23.7. 1993 Vitoria-Gasteiz / Spain - World Federation of Music Therapy

precipitating factor.
This particular afternoon spent downtown shopping had
been difficult. Sonia's mother became exasperated as a
result of Sonia's incessant chattering and whining, and
felt impotent as a consequence of her inability to control
Sonia as she would have liked. Sonia experienced the
frustration that results from having succeeded in
attracting essentially solely negative attention from her
mother.
Neither member of this dyad felt understood by the
other. In the car on the way home, Sonia broke into
song. The tune was reminiscent of the blues and the
Iyrics of the refrain were as follows:
(bis)
Big people, they don't understand childs
525
Vignette #2
Harry and Elliot are brothers. Harry is almost ó years old
and Elliot is 3 1/2 years old. These boys are also
members of a middle-class professional family. Their
mother is a university professor and their father is an
administrator. Although not spared the intense
emotions, strivings, struggles and jealousies associated
with sibling rivalry, these boys tend to get along quite
well.
At the supper table one evening, Harry asked to have
cake for dessert. His mother refused, reminding him of
the family "junk food" restriction, that is, that sweets
were limited to weekends and that during the week fruit
constituted dessert. Both children protested and began
to enumerate a variety of reasons which rendered it an
acceptable if not a propitious moment to break the rules