Running Head THE MARKETING PLAN .docx

Running Head: THE MARKETING PLAN
1
5
Natasha McClarin
October 6, 2018:
INTRODUCTION
Women on the Go is a start-up company that has over many
years targeted women who cannot do clothing purchasing. The
target is because there are women out there who do not know
how to purchase their clothing and accessories. Therefore,

assistance will be given by women on the go since that is the
main aim of the company. This specific service will be aimed at
rich customer who simply do not have much knowledge of the
clothing industry and time to visit clothing stores in town.
Despite all of these, such kind of people they have social
obligation that they are supposed to meet, therefore Women on
the go is there for me.
The business model for women on the go is the franchise
business model, here the company has reach agreement with
other clothing manufacturing companies that we will sell
products to women on their behalf. It will be done in a
percentage of the invoicing or sometimes a fixed fee depending
on the particular agreement. The product line of the company
will be women right casual, semi-formal look and gym wear and
accessories.
Mission: Traditional, ethnic products creating sustainable
employment for craftsmen and
artisans in rural India.
Target Segment: Focusing on women who are in need of
dressing assistance for social occasions and are willing to have
an organization which can style up their quotient.
Life Style: Affluent women who are rich of upper middle class
or who are on business and corporate class.
Age group: 23 years and above
Geography: Anyone with any color, culture or Origin.
Geographical Places: Metros, tier 2 & tier 3 cities.
Product line: Dedication to dress women in formal and semi-
formal look, right casual look, teamed with right accessories.
Tag line: Women on the go dresses you up.
Below is a market Research
1. Our company has decided to follow a mixed strategy here by
combining both deductive and an inductive approach, using
ethnographic research and a case study method.
We have decided that we will study the target section that the
company has indicated above by initiating online programs
where we will be able to know how many women want to up

their dressing style quotient, idea to convert women to be
buying our services, this will definitely create an idea in their
mind that image and personal branding will make them in
profession and person life.
2. We will also conduct online surveys of the targeted group in
association with the lead up market brands like Dolce &
Gabbana, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. With no doubt is that they
will support us since they will be sure to be our future
suppliers.
3. We conduct ground discussions with our own sales teams
which is down on the market floor of leading garment
accessories and shoe brands.
4. We will also have a promotion strategy, where we will be
able to sit in promotions with a woman working in styling
industry, like beauty salons, accessory shops, exclusive brands
and jewelry stores. We will create games where to find out daily
experience with this category of woman.
5. Guerilla Marketing Plan
One of my strategy in guerrilla marketing is giving everyone
involved in the business either direct or indirectly a chance to
market the business, for a customer a referral system will work.
This is where a customer introduces another new customer to
the business and he or she will be able to get some benefits such
as discounts and many more. The company workers are going to
be at the front line to market the business. The management has
set up well planned budget of about ten thousand dollars to start
a new coffee shop, the management has decided to budget the
expense of the current shop and the estimated expense of the
new coffee shop. The last step at our guerilla marketing is to
refine and improve each and every strategy after a period of
every six months. Data of things working in the business and
those that don’t work all must be recorded and analyzed. After
the findings proposal on the next year cycle to improve and
refine will be discussed.
PEST Analysis:
Political:

Most tariff and non-tariff barriers which hindered international
trade and impede the industry have been removed by the US
apparel federation.
We have found that there is a non-qouta system which promotes
growth of less expensive and easy to import stylish product
from any international local.
Economical:
By 2030 the projected size is 385 billion USD.
Ease of trade will allow items to be easily available at a low
cost.
Sociological:
We have to have a good reputation, we also have a critical
working class and the social to maintain an image. We should
also be trendy
Technological
We are committed to keep our customers updated on our
website. We will also ensure that changing of looks on our peer
groups and colleagues every day.

Reference
Cohen, W. A. (2006). The marketing plan. Hoboken, NJ: J.
Wiley & Sons.
Westwood, J. (2016). How to write a marketing plan. London:
Kogan Page.
Bord Tráchtála. (1993). The Marketing plan. Dublin: An Bord
Tráchtála/The Irish Trade Board.
Thompson, M. L. (1984). Marketing plan.
https://www.cheshnotes.com/2017/09/pestelpestle-analysis-of-
the-fashion-retail-industry/
Discussion 1: Play Therapy
Children who have been abused or traumatized in some way
may benefit from working with a therapist. Children often
reenact trauma through repetitious play in order to establish
mastery over their emotions and integrate experiences into their
history on their own terms. Through the use of toys and props,
children may naturally share their emotions and past
experiences without feeling the pressure they might encounter
with traditional talk therapy.
For this Discussion, review the course-specific case study for
Claudia (attached) and the Chiesa (2012) (attached) and Taylor
(2009) (attached) articles.
Post an explanation of ways play therapy might be beneficial
for Claudia. Using the insights gained from the articles,
describe ways you might have worked with Claudia to address
her fears and anxiety related to the mugging she witnessed.
· Support your posts with specific references to the Learning
Resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your
references. Should be at least 150 words and contain at least 1
reference and 1 citation.

Discussion 2:
Transference and Countertransference
Specific skills and knowledge are essential for a social worker
working with children. Understanding transference and
countertransference is crucial to a healthy therapeutic
relationship. Both transference and countertransference can be
evident in any client–therapist relationship, but are especially
important in working with children because of a common
instinct among adults to protect and nurture the young. The
projection or relocation of one’s feelings about one person onto
another, otherwise known as transference, is a common response
by children (Gil, 1991). Countertransference, a practitioner’s
own emotional response to a child, is also common.
For this Discussion, review the Malawista (2004) article
(attached).
Post your explanation why transference and countertransference
are so common when working with children. Then, identify
some strategies you might use to address both transference and
countertransference in your work with children.
· Support your posts with specific references to the Learning
Resources. Be sure to provide full APA citations for your
references. Should be at least 150 words and contain at least 1
reference and 1 citation.
Discussion 3: Gaps in the Life Model
Piedra and Engstrom (2009) noted how the life model “remains
general and unspecific regarding factors that affect immigrant
families” (p. 272). Recall that there will never be one theory or
a model that can fully explain a phenomenon or lay out all the
steps and procedures when working with complex issues that
clients present to social workers. Recognizing this, Piedra and
Engstrom selected another theory in the immigration
literature—segmented assimilation theory. They identified
concepts from segmented assimilation theory to “fill in” the
gaps that the life model does not address.

In this Discussion, you examine gaps in the life model by
applying it to your field experience.
To prepare:
· Review the life model: http://www.lifemodelcanvas.org/what-
is-life-modeling/.
· Review this article in the Learning Resources: Piedra, L. M.,
& Engstrom, D. W. (2009). Segmented assimilation theory and
the life model: An integrated approach to understanding
immigrants and their children. Social Work, 54(3), 270–277.
http://dx.doi.org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/sw/54.3.270 (attached)
Post:
Using an example from your fieldwork experience and a diverse
population you encountered at the agency (for example, in
Piedra and Engstrom’s article, it was immigrant families),
respond to the following:
· Identify and describe the diverse population and the unique
characteristics and/or the distinctive needs of the population in
3 to 4 brief sentences.
· Explain how the life model can be applied for the population.
· Explain where the gaps are in applying the life model for this
population.
· When looking at the gaps, explain which theory might be
helpful in filling the gaps of the life model when working with
this population.
· Should be at least 150 words and contain at least 1 reference
and 1 citation.
Segmented Assimilation Theory and the
Life Model: An Integrated Approach to
Understanding Immigrants and Their Children
Lissette M. Piedra and David W Engstrom

The life model offers social workers a promising framework to
use in assisting immigrant
families. However, the complexities of adaptation to a new
country may make it difficult
for social workers to operate from a purely ecological approach.
The authors use segmented
assimilation theory to better account for the specificities of the
immigrant experience. They
argue that by adding concepts from segmented assimilation
theory to the life model, social
workers can better understand the environmental Stressors that
increase the vulnerabilities
of immigrants to the potentially harsh experience of adapting to
a new country. With these
concepts, social workers who work with immigrant families will
be better positioned to
achieve their central goal: enhancing person and environment
fit.
KEY W O R D S : acculturation; assimilation; immigrants; life
model; second generation
N
early a century ago,Jane Addams (1910)
observed that immigrants needed help
integrating their European and American
experiences to give them meaning and a sense of
relation:
Power to see life as a whole is more needed in
the immigrant quarter of the city than anywhere
else Why should the chasm between fathers
and sons, yawning at the feet of each generation,
be made so unnecessarily cruel and impassable
to these bewildered immigrants? (p. 172)

