Dibs
Famous case study by
Virginia Axline
‘In search of self’
Lessons Aims
By the end of this lesson you should be able to:
State the key features of Axline’s case study
(1964) of a boy known as ‘Dibs’
Explain how play therapy was used in Axline’s
study
Be able to evaluate the Dib’s case study itself
as well as the case study research method
Describing a case study
• Aims
• Case Description –the story
• Case Analysis – Axline’s analysis
• Conclusion
Axline’s Aim
The case study is about one of Axline’s
genuine real life cases. She was a
clinical psychologist.
Dibs was a 5 year old boy who
wouldn’t speak, was aggressive and
couldn’t mix with the other children
at school.
The aim was to help Dib’s express
himself and ‘unlock’ his personality.
Procedure
Axline visited the school and observed Dibs.
She then met with Dibs’ mother, who agreed
for Dibs to attend play therapy sessions once a
week for an hour
She worked with him in a playroom to
observe his play and behaviour
 She kept detailed records of all sessions with
Dibs and discussions with his teachers and
mother.
She observed one interaction between Dib’s
and his father
Important to note:
• Axline waited for Dibs to speak and would
then feedback what he was asking about in the
hope that he would continue on the theme.
She did not want there to be any interruption
of his natural behaviour.
• She also waited for the mother to come to her,
rather than ask the mother questions before
she was ready to talk.
Key Themes notes by Axline
• Dibs demonstrated dislike of his father.
• Using a toy soldier he called ‘Papa’, he
acted out hurting his father.
• He locked his parents into a dolls’ house
and pretended it was on fire. But he did
release the family and his father.
Another theme
• Dibs did not speak or show much evidence of
his true intellect when Axline first met him but
very quickly it became obvious that he was a
very gifted child.
• His teachers suspected he was intelligent
• His parents thought he was possibly brain
damaged
Another theme
• Dibs did not like locked doors or walls. He
brought this up a lot especially in play
therapy.
NB: His father
would
Sometimes
lock Dibs in his
bedroom
Key features
• Dibs had violent outbursts.
• Dibs never wanted to go home.
• Dibs played with the dolls house a lot .He would
lock the windows and doors.
• He buried a doll in the sand .He called it papa.
• He hid the soldiers and they also seemed to
represent his father.
• He wanted his father to go away.
Dibs buried
A doll representing
Papa in the sand
Dibs hated walls and
Locked Doors
Dibs never wanted to
Go home
Dibs buried and
Hid his soldiers
Extract
Doctor Axline is presented to his father. Here is a the passage of this
brief interview between the three characters:
The Papa glanced at me. “How do you do”, he said, stiffly.
He seemed very ill at ease.
“ How do you do,” I replied
“I say, Papa,” Dibs said. “Do you know today is not Independence Day?”
“Come Dibs I am in a hurry,” Papa said
“Independence Day comes on Thursday,”
Papa was shoving Dibs out the door. “Can’t you stop that senseless
jabber?” he said, between clenched teeth
• Analysis
• Axline believed Dibs felt humiliation from his parents
and the only family member he did not feel this from
was his grandmother.
• His mother seemed to be ashamed of Dibs. She was
constantly testing him.
• Both parents were high achievers but his mother
seemed to blame Dibs for her not being able to
maintain her career. His parents suspected he was
brain damaged
• Dibs turned out to be a gifted child who could read
and write easily and understand complex concepts.
The play therapy for Dibs has been an
“opportunity to move out of those dark
moments and discover for himself that he
could cope with the shadows and sunshine in
his life” (Dibs : In Search of Self p. 215).
The week after the play therapy sessions ended,
a clinical psychologist conducted a test of
intelligence. The results indicated that Dibs
was an “exceptionally gifted child”.
He was sent to a school for gifted children 
Application
Consider how useful play therapy is in
enabling children such as Dibs to use toys to
represent the real world.
It is clear that Dibs used the toy soldiers to
represent his father.
• Much of current play therapy
practice is based upon
Virginia Axline’s work
Play therapy rooms
The therapist:
 Must develop a warm and friendly relationship with the child.
 Accepts the child as she or he is.
 Establishes a feeling of permission in the relationship so that the child feels free to
express his or her feelings completely.
 Is alert to recognise the feelings the child is expressing and reflects these feelings back in
such a manner that the child gains insight into his/her behaviour.
 Maintains a deep respect for the child’s ability to solve his/her problems and gives the
child the opportunity to do so. The responsibility to make choices and to institute change
is the child’s.
 Does not attempt to direct the child’s actions or conversations in any manner. The child
leads the way, the therapist follows.
 Does not hurry the therapy along. It is a gradual process and must be recognised as such
by the therapist.
 Only establishes those limitations necessary to anchor the therapy to the world of
reality and to make the child aware of his/her responsibility in the relationship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1uV8xnDodo sand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aE-F-jYFJs clay
Task
• Read the information on your
sheet
• Hi-light if it helps you to identify
key ideas
• Create Dibs’ story into a story
board