Depression in a Medical Hospital:
Stuffed Animal Play

A therapist described the following intervention with a school age boy hospitalized for medical reasons:

"…JR was struggling with depression and panic attacks that were negatively affecting his recovery. While initially unwilling to talk to me, he did slowly begin to talk with me when asked about the stuffed animal monkey (named Monty) he clutched beside him, which he had obtained during a family vacation at the Colorado Zoo.

Monty quickly became an important therapeutic tool in 2 ways. First, we used Monty as an intermediary to 'voice' the concerns/worries the boy had about his recovery. He soon created a metaphor of monkeys/animals he had seen encaged in the zoo to his own physical containment in the hospital.

Second, I created a relaxation protocol for JR using Monty as a 'tour guide' of the Colorado Zoo (his favorite place). We allowed Monty to open the door of his cage to visit with the other animals and see the other parts of the zoo via monorail. We taped this protocol so he could keep the tape and listen to it whenever he liked. Later, his mother shared that he had asked if he and Monty could ride the monorail again!"