The inability of some immigrant families to
integrate the cultural capital from the world left
behind with the demands of the new society creates
a gulf of experience between immigrants and their
children that can undermine the parental relation-
ship. Today, the issue of family cohesion in the face
of acculturative Stressors remains central to the im-
migrant experience and creates a sense of urgency
because it is so linked with the success of the second
generation. The size of the immigrant population
and the role their children vill play in future labor
markets (Morales & Bonilla, 1993; Sullivan, 2006)
moves the problem from the realm of the person
to the status of a larger public concern.
Immigrant families are rapidly becoming the
"typical" American family. More than one in seven
families in the United States is headed by a foreign-
born adult. Children of immigrant parents are the
fastest growing segment of the nation's child popula-
tion (Capps, Fix, Ost, Reardon-Anderson, & Passel,
2004).The U.S. Census Bureau (2003) reported that
slightly more than 14 million children (approxi-
mately one in five) live in immigrant families; the
percentage is even higher (22 percent) for children
under the age of six (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001).
At a structural level, these changing demographics
create large-scale and long-range effects that bear
on many social services and many issues of social
pohcy (Sullivan, 2006). Specifically, the population
growth of native-born children in nonwhite im-
migrant families, in the context of an aging white
population, has implications for intergenerational
and interethnic justice. The native-born children

of immigrants will make up a large portion of the
future workforce—and of the future contributors
to the social security—recipient population (Morales
& Bonilla, 1993; Sullivan, 2006).
For many immigrants, relocating to the United
States means leaving one cultural universe and enter-
ing a new one—a life transition that, unlike other
forms of life transitions, can span decades and affect
subsequent generations. Immigrant families must
grapple with a distinct set of cultural adjustments.
Aside from adapting to a new society, immigrant
adults rear children in a cultural context that is
270 CCC Code: 0037-8046/09 $3.00 ©2009 National
Association of Social Workers
different—sometimes vastly so—from the one in
which they themselves were socialized, and often
that context includes speaking a language other
than English.
Although contemporary immigrants and their
native-born children—the second generation—face
the same type of parental estrangement as earlier
immigrants did, the social context has changed
dramatically. Immigrant families today face the
challenges of adaptation in an era of eroded social
safety nets and heightened scrutiny of citizenship
status (Engstrom, 2006). The industrial era long
ago gave way to a more technologically complex
society, and the labor market has bifurcated into two
sectors: high-skilled work and low-skill work, the
latter with correspondingly low wages and often

with no benefits (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001 ¡Wilson,
1980, 1987). Many immigrants work in low-wage
jobs that provide few or no benefits and little op-
portunity for advancement.
Segmented assimilation theory identifies factors
that contribute to the different rates of acculturation
among parents and their offspring; it also explains
how intergenerational acculturation patterns affect
the way the second generation confronts external
obstacles to social mobility (Portes, 1996; Portes,
Fernandez-Kelly, & Haller, 2005; Portes & Rum-
baut, 2001; Portes & Zhou, 1993; Waters, 1996).
Segmented assimilation theory has been used by
scholars studying the difficulties immigrant fami-
lies have with acculturating to American society.
For example, segmented theory has been used to
ground case studies (Kelly, 2007) and to under-
stand substance use and abuse (Martinez, 2006),
educational performance (Stone & Han, 2005),and
racial distrust among immigrant minority students
(Albertini, 2004). Chapman and Perreira (2005) used
segmented assimilation theory to inform aspects of
their framework for assessment of the psychosocial
risks associated with successful adaptation of Latino
youths. Although a useful contribution to the lit-
erature. Chapman and Perreira's (2005) application
of the theory is narrowly focused on Latinos and
does not make use of this theory's abihty to explain
why some immigrant families have more difficulties
with assimilation than others do. The explanatory
power of the theory lies in its ability to illuminate
factors that contribute to diverse life trajectories
among immigrant families.
We argue that by adding concepts from segmented

assimilation theory to the life model (Germain &
Gitterman, 1996; Gitterman & Germain, 1976,
2008), social workers can better understand the en-
vironmental Stressors that increase the vulnerabilities
of immigrants to the potentially harsh experience
of adapting to a new country. Furthermore, this
enhanced ecological approach can help practitio-
ners better understand the crucial role that inter-
generational acculturation plays in the challenges
that some immigrant parents experience in their
efforts to relate to and guide their children. With
this expanded view, we believe that social workers
who work with immigrant families will be better
positioned to achieve their central goal: enhancing
person and environment fit.
APPLING THE LIFE MODEL TO
IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR CHILDREN
The life model is particularly relevant for those
vorking with immigrants and their children. In-
spired by the idea that social work practice should
be modeled on life itself, the life model places
particular emphasis on the normal life processes
of growth, development, and decline (Bandler,
1963; Germain & Gitterman, 1996, Gitterman
& Germain, 1976, 2008). These processes, along
with human motivation for problem solving and
need satisfaction, are understood in the context
of the life span. Life-modeled practice, grounded
in ecological theory, seeks to maximize the fit
between individuals, families, and groups and
their environment (Germain & Gitterman, 1996;
Gitterman & Germain, 1976, 2008). Capitalizing
on reciprocal interactions between people and their
environments, interventions are tailored to enhance

people's abihty to meet their needs and to coax the
environment to become more amenable to their
needs (Germain & Gitterman, 1996; Gitterman
& Germain, 1976, 2008; Shulman & Gitterman,
1994). Problems in living (Gitterman & Germain,
1976) were originally conceived as generated by
three interrelated sources: (1) stressful life transitions,
(2) environmental pressures, and (3) maladaptive
interpersonal processes (Shulman & Gitterman,
1994). Later, the hfe model added three new con-
ceptual areas that reflect the profession's evolving
sensitivity to social diversity: (1) the recognition of
factors that influence vulnerability and oppression;
(2) the presence of healthy and unhealthy habitat
and niche; and (3) consideration of variations in the
life course (the trajectory taken by an individual),
with attention to social and cultural determinants
PIEDRA AND ENGSTROM / Segmented Assimilation Theory
and the Life Model 271
of these trajectories (Germain & Gitterman, 1996;
Ungar, 2002).
Although these new additions to the life model
provide a comprehensive framework for under-
standing the myriad challenges facing immigrant
families, the life model remains general and unspe-
cific regarding factors that affect immigrant families.
Other theoretical concepts are needed to address
the following key questions regarding the adapta-
tion process: What factors influence vulnerability
and oppression of immigrants? What are the social
and cultural determinants of the various hfe trajec-

tories immigrants take? Answering these questions
will generate a greater appreciation for the obstacles
immigrant families must overcome.
SEGMENTED ASSIMILATION AND
INTERGENERATIONAL ACCULTURATION
Intergenerational conflict is common in the immi-
grant experience, but not all families experience the
disdain that some second-generation youths develop
toward their immigrant parents and their cultural
heritage. Not all immigrant youths prematurely
free themselves from parental authority, losing the
corresponding support and guidance. Nevertheless,
the question remains: How do individual, faniily,
and community dynamics intersect with larger
contextual forces so as to give rise to divergent as-
similation outcomes?
Contemporary sociological theory can help
answer this question. Although assimilation—the
process by which immigrants and their children
integrate into society—is an important concept, it
is also a term that has been overused and burdened
by extensive qualifications (Portes &c Rumbaut,
2001). Traditional straight-line assimilation, with
its assumption of rapid integration and acceptance
into the American mainstream, is only one of
several possible assimilation outcomes. Portes and
Rumbaut (2001) reminded us that assimilation re-
mains a cautionary tale and that positive outcomes
are by no means guaranteed. They argued for a
conceptualization that accounts for the different
possible outcomes and variation across immigrant
groups. By tracing the divergent assimilation paths
of second-generation children to intergenerational
acculturation, segmented assimilation theory ex-

plains the specific role that immigrant parents and
their co-ethnic communities play in helping the
second generation to confront external obstacles to
social mobility (for example, racial discrimination, a
two-tiered labor market, and inner-city subcultures).
The key issue is not whether the assimilation of
immigrants and their children will occur; a long
historical record proves that it does, even under the
direst of circumstances. Rather, in regard to social
mobility, the segment of society into which immigrants
and their children assimilate carries significantly
more weight.
Segmented assimilation theory recognizes that
although U.S. society is racially and ethnically di-
verse, it is also stratified along socioeconomic lines
(Portes & Rumbaut, 2001; Wilson, 1980, 1987).
Socioeconomic status shapes and constrains op-
portunities for social mobility. Those at the more
impoverished levels of society—the working poor,
for example—experience a myriad of obstacles to
upward social mobility because the problems associ-
ated with poverty are so interlocking that one rever-
sal can produce a chain reaction with far-reaching
results (Shipler,2004).Low-wage employment with
no benefits relegates workers to communities with
poorer housing stock, unreliable transportation
systems, and inadequate schools. This heightened
vulnerability is further accentuated when workers
have an illness, are involved in an accident, or are
victims of a street crime. Given the corrosive effects
of poverty, it is not surprising that, for low-income
immigrant families, increased length of residency
in the United States coincides with deterioration
in the health and school achievement of their

