The Authorial Model of the Therapy Used in Night Terrors and Sleep Disorders in Children
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 2011; 2 : 45–51 The authorial model of the therapy used in night terrors and sleep disorders in children Małgorzata Talarczyk Summary Aim. The article describes the authorial model of the therapeutic work with children and their families used in night terrors and sleep disorders in children. Methods. The reported symptoms concerned children 7 to 12 years old and were based on difficulties in falling asleep without the physical proximity of a parent or waking up at night and the reported anxiety as well as the need of the presence of a parent. The presented model of psychotherapy was worked out by the author on the basis of many years of clinical practice as well as searching for a possibly quick form of helping both children and their parents. The psychotherapy was conducted with 15 fami- lies in the form of a family therapy in the systemic approach and an individual therapy with a child conducted in the cognitive-be- havioral approach. Results. In all 15 families, in which the described model of psychotherapy was conducted, the symptoms of night terrors and sleep disorders in children subsided. Conclusions. The authorial model of the therapy with the use of a “night link” may be an example of an integrative therapy within the framework of which the remission of symptoms was only possible due to connecting individual and family interactions. night terror / sleep disorders / psychotherapy INTRODUCTION them to come to their bedroom. In the cases of falling asleep unaided night awakening usually In recent years, within the framework of the took place between 1 and 4 a.m. Awakening was conducted outpatients clinical practice, I started sometimes accompanied by the feeling of breath- to work more often with families that looked for lessness. The characterised situations concerned help for their children who suffered from night children 7 to 12 years old. Before the symptoms terrors and sleeping disorders. The reported occurred for many years the children had usu- sleep disorders were based on the fact that chil- ally fallen asleep unaided and slept without any dren could not fall asleep alone or woke from problems in their bedrooms. sleep with anxiety and demanded presence of In the cases of the reported night terror and one of their parents. When having difficulties in falling asleep they needed physical proxim- sleep disorders in children I was conducting the ity of their parents, came to their bed or called family therapy in systemic paradigm and the in- dividual child therapy in the cognitive-behav- ioral approach [1]. While analysing the prob- Małgorzata Talarczyk: The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clin- lem from the family perspective I distinguished ic, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, “System” – Specialized Psychological Practice in Poznań, Poland. Correspondence address: threes types of family situations in which a night Małgorzata Talarczyk, The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic, terror and sleep disorders reported by the chil- Poznań University of Medical Sciences, 27/33 Szpitalna Str., 60-572 dren occurred: the change of a family structure, Poznań, Poland. Email: [email protected] the change of a place of living and atypical sit- This article has not been aided by any grant uations. 46 Małgorzata Talarczyk The change of a family structure took place in cence” (F90-F98) do not include the description five families and was usually caused by a par- of the discussed night terror. ents’ divorce or separation [2, 3, 4]. These types The description of the reported symptoms of causes of changes in a family structure could could make the assumption about the separa- undoubtedly contribute to frustration or depri- tion basis of the disorders. However, the chil- vation of satisfying a safety need and thus to dis- dren with anxiety disorders I worked with did turbing the sense of security. In some families not fulfil the required criteria concerning separa- the change of the structure also included the re- tion anxiety (F93.0). Children’s separation anxie- construction of a family that was based on one ty that is specific for the developmental stage is of the parents engaging in a relationship with a different from anxiety disorders in terms of sig- new partner. For the child – in case of a new re- nificant intensification, excessively long lasting, lationship of one the parents under whose cus- coexistence of difficulties which hamper func- tody the child remained – this situation could tioning [5]. be the source of various emotional difficulties The children I worked with did not fulfil the that included among others the conflict of loy- separation anxiety criteria because they did not alty towards parents, a relationship with a new worry about persons close to them. They also partner or anxiety connected with the status in did not fear of dramatic situations, went eager- a new family. The change of the