Course Description:

The Brothers Grimm recorded original folktales that included incest and abuse of children, resonant themes for traumatized children. Fairy tales speak directly to inner pressures of children’s psychological and emotional sense of self in ways that children unconsciously understand. Fairy tales embrace the serious inner struggles of traumatized children and offer creative solutions to those difficulties. This empowers children, offers them a more  secure sense of self, body integrity, and confidence. Understanding the nature of children’s enjoyment and use of fairy tales gives an appreciation for the needs and coping strategies of children to negotiate painful experiences, embrace relationships, and find meaning in life. When children are told fairy tales, they are given permission to explore the dark side of their lives and find creative resolutions to their intense anxieties and concerns. Anxieties and their derivatives are often core conflicts addressed in fairy tales. Fairy tales, then, provide children solutions in a reassuring cohesive structure and predictable happy endings not often found simply through play. We will visit fairy tales and utilize discussion to highlight these themes for traumatized children.

Course Link:
http://www.socialwork.msu.edu/ceu
CE Value (credits): 6.0
CE Type: Standard

Sponsor:
Michigan State School of SW

Contact Information:
Mary Aymor
517-353-3060
smailto:swce@msu.edu

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