children (Hernandez & Charney, 1998; Shields &
Behrman,2004).
Perhaps the most useful contribution segmented
assimilation theory has to offer is the idea that the
pace of intergenerational acculturation—the process
by which immigrants and their children learn
the language and normative lifestyles of a new
culture—plays an important role in the support
and resources that second-generation children can
access to overcome external barriers to successful
adaptation. In an ideal world, acculturation occurs
at similar rates for both immigrant parents and
their children, enabling children to maintain family
and communities ties. When confronted by racial
discrimination, a bifurcated labor market, and inner-
city subcultures, second-generation children who
have maintained these important connections face
these difficulties with adult support and guidance.
However, acculturation rates often differ between
parents and offspring (Hwang, 2006), creating a
gap between the first and second generations that
272 SocialWork VOLUME 54, NUMBER 3 JULY 2009
extends beyond normal generational gaps. Portes
and Rumbaut (2001) identified three types of
intergenerational acculturation: (1) dissonant, (2)
consonant, and (3) selected.
Synonymous with "harsh" or "jarring," dissonant
acculturation is aptly named. Such an acculturation
occurs when children learn English and adopt U.S.
culture at such an accelerated rate, compared with

their parents, that parental authority is undermined
and children can prematurely free themselves from
parental control. In the most extreme instances,
role reversal occurs when the child's mastery of
the language and culture puts her or him at a so-
cial advantage vis-à-vis the parents and the child
is expected to serve as translator and mediator in
the public world. A dissonant acculturation process
diminishes the ability of parents to provide critical
guidance. Moreover, this process often occurs in
a context of limited community supports, so the
results are particularly cruel.When confronted with
external obstacles to social advancement, such as
poverty, racial discrimination, or poor educational
opportunities, these children often have little more
than their peer group for support. The immigrant's
child confronts these obstacles alone and is par-
ticularly vulnerable to the adoption of adversarial
attitudes and lifestyles associated with inner-city
subcultures and downward social mobility.
Consider the fluidity of racial identity and how
it can serve as a proxy for something other than
identity (Samuels,2006;Tafoya,2004;Waters, 1996).
One study that examined how adolescent children
of black immigrant parents constructed and used
their ethnic identity found that ethnically identi-
fied teenagers recognized that their immigrant
status separated them from being solely identified as
African American—arguably the most stigmatized
group in the United States (Water, 1996).Depending
on the situation, ethnically identified youths spoke
differently—formal English rather than accented
English—and sent out other signals of ethnic group
belonging (such as sporting a Jamaican key chain). For
these adolescents, racial and ethnic identity were not

synonymous with being a black American. Rather,
these adolescents viewed race and ethnicity as fluid,
social currency that is partially a conscious choice to
adopt behaviors and speech to fit the social context
(Waters, 1996).
In sharp contrast, other adolescents in the study
who adopted a fixed racial identity—black Ameri-
can—placed little emphasis on their ethnic identi-
ties. These teenagers believed that race definitively
constrained their chances of getting ahead, and they
did not see their cultural heritage as providing any
social leverage. Moreover, these youths had adopted
and identified with some of the negative stereotypes.
One young Haitian American teenager reported
the following:
My parents, they do not like American blacks,
. . . they feel that they are lazy.They don't want
to work and stufflike that from what they can
see. And I feel that, um, I feel that way too . . .
and my mother is like, yeah, you're just too
American. (Waters, 1996, p. 185)
The most striking finding in this study was how
the two groups of teenagers responded to their
parents' negative opinions of black Americans and
the degree of intergenerational conflict. Although
both groups reported that their parents held negative
appraisals of African Americans, ethnically identi-
fied youths agreed with their parents' and wider
society's negative assessments of poor black people
and sought to avoid being identified in that way.
American-identified youths rejected their parents'
opinions outright, blaming those beliefs on their

parents' naivete regarding the U.S. social system.
These youths' racial identity included embracing
aspects of a peer-group culture that brought them
into conflict with their parents' cultural beliefs.
Disaffected by their parents and their cultural
values, American-identified teenagers confronted
the perils of racial discrimination and inner-city
subcultures alone.
In marked contrast, consonant acculturation reflects
a process in which there is a gradual loss of native
language and culture. Acquisition of English lan-
guage and U.S. culture are assumed by the parent and
child at roughly the same rates.The role of economic
resources cannot be underestimated here. In some
instances, immigrant parents have the resources to
purchase experiences that facilitate their ability to
pass on their cultural heritage: a parochial educa-
tion, language school, summer trips to the country
of origin. These "extras" give a child exposure to
the parent's culture and facilitate a family milieu of
common values and cultural beliefs. In addition, the
parents' education and employment foster the acqui-
sition of language and culture, enhancing authority
so that the parents retain their parental role. Selective
acculturation occurs when the learning process of both
generations is embedded in a co-ethnic community
that slows down the cultural shift and promotes
the partial retention of parents' home language and
cultural norms. Selective acculturation is commonly

found among middle-class members living in ethic
enclaves, such as Cubans in Miami.
PARENTAL HUMAN CAPITAL, MODES OF
INCORPORATION, AND FAMILY STRUCTURE
As illustrated in the earlier discussion, central to seg-
mented assimilation theory is the way that parental
human capital influences patterns of intergenera-
tional acculturation. In addition, intergenerational
acculturation is affected by how the immigrant
group is received in this country (modes of incor-
poration) and the ways in which family structure
helps or hinders social supports. In this section, we
discuss these three factors and how they facilitate
the ability of immigrant parents to remain a guiding
force for their children (see Figure 1).
Parental Human Capital. Immigrants come to
this country with wide variations in age, educa-
tion, occupational skills, wealth, and knowledge of
English. Each of these factors not only contributes
to immigrants' wage-earning potential in the labor
market, but also plays a role in determining the extent
to which immigrant parents can regulate the ac-
culturation process for their children.This ability to
have some say in the rate of children's acculturation
is extremely important, because for most immigrant
families, schools often undermine cultural retention
(Ishibashi, 1991; Ishibashi & Martinez, 2006). By
attending U.S. schools, the children of immigrants
experience an accelerated acculturation process,
often putting them at a linguistic and cultural ad-
vantage over their parents. Therefore, parents who
lack the personal and community resources to keep
up with their children's acculturation are decisively

disadvantaged in maintaining an influential role in
their children's lives.
Immigrant parents with English language ability,
who know how to navigate complex social organiza-
tions, have a decisive advantage both at home and in
the labor market. Highly educated and skilled adult
immigrants are better able to acculturate quickly to
U.S. society than immigrants who come with little
education, low levels of literacy, and no exposure
to complex social institutions and technology. The
first group has greater potential to access high-
wage work that will lead to rapid social mobility.
Because they possess education and skills that are
valued in U.S. society, these immigrants encounter
a more hospitable environment and have greater
opportunity to regulate their situations (and their
family situations) than do those with low levels of
human capital.
Figure 1: Factors Contributing to Variations in Acculturation
Parental Human Capital:
Age, education,
occupational skills, wealth,
and knowledge of English.
Background Factors:
First Generation
Modes of Incorporation:
Governmental policies
toward different
immigrant groups and the
reception by the native
population.

Family Structure:
The composition of the
immigrant family and the
presence of both biological
parents.
A
F
F
E
C
T
Intergenerational
Patterns of Acculturation
Parental Support for Overcoming Obstacles ro
Social Mobility:
Discrimination, Labor Markets, Inner-city Subcultures
Dissonant Acculturation:
The children's acquisition of English
and of American ways occurs with the
loss of immigrant culture, outstripping
the parents' pace of acculturation; role
reversal occurs.
Consonant Acculturation:
The learning process and gradual
abandonment of home language and
culture occur at similar rates.
Selective Acculturation:
The learning process of both

generations is embedded in a co-ethnic
community to slow down the cultural
shift and promote the partial retention
of parents' home language and cultural
poor; obstacles are
confronted alone; there is
a risk for downward social
mobility
relationship maintained;
adequate support is available
to assist with social mobility
relationship maintained;
adequate parental and
communal supports are
available to facilitate social
mobility âW cultural
retention
Source: Adapted from Portes, A., & Rumbaut, R. G. (2001).
Legacies: The story of the immigrant second generation (Figure
3.2 The Process of Segmented Assimilation; A Modei).
Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. O2001 Regents of
the University of Caiifornia.
274 Social Work VOLUME 54, NUMBER 3 JULY 2009
The second group has many more cultural
disadvantages to overcome. For these immigrants,
competencies developed in their native societies may
not translate well to the new society. Regrettably, the
second generation's view of their parents is shaped

by their perception of the fit between the parents'
skills and their new environment, rather than the
actual competencies of their parents. Consider the
observation made by Rodriguez (1982):
My mother and father made themselves under-
stood at the county hospital clinic and at gov-
ernment offices. And yet... it was unsettling to
hear my parents struggle with English. Hearing
them, I'd grow nervous, my clutching trust in
their protection and power weakened, (p. 15)
Apart from obvious financial difficulties, income,
language, and education can negatively affect the
parental relationship in unforeseen ways, fraying
those important ties over time and heightening the
vulnerability of some immigrant children to the loss
of parental support. Because parental human capital
determines labor-market participation, which in
turn affects the availability of resources and institu-
tional access, the coercive effects on family ties are
particularly brutal: Children living in families with
the fewest resources (usually living in communities
where parental guidance is most critical) are on
their own in dealing with discrimination and the
pitfalls of poverty.
Modes of Incorporation. In addition to the skills
and resources that immigrants individually possess,
the receiving context plays a vital role in eroding
or strengthening family ties. Governmental poli-
cies and the receptivity of the native population to
the new immigrants have a powerful effect on the
supports and resources available to help immigrants
maintain control over their lives during adaptation
to a new environment. As noncitizens, immigrants

