Every child has a rich fantasy
life. We as teachers and parents have a lot to explore about them through their
“fantasy world”. You can see this
world of theirs from a very young age, through the kind of stories they tell
us, drawings they make and role plays they enact. It is a very spontaneous and
natural process and is very healthy for each child to possess.
The fantasies the child
exhibits becomes then the stepping stone to his/ her creativity. As they grow
older their fantasies start to evolve and become more complex. They tend to
identify with cartoon characters which are “omnipotent”
and may even start to “idealize”
certain people. Fantasies also manifest in the form of dreams. Dreams are
wish-fulfilments and play a significant role in forming a part of their imaginary
life. Children who are inhibited in their fantasy show a lack in creativity and
also in expressing their feelings. Children must be given the space and time to
invest in this fantasy world of theirs. It is one of the important mental
processes that gives birth to new ideas and learning and helps in shaping the
child as a whole.
The fantasy life contains the “internalized” mental images of the
child’s parental figures and other important figures around them. If one looks
at their fantasy life carefully one can see these relationships being played
out by the child. Some children might display constructive or destructive
fantasies. If as a parent or teacher you feel that his/ her fantasies are not
quite normal then one must intervene and seek the help of a psychotherapist in
order to help the child overcome the disturbance he/ she is facing. The role of
the therapist is to try and understand the child through his/ her play, verbal
communication and non- verbal cues. The therapist works with what is called the
“transference” and “counter- transference” that takes
place within the therapeutic process. Transference is the repetition of the
patient’s past relationships with his/ her parental figures which is then enacted
with the therapist within the therapeutic process. Counter- transference is the
therapist’s feelings towards the patient and plays a key role in understanding
the transference. The therapist tries to give words and meanings to the child’s
feelings, and gradually tries to bring a change in those areas which are
dysfunctional. This task for the therapist is humongous and requires a lot of
time and resilience. The therapy process is a journey that the therapist makes
with the child in understanding the different layers of the mind. The therapist
gives interpretations to help the child understand his/ her actions, behaviour
and what could be the reason behind it.
As much as fantasy is an
important mental process so is “reality-
testing”. They both run parallel to each other. But if a child’s fantasy
world starts to get too powerful it might then blur the existing reality for
him/ her. For example, if a very young child has an “imaginary friend” that is some toy to whom he/ she shares his/ her
thoughts to and confides in, it would be considered a normal stage of
development but if this same child continues to show this sort of behaviour
when he/ she is much older that’s when one should be concerned. There is a thin
line between fantasy and reality and ones needs to keep a vigilant eye on
whether the child is always in his bubble of fantasy or goes into that bubble
but is able to return back into his world of reality.
All these memories, experiences
and fantasies go on to shape his/ her adulthood and become the foundation for
more complex personality structures.
By Natasha Trivedi
(Psychotherapist/ Psychologist)