family structure ly to school, did not show fixed unwillingness was also very often connected with changing the to go to sleep because in the earlier period they had fallen asleep and slept without any disrup- place of living. tion, had no problems with staying home alone Changing the place of living was the second during the day, did not report any night terrors, family situation that preceded the occurrence of did not show any distress when separating from a night terror and sleep disorders. I treat distin- their significant others. The children also did not guishing this type of a situation as an isolated show symptoms typical for phobic anxiety dis- situation which is not connected with changing orders (F93.1), i.e. the anxiety focused on vari- the family structure. Changing the place of liv- ous objects and situations [5]. Although, the de- ing usually concerned moving to a bigger flat or scribed disorder seems to be close to phobic anx- house. Before moving, the children had no prob- iety diagnostic criteria because the children ex- lems with falling asleep and slept alone in a sep- perienced symptoms such as shortness of breath arate bedroom. and these sensations occurred only in a specific Atypical situations concerned families where situation, they did not feel an anticipation fear the aforementioned changes had not taken place, and emotional tension or mental discomfort that is changing the family structure or changing while discussing or visualising situations caus- the place of living. Moreover, conversations with ing anxiety. The children calmly talked about the the parents and child did not indicate the exist- situation causing anxiety, often showing signif- ence of clearly perceptible factors which can be icant distance and even a sense of humour con- hypothesised to have a trigger character. nected with the reported night terror. They also did not see a problem in the fact that they could not fall asleep or woke up at night without the DIAGNOSTIC DILEMMAS presence of their parent. Anxiety and sleep disorders in children report- It is difficult to unambiguously classify night ed by the families also did not fulfil the sleep terrors reported by children and sleep disorders disorder criteria described in the category: (F50- associated with them in the specific diagnostic F59), “behavioural syndromes associated with category within the framework of ICD-10 clas- physiological disturbances and physical factors” sification as these types of disorders are not in- [5]. cluded in it [5]. The categories concerning the The disorders reported by the children cannot disorders of the developmental period, that is be classified as nonorganic sleep disorders (F51) “behavioural and emotional disorders with on- because they did not fulfil the criteria of both the set usually occuring in childhood and adoles- category (F.51.0) “nonorganic insomnia” and the Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 2011; 2 : 45–51 The authorial model of the therapy used in night terrors and sleep disorders in children 47 category (F51.4) “night terrors” [5]. The children Within the framework of the cognitive-behav- did not complain about the problems with fall- ioral therapy of a child relaxation and systemat- ing asleep or poor quality of sleep and the fre- ic desensitization were the applied techniques quency with which their disorders occurred de- [1, 6, 7]. Most child and adolescent patients quite pended on physical availability of one or both fast experienced the feeling of muscle and emo- parents. The children also did not worry about tional relaxation because of the developmental the effects of the disordered sleep and the in- susceptibility to yielding to a suggestion. After terrupted sleep neither caused tension nor dis- the child gained the ability to experience relax- turbed normal functioning during the day. My ation I gradually introduced images relating to patients’ disorders also did not fulfil the crite- the symptom, that is a night and sleep. From the ria in the category (F51.4) “night terrors”. Night onset of the exposure to them the images did not terrors are the episodes of an extremely intense invoke strong emotions in children. The work panic attack accompanied by screaming, motor with a child based on relaxation and desensiti- and autonomic nervous system agitation. The zation was usually conducted within the frame- patient does not react to attempts to calm him work of 2 or 3 sessions and was emotional prep- or her down, is disorientated and usually does aration for sleeping alone. Individual sessions not remember the past episode [5]. My patients usually took place once a week. also did not complain about nightmares (51.5). In the therapeutic work with a family I ap- The children did not remember whether they plied the systemic approach within the frame- had had any dreams while sleeping. work of which I put forward hypotheses relat- On the other hand, in the DSM-IV classifica- ing to both the stage of a family life and its spe- tion one may distinguish the category: “anxie- cific situation.