depend on federal policies to confer rights and
privileges on the basis of their immigration status.
Sometimes these policies are influenced by foreign
policy needs, as in the case of Cuban refugees. In
the United States, modes of incorporation can range
from a positive reception, in which there is federal
support for the resettlement of immigrants (as in
the case of Cubans andVietnamese during the Cold
War), to an overtly hostile stance, as in the case of
undocumented Mexican nationals. Between these
two extremes, most immigrants find a host society
that is, at best, ambivalent about their presence and
expects immigrants to make it largely on their own
(Engstrom, 2006). However, the ability to "make
it" depends largely on governmental policies that
regulate immigration status: essentially, the degree
to which immigrants can live and work openly in
society and the types of labor opportunities and
protections they encounter.
Undocumented immigrants, for example, work
at jobs that most people in the United States find
undesirable, and they have the least protection from
occupational hazards and abuse. Moreover, their
claim on social institutions is tenuous. Because un-
documented immigrants fear deportation, many will
use such institutions only in emergencies.The lack of
choice for this group is apparent; reversals, such as a
serious illness or injury or a workplace raid, can have
a disorganizing effect on even the most industrious
family. Under these hostile circumstances, parental
ability to protect children is precarious.
However, even legal immigrants, who have a
stronger claim on social services and institutions,

are not immune to a hostile reception.Their ability
to make use of institutional resources is limited by
factors that convey a message of inaccessibility: the
lack of health insurance, language barriers, and the
absence of linguistically and culturally competent
service providers. Modes of incorporation have
far-reaching effects on the acculturation of immi-
grants and directly relate to their ability to care for
themselves and their families.
Family Structure. Family structure is intimately
tied to the cultural and economic resources fami-
lies have for raising their children. Two-parent
households generally have higher incomes than
one-parent households (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006).
Low-income immigrant families can stretch their
resources, for example, if they have extended fam-
ily or family friends who can assume child care
responsibilities while parents are working. Moreover,
low-wage immigrant parents often must work two
jobs to make ends meet, so they have less time to
spend with their children and to interact with the
institutions (such as schools) that shape the lives of
their children.
Moreover, many immigrant families are composed
of members with different immigration statuses (for
example, citizen, legal immigrant, undocumented
immigrant). Mixed-status families are estimated to
constitute 9 percent of US. families (Fix and Zim-
mermann, 2001). The typical mixed-status family
P I E D R A AND E N G S T R O M / Segmented Assimilation
Theory and the Life Model 275

comprises U.S.-born children with at least one
immigrant parent, who may or may not have legal
immigration status. Consequently,policies designed
to restrict one category of immigrants can have a
radiating effect on native born immigrants. Some
family members make the journey to the United
States alone, leaving others behind to emigrate later.
Family separation means that family members will
begin the acculturation process at different times and
that reality strongly influences family dynamics.
THE LIFE MODEL REVISITED
As discussed earlier, although the Hfe model provides
a useful ecological framework to guide practice, it
requires supplemental theory. Although life-mod-
eled practice recognizes factors that may influence
vulnerability and oppression, such as poverty, crime,
and environmental hazards, segmented assimilation
theory focuses on vulnerability in the areas of pa-
rental human capital, modes of incorporation, and
family structure. By gathering information about the
migration and adjustment experience, social work-
ers can assess the degree to which immigrants and
their children are experiencing a harsh acculturation
process that can negatively affect family relations
and limit immigrant children's ability to overcome
obstacles to social mobility.
The most vulnerable immigrant families are
those with limited human capital to cope with
the demands of a modern technological society
and those who are socially isolated (usually a
single-parent-headed family or a family without
a co-ethnic community to call on). These are the
families most in need of cultural brokers to help

them understand U.S. cultural norms and expec-
tations for interacting with various institutions,
including schools and health care organizations. In
this respect, cultural competence extends beyond
merely understanding and appreciating tbe clients'
culture. Rather, this competence also mandates the
ability to explain complex human service systems
to immigrants in ways they can readily understand,
something social workers are particularly suited for
and trained to do.
By importing concepts from segmented as-
similation theory into the life model, social work-
ers can recognize and understand the factors that
contribute to the various outcomes experienced by
immigrant families. In the context of an enhanced
ecological model, interpersonal conflict and distress
in an immigrant family—even when the source of
conflict seems mild—can be viewed in a different
light. For example, conflicts concerning choice of
friends, sexuality, curfew, and homework, which
may typically fall in the range of normal for most
families, may mask deeper underlying issues related
to dissonant acculturation for immigrant families.
Often, parents will reach out for help when they
believe that their child is "slipping" and they are
unsure about how to regain control.The unspoken
concern often extends beyond the specific conflict
and includes fears that the youth is becoming "too
American," in the worst sense of the term. It is tempt-
ing to minimize these concerns in the absence of
overtly problematic behaviors, but doing so means
that service providers miss an opportunity to address
greater apprehensions about the parental relation-
ship. Most families have intergenerational disputes;

what distinguishes immigrants is not the presence
of conflict but, rather, the dangers associated with
dissonant acculturation that heightens the need for
understanding, reconciliation, and compromise.
CONCLUSION
Jane Addams envisioned Hull House as a bridge
between two different cultural worlds, facilitating the
adaptation of immigrant families into U.S. society.
Her observation that immigrant families need help
connecting the cultural heritage of their past with
the strengths needed to navigate the present terrain
resonates with major tenets in the life model. Even
so, segmented assimilation theory offers insights
into the uneven barriers facing the first and second
generations and into how vulnerabilities increase
the chasm between parents and their children (as
Addams, 1910, so poignantly described). By in-
corporating segmented theory into life-modeled
practice, contemporary social workers can foster
interventions that enhance the strengths of immi-
grant parents and help them guide their children to
lead productive lives. H!Ü3
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Accepted February 11. 2009

Rescue Fantasies in Child
Therapy: Countertransference/
Transference Enactments
Kerry L. Malawista, Ph.D.
ABSTRACT: When the focus of the child treatment is on the
therapist
being a ‘‘good’’ object, this can accentuate a possible
countertransference dif-
ficulty of the therapist becoming the protector of the child from
the ‘‘bad’’
object. This countertransference can often resonate with rescue
fantasies in
the child. This paper will explore the topic of rescue fantasies
in child treat-
ment, while addressing the issue of coinciding fantasies existing
uncon-
sciously in both the therapist and child, leading to their
enactment. A case
of a nine-year old boy is presented which demonstrates how
interpretation
and resolution of rescue fantasies can lead to a deepening of the
treatment.
KEY WORDS: Rescue Fantasies; Countertransference;
Enactments.
Introduction
Transference and its ubiquitous counterpart, therapist
countertrans-
ference, are historical cornerstones of psychoanalytic treatment
with

adults. In contrast, the early days of child psychoanalysis,
beginning
in the 1930’s, focused less on transference and
countertransference,
but instead emphasized the ‘‘real relationship’’ between patient
and
therapist (Freud, 1936). Due to the immaturity of the child,
transfer-
ence was considered secondary to the ‘‘real’’ positive alliance
with
the ‘‘good object’’ of the therapist. By de-emphasizing
transference, it
Kerry L. Malawista is a Training and Supervising Analyst, The
New York Freudian
Society and Teaching Faculty, George Washington University,
D.C. for psy. D. Pro-
gram.
Address for correspondence to Kerry L. Malawista, 9421 Thrush
Lane Potomac, MD
20814; e-mail: [email protected]
The author would like to thank Dr. Peter Malawista and Dr.
Aimee Nover for their
input and editing of this manuscript.
Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, Vol. 21, No. 4,
August 2004 (� 2004)
373 � 2004 Human Sciences Press, Inc.
is inevitable cohort, therapist countertransference, also
remained
relatively unexplored; both in the literature and in the

consulting
room.
This early view of child therapy and analysis was based on the
understanding that the process of identification with important
peo-
ple is much greater in children than adults; and that since the
child
was living in the present with the significant objects of the past,
therapeutic exploration could confine itself to the ‘‘real and
current’’
objects, the child’s parents. The therapist could then serve as a
‘‘new, and real, and good object’’ for the child. Yet alongside
the ‘‘real
object of the present’’ is the inevitable transference
representation of
the therapist, distorted by the child’s past and current needs and
conflicts. When the focus of the child treatment is based on the
ther-
apist as the ‘‘real and good’’ object, and parents as ‘‘real and
bad’’
objects, a possible (if not probable) therapist/patient
countertransfer-
ence/transference configuration can manifest as corresponding
(and
correspondingly stubborn) rescue fantasies which can impede
the
process and progress of the work within the therapeutic dyad.
This paper will explore the topic of rescue fantasies in child
treat-
ment, while addressing the issue of coinciding fantasies existing
unconsciously in both the therapist and child, leading to their
enact-
ment.

