Therapy for a child who reported having seen her grandmother’s ghost

Abstract

This paper presents the therapy provided to a young girl brought in by her mother for initially reporting “seeing her grandmother” who had died some months before. The mother claimed that the child refused to enter rooms in the home alone as she feared her grandmother’s presence and that the child frequently mentioned the subject. Two sessions were held at the school and four at the child’s home in the company of some of her friends. Procedures involving desensitisation, modelling, shaping and instruction were incorporated into play activities, and support was offered to the child’s family members. The results showed a decrease and suppression of utterances concerning the grandmother’s ghost, the use of formerly-avoided spaces in the house, an improvement in school performance and the recovery of contact with friends. Follow-up carried out through a visit made to the family and the child’s teachers confirmed the maintenance of the acquisitions above. We discuss issues related to such kinds of sightings in our culture.