“Dibs: In search of Self” written by renowned psychologist Virginia Axline, tells the true story of a Boy named Dibs, who she had helped develop a strong and able personality in a previously disturbed child. When Axline begins her story she first describes how Dibs had just started school, and how he was exhibiting some strange social behavior. Sometimes he would sit in class totally mute and oblivious to everything that was going on around him. When he was asked to join a game that other children in his class where playing, he turned away without saying anything and retreated to safety under a table, laying there prone in a fetal position. Other times when it was time to leave school or if a direction from a teacher or adult was pressed upon him, he would through a violent temper tantrum. Within the classroom, Dibs’ teachers had offered him books and puzzles to somehow make a connection socially with him and to stimulate his interests. When something was given to him he would not accept it directly, but when it was left there for him he would examine it scrupulously. When he was given a book he would sit for a long period of time pouring over the pages “as though he could read”. Dibs’ behavior was so inconsistent to the point where his teachers had thought he could have a mental illness, but on the other hand he expressed feelings and actions that suggested superior intelligence.
Not sure what else to do for him, Dib’s parents and teachers called upon the help of Dr. Axline, who used the theory of “Play Therapy” in order for dibs to freely express and eventually find himself. When Axline was working with Dibs, she would bring him into a large playroom where he was alone and free to do anything that he wanted. Through his play and how he interacted with objects within the playroom, Axline was able to see the root of Dibs’ inconsistent behavior and help him find