Rescue Fantasies
Early psychoanalytic literature traced the rescue fantasy, the
wish
to save and rescue the woman, to vicissitudes of the Oedipus
com-
plex, and studied it particularly in its relationship to the theme
of
incest (Freud, 1910). Ferenczi (1919) was the first to describe a
par-
allel phenomenon in analysis, when ‘‘the doctor has
unconsciously
made himself his patient’s patron or knight.’’ Fifty years later
the
term rescue fantasy was directly applied to analysts by
Greenacre
(1966). Esman (1987) provides an excellent review of the
literature
on rescue fantasies. He highlights Freud’s early emphasis on the
‘‘rescue of the fallen woman,’’ and the transformation of the
‘‘whore’’
into the ‘‘Madonna.’’
Contrary to Freud’s Oedipal focus (an underlying wish to rescue
mother from father) of rescue fantasies is Berman (1997) who
emphasizes the object of rescue as a projected version of the
res-
cuer’s own disavowed vulnerability, and the danger from which
374 CHILD AND ADOLESCENT SOCIAL WORK JOURNAL
rescue is needed—as a split-off version of the rescuer’s
aggression.
Similarly, Grinstein (1957) points out that a significant element

in
some rescue fantasies is hostility toward the object. The rescue
fan-
tasy is a way to undo the unconscious hostile wishes. Sterba
(1940,
p. 505) states ‘‘we investigate here the rescue fantasy for its
aggres-
sive content although the life-preserving, love-affirming
attitude of
the individual producing the fantasy towards the object to be
res-
cued appears to contradict the prevalence of any aggressive
inten-
tion.’’ Thus, there is projection of hostility and then the
reaction
formation against it. When the expected change or ‘‘rescue’’
does not
occur, helplessness and/or anger may ensue.
Rescue fantasies can and should be understood in the context of
the family romance. Children often express the idea that they
have
been adopted, or the wish/fear of being kidnapped, and how
wonder-
ful life would be if he could be rescued by their ‘‘real parents.’’
Freud’s (1909) formulation of the family romance is the child’s
rejec-
tion of his own parents as his real ones, and the fantasy that he
is
the child of other parents who are of nobler origins than his own
par-
ents. Freud makes the point that the child endows these new
parents
with the idealized characteristics of his early childhood parents
as a
way to deal with the natural disappointments and apparent

failures
of his real parents. Deutsch (1945, p. 416) was the first to
describe in
detail how the family romance is a way for the child to deal
with
ambivalence towards the parent. These fantasies are evident in
most
children and may be even more powerful in children who were
adopted, since the presence of other ‘‘real’’ parents is a fact.
Both the
rescue fantasy and the family romance are means of regaining
the
idealized omnipotent parent of early childhood (Frosch, 1959).
The treatment situation of children and adolescents, by its
nature,
provides an atmosphere where rescue fantasies would be
prevalent.
They seek in the therapist the idealized parent of the family
romance. The child and therapist’s fantasies may become
complemen-
tary, where the child wishes to be rescued and the therapist
wishes
to rescue the child. Bornstein (1948, p. 696) has said ‘‘no one
in con-
tinuous contact with children can escape the danger of
regression’’
which would include countertransference enactments such as
corre-
sponding rescue fantasies. The term countertransference can be
used
in many ways. For this paper, I am referring to Jacob’s (1986)
defini-
tion, ‘‘influence on [the therapists] understanding and technique
that
stem from both his transference and his emotional responses to

the
patient’s transferences (p. 290).
KERRY L. MALAWISTA 375
Countertransference
For many in the ‘‘healing professions’’ the choice of being a
therapist
may be based on a powerful unconscious rescue fantasy. Volkan
(1985) states his belief that the rescue fantasy is a universal
deter-
minant for therapists in their choice of career. Bernstein and
Glenn
(1978, p. 380) make the point that the ‘‘wish to be a child
analyst
frequently stems from the analyst’s maternal identification and
an
unconscious wish to have a child.’’
Frankiel (1985) wrote an interesting paper that looks at how the
wish for a baby in early childhood and the wish to rescue can be
revived by the intrinsic structure of the child treatment
situation,
arousing disruptive countertransference fantasies in some
analysts,
anxious fantasies and wishes in some parents, and potentiating
riv-
alry between analyst and parent in some cases. She gives
examples
from fairy tales and mythology that show this repeated theme of
the
wish to rescue or steal a child and how these fantasies are
replicated

in both the child and analyst during treatment. Bernstein and
Glenn
(1978, p. 385) caution that ‘‘however benign the analysts
intention,
an enactment of an adoption fantasy is inimical to the real
purpose
of analysis.’’ Anthony (1986) states that the countertransference
gen-
erated in analytic work with children is more intense and
pervasive
than any encountered in adult work. ‘‘The analyst may take the
child as a transference object, or react to the child’s
transference to
him as manifested erotically or aggressively; or he may identify
with
the child’s parents and become controlling or oversolicitous. or
he
may find incestuous fears and fantasies stirring as a result of
direct
body contact with the child’’ (p. 77).
For the child patient, as well as with adult patients, the
experience
of the therapist as available and nonjudgmental is, of course,
gratify-
ing and therapeutic. Since this experience can be so satisfying
to both
participants, the therapist can focus too quickly on the external
reality
of the child’s problematic relationship with his or her parent,
deflect-
ing the child’s attention from the transference. Chused (1988)
states
‘‘The real dependency needs of all children..., their potential
for
growth, their tremendous vulnerability to external forces, and

the
wish to have them grow successfully with minimum suffering,
are all
powerful seductive forces which lead to countertransference
interfer-
ences with the development of a transference neurosis’’ (p. 79).
A therapist’s countertransference can take many different
forms.
A therapist, upon hearing of parents that sound unempathic, or
seem to cause suffering in the child, may have the fantasy of
rescu-
ing the child from the ‘‘villain who caused the illness’’
(Gillman,
1992, p. 283). The therapist can become overidentified with the
child
and unable to see the intrapsychic components of the child’s
difficul-
ties. Bernstein and Glenn (1978) point out that the analyst’s
‘‘own
oedipal involvements are often revived. As a result, he
experiences
an inner pressure to identify with his patient’’ (p. 379). The
thera-
pist may enact a competitive countertransference toward the
par-
ents. This form of countertransference, where the therapist has
an
unconscious competition with the parents may be particularly
pow-
erful when it coincides with a child’s own rescue fantasy that

the
therapist would be a better parent to the child.
Greenacre (1966) portrays the analyst’s rescue fantasy and the
analyst’ self-image as substitute parents: ‘‘In such rescue
operations,
the analyst’s aggression may be allocated to those relatives or
thera-
pists who have previously been in contact with the patient and
are,
in fact or in fantasy, contributors to his disturbances. The
analyst
then becomes the savior through whom the analysand is to be
launched’’ (p. 760). The danger of grandiosity and omniscience
with
our patients is present when there is a mutual rescue fantasy
enact-
ment that remains unconscious, or is denied.
Enactments
The concept of countertransference enactments was introduced
in
the literature by Jacob’s (1986). Chused (1997, p. 265) states
that an
‘‘enactment is an unconsciously motivated behavior of the
analyst
(verbal or nonverbal) provoked (usually unconsciously) by the
patient.’’ Chused makes the point that in essence the concept of
enactment joins together the concepts of ‘‘countertransference’’
and
‘‘acting in’’; but adds the component that it was a ‘‘jointly
created
interaction’’ (p. 265) fueled by unconscious psychic forces in
both
patient and analyst. The concept of enactment recognizes that

trans-
ference may be represented, not only on the verbally symbolized
level, but also on the enacted level in the treatment. Chused
(1991)
distinguishes an enactment from acting out, in that the former
involves the analyst as a participant rather than as an observer.
‘‘Enactments occur when an attempt to actualize a transference
fan-
tasy elicits a countertransference response’’ (p. 629).
The countertransference that occurs with rescue fantasies could
be thought of as an enactment when the behavior of the
therapist
has been distorted from its conscious intent by unconscious
motiva-
tions. Enactments involve the actualization of an unconscious
fan-
tasy in the treatment. Child therapy and analysis would be
fertile
ground for enactments, since much of the child’s
communication is
through nonverbal means and child therapy involves an active
inter-
personal relationship. Also, by virtue of the child’s natural
immatu-
rity, the therapist does perform some caretaking tasks, e.g.,
tying a
shoe. Norman (1989) writes about how the child is bombarding
the
analyst with urgent demands which can reach beyond the
analyst’s
defenses and actualize those infantile phase-specific problems

and
feelings that were left behind. There is a pull for actualization
of
countertransference feelings in the therapist, which can lead to
an
enactment of a rescue fantasy in treatment.
Case
The following is an illustration of a session that followed
several
months of twice-a-week psychotherapy around a child’s rescue
fan-
tasies. The work was able to proceed productively, partly
because I
became conscious of a rescue fantasy with this boy, and was
able
to take extra care to not allow it to become enacted. Early in the
treatment, I had a dream in which I was taking Tommy on an
out-
ing with my own children. I recognized in the dream an
explicitly
represented wish to rescue Tommy from his parents whom I
had,
at times, perceived through Tommy’s communications as
possibly
somewhat punitive and, at least at times, unempathic. By
analyz-
ing this countertransference, I was able to understand the
personal
meaning in myself and begin to empathize with the mother and
her feelings of frustration and guilt for feeling like a ‘‘bad’’
mother
to Tommy, The mother had described wishing she only had one
child, her daughter Jane, not Tommy, who she felt was difficult
to

