are intended for children, parents, caregivers, and professionals

Considering the needs of various specialists and the number of patients using their help, there is a significant shortage of materials for work. To meet their needs, we have developed our imaginestories.pl platform. This platform is particularly beneficial for addressing early childhood emotional and behavioral problems.

Given the commonly known risk of error by AI, it is recommended to thoroughly read such a therapeutic fairy tale before presenting it to children to exclude errors or content not suitable for children. This also applies to all other tales/stories created in Imagine Stories such as bedtime stories.

Each therapeutic fairy tale can be exported to Word, where necessary corrections can be made. A text editing function directly in the configurator is also in preparation. It is important to remember that the responsibility for the creation process and the final content and decision to convey the content to the child is always on the side of the adult.