Possibilities of metaphorical cards in working with children

Ending Hibuki Therapy Through an Art Therapy Approach: The Potential of Metaphorical Cards in Working with Children

The final session with any client is always a challenge for a specialist. And when it comes to working with childhood trauma – it carries a double load. Indeed, both the child's psyche and the termination process itself have unique characteristics.

Termination is not merely a technical stage of work – it is an ethical challenge in which the specialist demonstrates their professional boundaries, skills, and ability to navigate the separation process.

Features of the Final Stage and Defense Reactions

Hibuki therapy has a structured working algorithm, and the termination phase also has its own specifics. When working with children's traumatic experiences, particularly war experiences, we realize that one of the main challenges of the final stage is the variety of the child's reactions to approaching separation. Therefore, it is essential to select techniques that provide plenty of resources: art therapy tasks as well as metaphorical cards.

The therapeutic relationship should become meaningful and safe for the child. For this reason, termination can bring up feelings related to separation, loss, and the need to continue the journey without regular support from the specialist.

In clinical literature dedicated to psychotherapy termination and children's reactions to separation, various defense mechanisms are described. These may include:

• regression;
• denial;
• detachment or avoidance;
• projection;
• intellectualization.

For example, a child may suddenly become more dependent on an adult or refuse to part with the therapeutic toy even during a shower. Another child, on the contrary, might state that "they no longer need Hibuki," abruptly lose interest in the sessions, or begin talking about termination in an exclusively rational manner.

Such reactions do not necessarily indicate a worsening condition or an unreadiness to end the therapeutic alliance. They can be the psyche's way of coping with the emotional strain associated with separation.

This is precisely why working with metaphorical cards online during the final meeting can serve as an additional tool – one that helps the child symbolically outline the ending, view their journey, and build a positive vision for future experiences.

Algorithm for Working with Metaphorical Cards During the Termination of Hibuki Therapy

Where should we begin the final meeting with a young client? By tuning in to upcoming new adventures. Our task is to show the child that the story of their relationship with the therapeutic toy does not end when therapy terminates. The format of interaction changes, and the child gradually becomes the main author of the next part of the story.

We help build a more positive and realistic perception of the future, thereby easing the separation process. However, it is crucial not to miss another component: the child's achievements throughout their time working with the specialist.

In trauma work, a key element is the client's ability to handle future challenges. This ability is connected to recognizing their own capabilities, positive changes, and building a stronger sense of internal support.

At the same time, we are talking specifically about termination in child counseling. Therefore, external supports remain particularly important alongside internal ones: loved ones, family, friends, adults the child can turn to for help, a safe environment, and other available resources. Gradually, the child learns to shift part of their support from the outside world onto their own skills and abilities.

Relying on these essential components of ending Hibuki therapy, we offer the following sequence of card steps:

• Current internal state
• The Road
• Resources
• Environment
• Adventure
• Secret Message from Hibuki

Step 1. Current Internal State (Start)

The first image represents the current internal state and emotions – the child gets the opportunity to look at their present state and identify where they are starting this final session. For this step, it is important to create an easy entry into the process. We recommend using decks such as "Elements", "Abstractions", or "Impression Cards".

For preschoolers and younger schoolchildren, decks with clearer and more pronounced emotional imagery can be used, such as "Feeling Monsters" or "Cat Emotions".

Step 2. The Road

The second image symbolizes the road the child will take moving forward. For this stage, decks such as "The Source" or "In Search of Happiness" can be used.

For older children whose condition is stabilized and who already possess sufficient self-regulation skills, you can offer "Metaphor of the Road". This deck contains images with various emotional meanings, so the specialist should be prepared for complex associations as well as positive ones. In such cases, it is crucial to rely on the child's experience, internal and external resources, and the self-soothing, self-support, and reflection skills developed during Hibuki therapy.

Step 3. Resources

The third image represents the resources and experience the child takes with them. This is one of the key moments of termination – the child needs to see not only what happened to them, but also what they have gained through therapy.

Decks like "Elements", "Abstractions", "The Source", or "In Search of Meaning" can be used here. When working with metaphorical cards with children, it is important to leave enough space for their own associations, sometimes asking questions that turn the image into a story with a beginning and a continuation.

Step 4. Environment

The fourth image represents the environment and the external world that remains beside the child after therapy ends.

For this step, we recommend decks like "The Source", "In Search of Meaning", or "She". It is essential to help the child recognize people and other external resources they can turn to in difficult situations.