handle.
Tommy is an 8-year old boy currently in the third grade. The
ther-
apist (author) is a 40-year old mother of two children. Tommy
came
for treatment because of a history of ADD (treated with Ritalin)
and
troubles at home and school related to his inattention and
impulsiv-
ity. His parents also expressed concerns about his fear of dogs.
Tommy has one younger sister Jane, who is five. The parents
described Tommy as a caring older brother with only mild
feelings of
rivalry towards his sister.
During the early months of treatment Tommy repeatedly played
out a rescue fantasy of a man saving a girl from a multitude of
calamities: a burning building, an attacking dinosaur, or a car
that
had crashed. Gillman (1992) terms these types of fantasies as
‘‘ambivalent rescue fantasies.’’ Gradually this fantasy play in
the
hour switched to one in which there is an older brother rescuing
a
younger sister from similar dangers. Tommy would frequently
put
the sister into dangerous situations in which the older, stronger
brother would need to rescue her. One favorite scenario was a
burn-
ing house and the big brother would jump on the fire truck,

climb
the ladder, and pull the little sister to safety.
With Tommy one could see what Sterba (1940) described, that
the
object of the rescue fantasy is very often the person against
whom
there existed aggression.
After several months of addressing this concern and reworking
his
feelings Tommy became conscious of the reaction formation.
Gradu-
ally his hostility became outwardly evident and he spoke openly
of
the hate and rivalry he felt towards his sister.
The following is an excerpt from a recent hour that followed
sev-
eral months of interpreting Tommy’s rescue fantasies in the dis-
placement, and the ambivalence and the reaction formation
against
hostility towards his sister, inherent in his fantasies. For
example
we were able to comment that he played out a fantasy of
rescuing a
‘‘little sister’’ from a fire after the siblings had a fight.
In this hour, Tommy entered the room and immediately took out
a game of checkers. For the first time he began to make up rules
as
he went along, all of which were in his favor. As the game
preceded
the rules became increasingly more wanton to the point that his
pieces could jump my pieces anywhere on the board and in any
direction. After a complicated jump he would laugh with

pleasure.
I made several comments such as ‘‘You’re pieces are sure
getting
mine,’’ ‘‘My pieces don’t have a chance,’’ ‘‘Seems exciting to
be able
to make up the rules. You can do anything.’’ Tommy replied
‘‘It’s
great. I’m sick of rules! Everywhere I’m told what to do. Can’t
do
this or that (while imitating a grown-up voice).’’
Therapist: That sounds like a grown up voice.
Tommy: Yeah, when I go to bed, when I can watch TV, when I
can hold the guinea pig.
(With his voice rising in anger, Tommy continued to describe
all
the things that he is told he can and can’t do, things which are
nota-
bly proscribed by parents. In the moment, I found myself
feeling a
certain sense of pride in my work, which I recognized as related
to
the rescue fantasy I had previously recognized having towards
Tommy and his parents.)
Therapist: Seems like it makes you pretty mad when you’re told
what you can and can’t do.
Tommy: I get really mad. You know when my uncle comes to
visit.

He always wants his way. He’s the one always like that! He is
hard
to be around. My Mom gets really mad at him, she loves her
brother
but he makes her furious.
Therapist: How can you tell?
Tommy: You can see it in her face. He drives her crazy. She
tries
not to show it, but you can see how mad she is getting. (demon-
strates her face). She could kill him she looks so mad. (More
about
the uncle). But he knows she still loves him.
Therapist: I guess he’s glad to know she still loves him, cause
he
could worry when she looks so mad that she doesn’t love him.
Tommy: Yeah, he might think that, but he knows she does. It’s
her brother. You always love your brother. But I think after he’s
there a while she wants him to leave.
Therapist: She gets so mad she’d like him to leave.
Tommy: Yeah, cause he always wants his way. He can be such
a pain. (He is talking with an annoyed voice about his uncle.
Gradually he begins to talk about other hypothetical brothers
and
sisters).
Tommy: My sister drives me crazy too. I could kill Jane. I’d
like to
kick her in the butt. (This is the first time Tommy has expressed
anger at his sister. As he made this statement he looked
cautiously at

my face to see that I didn’t react disapprovingly. He continued
with
a long list of things Jane does that make him mad, especially
that
she won’t let him touch her guinea pig when he doesn’t want to
play
with his own pig). But I know how to get back at her. I say I am
going to sit on it or strangle it, because she makes me so mad. I
say
those things cause it really upsets her. I say ‘‘I’ll kill Silky.’’
Therapist: Then you feel so powerful to watch her get upset,
rather then her upsetting you.
Tommy: Yeah, I hold it up (demonstrates) and say I won’t give
it
to you. I can torment her back since she torments me. I hold the
gui-
nea pig up by her neck, like this. She is so annoying. I can’t
stand
her. (At this point I considered wondering with him about how
the
guinea pig might feel, but I decided to wait to not inhibit his
anger
or increase his guilt).
Therapist: When you get so mad and frustrated you want to find
a
way to be strong and get back at her.
Tommy: Yeah (As he continues talking he begins to take out the

collection of trucks, including the frequently used fire truck of
his res-
cue fantasies).
Tommy: Where do you get these? I never see these any-
where—these really are great trucks. (He continues with more
anger
and grievances at Jane; I noticed here the shift in my thinking
where
I no longer felt pride in being the superior parent who supplies
‘‘great
trucks’’ to play with). I think I saw one of these when I was
three.
Yeah, I think it was this one; that was when Jane was born. I
think
Jane gave me one of these trucks when she was born. They are
cool.
Had real lug nuts (describes many details about the truck, and
links
it so nicely to the ‘‘good’’ in his home environment: parents,
sister,
and all).
Therapist: You remember a lot about the truck.
Tommy: I think it was the 1992 one. The truck was from Jane.
Well I guess my Mom actually bought it, but it was from her
when
she was born. I think they also gave me Busy Town, cause I got
her.
Therapist: They bought you something cause Jane was born.
Tommy: Yeah, what a trick. I wanted to bite her I was so mad.
Before I got all the attention. I got whatever I wanted. I got way
more as an only child. Now everything has to be fair. I hate fair.

I
don’t want her here. I don’t want it fair. I hate having a sister.
Therapist: Felt like things were spoiled for you when Jane
came.
(This is unusual in our sessions to be speaking directly about
his
feelings, especially towards Jane; previously this material had
been
in the displacement through play, and usually onto the ‘‘bad
parents’’
that Tommy oered up as objects to be rescued from; objects
from
whom I had experienced the urge to rescue him).
Tommy: Yeah, and they don’t take her allowance when she does
something wrong. I hate her. I really hate her. I hate having a
sis-
ter. They kept saying its nice to have a little sister. How lucky I
am (sarcastic laugh). I didn’t want her. I didn’t ask for her. It’s
not
nice. I always wanted a brother though. A brother my exact age.
Always someone to play with. Never be lonely if my friends
aren’t
over. We would like to do all the same things. I’d like that. Or
an
older brother could help me, teach me things. Even a younger
brother would be okay. I could teach him things. But instead I
got
a sister. Instead I got her, Satan’s daughter (laugh). I got that
line

from a movie (describes the movie).
Tommy: Oh Yeah, I got my violin today. I’m going to be in an
orchestra at school. (He tells me who else will be in the
orchestra
and what instrument they will play. He then begins to play with
the
space shuttle).
Tommy: Did you know the space shuttle goes around like this
(shows it straight up spinning; an obviously phallic object) It
has
black tiles all on the bottom so that when it comes back down
into
the atmosphere it won’t burn up. If it didn’t the spaceship and
crew
would burn up. (He describes other safety devices on board)
Therapist: Good to know the engineers put so many things in
place to keep them safe.
Tommy: Yeah. They always replace all 3,047,000 tiles after
each
trip. (more details). My Dad and I are going to go to Florida for
a
space launch. (He gives me exact details of how the trip will
go). Just
me and my Dad.
Therapist: Nice to be just the boys together.
Tommy: Yeah, not my Mom or Jane. It will be great. I like it
with
just my Dad and me.
When Tommy came the next session he began telling me about

‘‘Club Friday’’. A club for 9- to 12- year old children at the
recreation
center where they can play games and dance. He stated that he
was
not going to go because his parents and he talked about how he
gets
‘‘revved up’’ at Club Friday and then can’t settle down when he
gets
home and can’t get to sleep.
Tommy: They said if I had good behavior for the whole week I
could get a toy on Sunday. And Club Friday gets me stirred up
and
I can’t calm down. So I decided not to go this week. It was my
deci-
sion.
Therapist: Feels good that you decided.
Tommy: Yeah. Instead my Mom is taking Jane to a party and my
Dad and I are going to have dinner and watch a DVD, The
Mummy.
I don’t think it will be scary this time because I’m older and
I’ve
seen it before so it won’t be scary this time. The toy I’m going
to get
is Cubics Robot (Tommy excitedly described these robots and
who the
‘‘good guys’’ and ‘‘bad guys’’ are and what super abilities they
have.
The rules each robot had to follow became increasingly
confusing to
follow).

