Abstract

This case study research project explores the phenomenon of dissociation, which often occurs in children who have experienced sexual abuse. It is presented how through a narrative approach in therapy, an individual can integrate his traumatic experience into his personal life story, rather than dissociate this experience. Fictional stories in dramatherapy use the process of creation and exploration. This therapeutic methodology shares the philosophy and the core concepts of narrative approaches. Since dramatherapy makes use of metaphor, it facilitates an exploration of previously inaccessible material. This case study follows the therapeutic process of a client who is observed as having dissociative tendencies and who uses these as defensive and adaptative coping strategies. Dramatherapy, fictional stories and metaphor are used as the framework and methodology through which to examine the process of integration of trauma in a child's experience of sexual abuse.