Step 5. Adventure

The fifth image represents the new adventure awaiting the child after therapy. Here, attention actively shifts from past experience to the future.

Decks such as "Purr-happiness", "The Source", or "In Search of Meaning" work well for this step. The images help the child imagine the next stage of life not as an empty space after therapy ends, but as a space of new experiences, discoveries, relationships, and opportunities.

Step 6. Secret Message from Hibuki

Only the final, sixth card is chosen face-down (blind choice).

This adds an element of surprise and creates a more magical atmosphere for closure. Decks like "Advice from Objects", "The Source", or text-based decks like "Keys to the Soul" can be used.

Even here, it is necessary to consider the child's individual traits, the session timing, and the overall state of the therapeutic process. Sufficient time should be allocated to the final card. For example, an online card from "Advice from Objects" does not provide a direct hint – the child needs to activate their creative thinking and independently construct the meaning of the message.

The specialist's task at this stage is not to explain what the card "means," but to help the child find their own empowering meaning and end the meeting with a feeling of support, self-efficacy, and closure.

This is why the framework of 5 open choices + 1 face-down choice is essential to our approach – throughout almost the entire session, the child remains an active participant and chooses images independently, while the final card becomes a symbolic gift-message from Hibuki.

Features of Working with the Online Metaphorical Card Application "eCarta"

When we use metaphorical cards online, we significantly simplify the process of working with children. Even in adolescence, attention is characterized by instability and easy switching compared to adults. Displaying the entire deck at once creates an element of surprise while allowing the child to quickly scan all images and select the card they need.

A feature of the "eCarta" app is the ability to upload custom backgrounds or use ready-made ones designed for specific techniques with pre-set card placements.

Setting off on new adventures with the magical dog Hibuki is impossible without an engaging picture. Hibuki's image mirrors the familiar archetypal image of the Seeker – a hero embarking into a world of new experiences. They already possess resources, experience, skills, and knowledge gained along the way. But most importantly – they retain a curiosity for life and a desire for new adventures: to test themselves, experience new emotions, discover the unknown, and make friends.

A user-friendly interface allows therapists to easily set a background featuring Hibuki and arrange metaphorical associative cards on it. This way, the child does not just pick individual images; they gradually create their own unique story where every card becomes a part of the whole.

For specialists, this online format is particularly convenient – there is no need to physically lay out the entire deck in front of the child, rearrange compositions, or look for adequate physical space for every new image.

Important Tips for Using Metaphorical Cards

No matter how convenient the technique or how beautiful the images, the most important tool remains the specialist's attention to the child.

There is no need to rush to fill every pause with a question or immediately help explain the meaning of a chosen card. Sometimes a child simply needs to look at the picture, stay silent, come up with a story, or change their mind.

Emotionally sensitive work with online cards involves paying close attention to the child's pace, reactions, facial expressions, pauses, and changes in emotional state. If a child spends a long time looking at a card – it does not mean they need to be rescued. When changing cards, it is not necessary to revert to the first choice. If they see something sad in a positive image or vice versa, it is crucial to understand the nature of this unconscious (or conscious) shift in focus and interpretation. Often behind this mechanism lies a fear of disappointing the adult and a desire to seek approval for fortitude, optimism, or heroic character traits.

Questions for Working with Metaphorical Cards

Not all of the questions listed below need to be asked to every child. The specialist chooses them based on age, condition, and the specific step of the session. Here is a selection of questions that most frequently help unfold the therapeutic process during interaction between the child and the specialist.

Upon first looking at the metaphorical cards:

• What do you see in this picture?
• What is happening here?
• What was the first thing that caught your attention?
• What do you like here?
• What do you dislike here?

To develop the story:

• What happened before this moment?
• What will happen next?
• What could change this story?
• Who could help?

To find resources:

• What helps here?
• What does the hero already have?
• Who or what can support them?
• What of this can you already do yourself?
• What would you like to take from this picture into your life?

For termination:

• What do you know about yourself now that you did not know before?
• What will help you after our meeting?
• How will you know that you are managing well?
• What would Hibuki wish you before your new adventure?

And the most important rule – do not turn work with metaphorical cards into an interrogation. Sometimes a single good question paired with enough time to answer gives a child much more than ten consecutive questions. We are not looking for the right answer. We are helping the child hear their own. In this way, the child gains a positive experience of telling their own story in their own voice, making choices, and moving forward – with a sense of personal capability and confidence in the future.