Therapist: Must be hard for the good guys to keep track of all
these rules. Sounds like it gets confusing.
Tommy: Yeah, it is. Then the next time I can get something I’m
going to get the other robot so David and I can play it together.
They
can go against each other. (Tommy takes out the Hess trucks
while
he continues to describe the robots fighting).
Therapist: What do they fight about? (Tommy describes evil Dr
K, who is the bad guy and the robot he is going to destroy. Of
course, one could wonder about the transference connection to
Dr.
K and keep this in mind with the material, but not interpret pre-
maturely). He’s cute. Well I guess cute depends on who is the
per-
son saying it (ironically said). For example, I find snakes and
lizards cute (laugh). You know snakes are easy to tame, as long
as
they’re not poisonous. (He tells me facts about snakes). At least
they don’t poop or pee.
Therapist: They don’t poop or pee?
Tommy: Yeah, they don’t have a hole for it to come out. So I
have
no idea how they lay eggs! But I’d want a boy one anyway.
Therapist: Better to stick with boys, easier to understand.
Tommy: Definitely! And boys don’t shed as much either. The
boy
snake does the hunting. The mother nurtures the babies for four
months, and then at four months its more like they’re teenagers

and
they go off. But the boy snake can also feed the babies, cause
they
also have what the mother has. Whatever that is! But its kind of
dis-
gusting for a 9-year old boy.
Therapist: Can be kind of confusing for a 9- year old boy,
what’s
different and the same that they have.
Tommy: Yeah. You can learn a lot of this on the Discovery
Chan-
nel. I’m like the only kid in my class that watches different kind
of
shows other then cartoon network. I like shows like Discovery
or
History Channel where you learn stuff. So I like to watch stuff
that’s
interesting. I’m just not a sports kind of guy!
Therapist: Good to know what kind of guy you are, what you
like,
ways that your different then other kids.
Tommy: (looking at a truck) You know this truck (Playing with
the fire truck with ladders; putting the ladders up) You know
this
truck in real life would fall over if it didn’t have these
stabilizers
(demonstrates) These trucks are so heavy...the ladders are so
big
they would literally fall right over. Since the trucks are so long
they
have a driver in the back part to do the steering. But they really
are

connected to the front wheel so they could still be turned (again
I
think, may be some of these restrictive safety devices that
adults come
up with aren’t all bad).
Conclusion
When the focus of treatment with children is based on the thera-
pist as the ‘‘real and good’’ object, and parents as ‘‘real and
bad’’
objects, a therapist/patient countertransference/ transference
con-
figuration can emerge in the form of rescue fantasies within the
therapeutic dyad. This configuration, which I assert here may be
relatively common, may frequently lead to enactments which
can
undermine the effectiveness of our work with children. My
recog-
nition of a wish to be a better mother to Tommy became con-
scious in a dream where he was represented as one of my
children. I recognized the beginning of a mutual
countertransfer-
ence/transference enactment in the material from Tommy’s
hours
in which he was the rescuer of an ‘‘endangered sister.’’ My
awareness of my countertransference allowed me to interpret
Tommy’s displaced rescue fantasies, which in turn brought
about
conscious awareness of Tommy’s anger about his sister Jane’s
birth (deepening and furthering the treatment). Together we

became aware his wish to be rid of his sister was heightened by
his fear that his aggressive behavior at home somehow
‘‘caused’’
his mother to love his sister ‘‘more’’ while similarly ‘‘causing’’
his
mother to wish she could ‘‘be rid’’ of him. Once these thoughts
were conscious he and I were able to see how he sought safety
by moving to thoughts of wanting to be with just the men. These
themes continued in his confusion about the sexual differences
between males and females. Again he sought the protection of
staying home with his Dad, rather than confronting the boys and
girls at the club that ‘‘stir him up.’’
Tommy began expressing disappointment in his play subsequent
to the material documented here, with the ‘‘grown-ups’’ who
don’t
make cars, or the shuttle, or other vehicles ‘‘safe’’ for the
passen-
gers. For Tommy the disillusionment with his parents,
particularly
his mother, seems to relate most clearly to the arrival of his
sister.
While his sister’s birth is unambiguously something his parents
caused, it by no means makes them bad, merely human. Had I
been seduced (as would be so easy) into forming a helpfully
sup-
portive alliance with Tommy against his ‘‘bad’’ parents, I
would
have continued to be ‘‘all good’’ for my patient; a comfortable
posi-
tion certainly, but not nearly so helpful as I can be by retaining

my neutrality.
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PRACTICE
13
Working With Children
and Adolescents:
The Case of Claudia
Claudia is a 6-year-old, Hispanic female residing with her
biological mother and father in an urban area. Claudia was born
in the United States 6 months after her mother and father moved
to the country from Nicaragua. There is currently no extended
family living in the area, but Claudia’s parents have made
friends
in the neighborhood. Claudia’s family struggles economically
and
has also struggled to obtain legal residency in this country. Her
father inconsistently finds work in manual labor, and her mother
recently began working three nights a week at a nail salon.
While
Claudia is bilingual in Spanish and English, Spanish is the sole
language spoken in her household. She is currently enrolled in a
large public school, attending kindergarten.
Claudia’s family lives in an impoverished urban neighborhood
with a rising crime rate. After Claudia witnessed a mugging in
her
neighborhood, her mother reported that she became very
anxious
and “needy.” She cried frequently and refused to be in a room
alone without a parent. Claudia made her parents lock the doors
after returning home and would ask her parents to check the

locks
repeatedly. When walking in the neighborhood, Claudia would
ask her parents if people passing are “bad” or if an approaching
person is going to hurt them. Claudia had difficulty going to
bed
on nights when her mother worked, often crying when her
mother
left. Although she was frequently nervous, Claudia was
comforted
by her parents and has a good relationship with them. Claudia’s
nervousness was exhibited throughout the school day as well.
She
asked her teachers to lock doors and spoke with staff and peers
about potential intruders on a daily basis.
Claudia’s mother, Paula, was initially hesitant to seek therapy
services for her daughter due to the family’s undocumented
status in the country. I met with Claudia’s mother and utilized
the initial meeting to explain the nature of services offered at
the agency, as well as the policies of confidentiality. Prior to
the
SOCIAL WORK CASE STUDIES: CONCENTRATION YEAR
14
meeting, I translated all relevant forms to Spanish to increase
Paula’s comfort. Within several minutes of talking, Paula
notice-
ably relaxed, openly sharing the family’s history and her
concerns
regarding Claudia’s “nervousness.” Goals set for Claudia
included
increasing Claudia’s ability to cope with anxiety and increasing

her
ability to maintain attention throughout her school day.
Using child-centered and directed play therapy approaches,
I began working with Claudia to explore her world. Claudia was
intrigued by the sand tray in my office and selected a variety
of figures, informing me that each figure was either “good” or
“bad.” She would then construct scenes in the sand tray in
which
she would create protective barriers around the good figures,
protecting them from the bad. I reflected upon this theme of
good
versus bad, and Claudia developed the ability to verbalize her
desire to protect good people.
I continued meeting with Claudia once a week, and Claudia
continued exploring the theme of good versus bad in the sand
tray
for 2 months. Utilizing a daily feelings check-in, Claudia
developed
the ability to engage in affect identification, verbalizing her
feelings
and often sharing relevant stories. Claudia slowly began asking
me
questions about people in the building and office, inquiring if
they
were bad or good, and I supported Claudia in exploring these
inquiries. Claudia would frequently discuss her fears about
school
with me, asking why security guards were present at schools.
We
would discuss the purpose of security guards in detail, allowing
her to ask questions repeatedly, as needed. Claudia and I also
practiced a calming song to sing when she experienced fear or
anxiety during the school day.

