Tom's story

10-year old Tom was referred to The Place2Be because he was finding it difficult to make friends.

Tom was not liked by his peers. He had a long history of being bullied and as a result had to move schools twice. Tom was very small in stature and often absent from school.

Tom's teachers reported that Tom moved between being in the ‘victim' role (crying very easily and blaming others) and the persecutor role in which he was very controlling and acted in an ‘underhand' way to get others into trouble.

Working with Tom

Tom was offered two terms of one-to-one support to explore these issues.

Once the therapeutic relationship had been established Tom was able to enjoy The Place2Be room and play. He liked to play ‘dressing-up' and role-playing. Through the creation of a number of characters Tom was able to explore themes around power and control, powerlessness, victim and persecutor, bullying and being bullied.

By inviting his counsellor into the role-play with him Tom was able to try out new ways of being in relation to others. Tom made up various characters to play. He was very clear how he directed his play. He killed off some characters and said goodbye to others. In this way he seemed to be able to master his anxieties around being bullied.

Tom now feels more confident. He has more friends since coming to The Place2Be and doesn't feel as scared about the transition to secondary school. His teacher reports that he is getting on better with his peers and is bullied much less.