During this time, I regularly met with Paula to track Claudia’s
progress through parent reporting. I also utilized psychoeduca-
tional techniques during these meetings to review appropriate
methods Paula could use to discuss personal safety with Claudia
without creating additional anxiety.
By the third month of treatment, Claudia began determining
that more and more people in the environment were good. This
was reflected in her sand tray scenes as well: the protection of
good figures decreased, and Claudia began placing good and
bad
PRACTICE
15
figures next to one another, stating, “They’re okay now.” Paula
reported that Claudia no longer questioned her about each indi-
vidual that passed them on the street. Claudia began telling her
friends in school about good security guards and stopped asking
teachers to lock doors during the day. At home, Claudia became
more comfortable staying in her bedroom alone, and she signifi-
cantly decreased the frequency of asking for doors to be locked.
APPENDIX
99
7. What local, state, or federal policies could (or did) affect
this case?
Chase had an international adoption but it was filed within

a specific state, which allowed him and his family to receive
services so he could remain with his adopted family. In addi-
tion, state laws related to education affected Chase and
aided his parents in requesting testing and special educa-
tion services. Lastly, state laws related to child abandonment
could have affected this family if they chose to relinquish
custody to the Department of Family and Children Services
(DFCS).
8. How would you advocate for social change to positively
affect this case?
Advocacy within the school system for early identification and
testing of children like Chase would be helpful.
9. Were there any legal or ethical issues present in the case?
If so, what were they and how were they addressed?
There was a possibility of legal/ethical issues related to the
family’s frustration with Chase. If his parents had resorted to
physical abuse, a CPS report would need to be filed. In addi-
tion, with a possible relinquishment of Chase, DFCS could
decide to look at the children still in the home (Chase’s adopted
siblings) and consider removing them as well.
Working With Children and Adolescents:
The Case of Claudia
1. What specific intervention strategies (skills, knowledge, etc.)
did you use to address this client situation?
Specific intervention skills used were positive verbal support
and encouragement, validation and reflection, and affect
identification and exploration. Knowledge of child anxieties/
fear and psychoeducation for the client and her mother were
also utilized. Child-centered play therapy was utilized along

with sand tray therapy to provide a safe environment for
Claudia.
SOCIAL WORK CASE STUDIES: CONCENTRATION YEAR
100
2. Which theory or theories did you use to guide your practice?
I used theoretical bases of child- (client-) centered nondirective
play therapy.
3. What were the identified strengths of the client(s)?
Client strengths were a supportive parenting unit, positive peer
interactions, and the ability to engage.
4. What were the identified challenges faced by the client(s)?
The client faced environmental challenges. Due to
socioeconomic
status, the client resided in a somewhat dangerous
neighborhood,
adding to her anxiety and fear. The client’s family also lacked
an
extended support system and struggled to establish legal
residency.
5. What were the agreed-upon goals to be met to address the
concern?
The goals agreed upon were to increase the client’s ability to
cope with anxiety and increase her ability to maintain attention
at school.
6. Did you have to address any issues around cultural compe-

tence? Did you have to learn about this population/group
prior to beginning your work with this client system? If so,
what type of research did you do to prepare?
Language barriers existed when working with the client’s
mother. I ensured that all agency documents were translated
into Spanish. It was also important to understand the family’s
cultural isolation. Their current neighborhood and culture is
much different than the rural Nicaraguan areas Claudia’s
parents
grew up in. To learn more about this, I spent time with Paula,
learning more about her experience growing up and how this
affects her parenting style and desires for her daughter’s future.
7. What local, state, or federal policies could (or did) affect
this situation?
The client and her parents are affected by immigration
legislation.
The client’s family was struggling financially as a result of
their
inability to obtain documented status in this country. The
client’s
mother expressed their strong desire to obtain legal status, but
stated that lawyer fees, court fees, and overwhelming paperwork
hindered their ability to obtain legal residency.
APPENDIX
101
8. How would you advocate for social change to positively
affect this case?

I would advocate for increased availability and funding for
legal aid services in the field of immigration.
9. How can evidence-based practice be integrated into this
situation?
Evidenced-based practice can be integrated through the use
of proven child therapy techniques, such as child-centered
nondirective play therapy, along with unconditional positive
regard.
10. Describe any additional personal reflections about this case.
It can be difficult to work with fears and anxiety when they
are rooted in a client’s environment. It was important to help
Claudia cope with her anxiety while still maintaining the
family’s
vigilance about crime and violence in the neighborhood.
Working With Children and Adolescents:
The Case of Noah
1. What specific intervention strategies (skills, knowledge, etc.)
did you use to address this client situation?
I utilized structured play therapy and cognitive behavioral
techniques.
2. Which theory or theories did you use to guide your practice?
For this case study, I used cognitive behavioral theory.
3. What were the identified strengths of the client(s)?
Noah had supportive and loving foster parents who desired to
adopt him. He quickly became acclimated to the foster home
and started a friendship with his foster brother. He started to
become engaged in extracurricular activities. Noah was an
inquisitive and engaging boy who participated in our meetings.

4. What were the identified challenges faced by the client(s)?
Noah faced several challenges, most significantly the failure
of his mother to follow through with the reunification plan.
He has had an unstable childhood with unclear parental role
models. There may be some unreported incidences of abuse
and trauma.
Sandtray and
Solution
-Focused Therapy
Elizabeth R. Taylor
Texas Christian University
Both solution-focused (SF) and sandtray therapies have been
shown to have effective
healing properties. SF, a primarily verbal therapy, uses
carefully worded and timed
questions and comments that solicit the clients’ already existing
strengths and resil-
iencies to solve the current and future problems. Sandtray

therapy relies primarily on
nonverbal communication through the use of carefully selected
miniatures within the
confines of a sand tray to facilitate clients’ healing and
strengthen internal resources.
Because these therapies at first appear to be so different, it is
not surprising that their
combined application is rarely mentioned in the literature. Yet,
similarities between
the two therapies do exist and may be combined to provide an
empowering and brief
experiential therapeutic journey. A brief background and
theoretical orientation to
SF therapy is provided, accompanied by illustrations of the
merger of these two
approaches. Also discussed are similarities between SF and
sandtray therapies and
the advantages of combining them in work with children and
adolescents.
Keywords: solution-focused, sandtray
Regardless of age, ethnicity, or gender, sand is a medium that
crosses all
boundaries. It is difficult to resist moving one’s hands through

the sand, touching
and feeling its fine grain, moving it from one side to another,
making paths, and
building mountains. With sand and carefully selected
miniatures, one can move
through the past, present, and future; describe unspeakable
events; confront one’s
demons and overcome challenge; become a new person while
retaining the best of
the old; and create the potential self and its many possibilities.
Indeed, the use of sand and its miniatures is an established
therapeutic ap-
proach with children, adolescents, and adults (Homeyer &
Sweeney, 2005). A
primarily nonverbal method of intervention, the “work” is done
through the sand
material and the carefully selected toys the client uses to
construct and sometimes
to play out his or her world. Because sandboxes are familiar to
most children, sand
play is not likely to be threatening and more likely to be a safe
way to express what
may seem to be unacceptable feelings and impulses (Oaklander,
1988). Sandtray

therapy has other benefits as well. For clients who are less
prone to verbal
communication or who may not be language proficient, the sand
and the miniatures
become the language through which the child can communicate
(see Vinturella &
James, 1987), producing tangible results (Hunter, 2006). For
those who are stuck in
old ways of problem-solving, sandtray therapy opens up new
perspectives from a
“three-dimensional field” (Bainum, Schneider, & Stone, 2006,
p. 36). Unlike other
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to
Elizabeth R. Taylor, College of
Education, Texas Christian University, TCU Box 297900, Fort
Worth, TX 76129. E-mail: [email protected]
tcu.edu
56
International Journal of Play Therapy © 2009 Association for
Play Therapy
2009, Vol. 18, No. 1, 56 – 68 1555-6824/09/$12.00 DOI
10.1037/a0014441

types of expressive techniques, such as drawing or writing, skill
is not required for
creating scenes, so that self-consciousness and fear of judgment
are not so prob-
lematic (Bradway, 1979). For some, the sand itself is so
relaxing that deep and
painful issues are less frightening to discuss in the therapy
session (Homeyer &
Sweeney, 1998).
Beginning with Margaret Lowenfeld in the early 1900s, the use
of sandtray
began as a therapeutic approach, which she called the “World
Technique.” Clients
used miniatures as a vehicle for communicating and expressing
their emotions and
resolving conflicts in their internal and external experiences
(Turner, 2005). In 1956,
Dora Maria Kalff, a Jungian therapist, studied with Lowenfeld,
applying Jungian
concepts to the World Technique, subsequently developing
Sandplay. Both Kalff
and Lowenfeld believed the goal of sand work was to uncover

the nonverbal, but
Kalff believed that the creation of a series of sandtrays led to
healing at deeper,
unconscious levels. Lowenfeld was much more active with the
client during the
creation of the sandtray, talking with the client, asking
questions, and making
interpretations; whereas, Kalff believed such dialogue was
intrusive and focused
more on the completed tray with the role of the therapist being
one of an observer
(Homeyer & Sweeney, 2005).
Since that time, several theoretical approaches to play therapy
have been
applied to the therapeutic and healing property of sandtray
work, including Adle-
rian (Bainum et al., 2006), Jungian (Peery, 2003), Gestalt
(Oaklander, 2003), family
(Carey, 2006), and group play (Hunter, 2006) therapies.
Clinicians using these
different theoretical approaches employ, to different degrees
and in different
formats, sand and its miniatures as a method of assessing,
communicating, and

facilitating the healing process; however, most of the literature
on therapeutic
sandtray addresses Kalff’s Jungian approach (Bainum et al.,
2006).
Recently, postmodern clinicians have drawn upon the healing
aspects of min-
iatures and the sandtray, including narrative (Freeman, Epston,
& Lobovits, 1997)
and solution-focused (SF) therapies (Nims, 2007), the sandtray
becoming another
component of the therapy process. Little has been written,
however, about the
application of SF philosophy and therapeutic techniques to
sandtray with children
and adolescents; therefore, it is the author’s aim to address this
void and demon-
strate the practical application and integration of SF theory and
techniques to
sandtray and its miniatures. The reader is encouraged to
examine the writings of
well-known and experienced practitioners and researchers,
including those of Hom-
eyer and Sweeney (1998, 2005), Hunter (2006), and Turner
(2005) regarding the

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