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Ariana Seidman
Colette Searls
HONR 300
12 April 2015
Puppets and Therapy
Professors Richard Carter and Perry Mason reflected, Puppets are a key that can
open the door to the inner world of childhood. When dealing with emotionally unstable
children, puppetry has both diagnostic and therapeutic uses. Its benefits have been vastly
demonstrated over several studies. Puppets are effective in therapy for several reasons
and are helpful in treating many childhood psychological issues. This paper will outline
the benefits of puppetry in therapy, discuss several studies, and list what types of puppets
are frequently used.
Puppets allow a projection of emotion and conflict onto a character and help the
child feel safer in therapy sessions. They depersonalize complex feelings, making them
easier to talk about. Puppets hold a childs interest and can also overcome a childs
resistance to treatment. Children are likely to feel uncomfortable having a conversation
with their therapist and often lack the communication skills to do so. However, by
creating characters with the therapist and acting through different issues, the child can
creatively work through his or her problems (Carter and Mason).
In Richard Carter and Perry Masons, The Selection and Use of Puppets in
Counseling, the authors quote that Jewel (1989) recommends the use of puppets for the
following applications: developing language and communication skills, overcoming
emotional and physical isolation, building self-esteem, encouraging emotional release,

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making decisions, and even physical therapy. Jewel also encourages the reader/therapist
to remember that creativity and flexibility are important when using puppets.
Carter (1987) discussed the application of puppets in therapy with a boy who
witnessed the murder of his father. According to Carter, the boy became aggressive,
frequently hit other children and teachers, used profanity, and destroyed property.
Because of this, the boy was placed in a special needs class. While resistant to other
forms of therapy, the boy gradually began to express his feelings through the use of
puppets. Eventually, he returned to the standard classroom.
Carter and Mason also discussed Browns study (1996) in successfully treating
children with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Brown suggested the following steps for
treating these children. First, help the children develop strategies to control intrusive
thoughts and images. Then, the patient must learn to control physical symptoms such
as tense muscles or hyperventilation. Finally, the therapist helps the children develop a
sense that they can function safely at school, at home, and in the community without a
threat of danger. By following these steps, the child should be able to gradually
overcome his or her posttraumatic stress.
In his unpublished dissertation, Matthew Bernier discussed in great depth studies
performed by Bender and Woltmann, and Jenkins and Beckh. Bender and Woltmann
(1940, 1951, 1952) looked at the use of puppets in group counseling. They developed
shows with plots based on the themes or conflicts and helped the children to work
through their problems. Additionally, they found that when asked to create their own
stories, they usually reflected the childs area of conflict. This discovery is a useful
diagnostic tactic and therapeutic method. In a 1936 study, Bender and Woltmann

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determined that puppets are ideal for expression of aggression against the child, or by
the child with guilt, or, the childs relationship with his or her mother, father, and
siblings. They believed the use of symbolic characters could provide, a free expression
of aggression without causing anxiety or fear. Bender and Woltmann preferred the use
of hand puppets in their studies as they believed they are more direct, more convincing,
capable of more aggression, and encourage audience participation. Jenkins and Beckh,
on the other hand, focused on individual therapy. In their studies, they found puppets to
be most effective on children from ages five to eleven. Contrastingly, Jenkins and Beckh
preferred the use of finger puppets because they require less skill than hand puppets.
There are many different types of puppets; however, the most frequently used in
therapy are hand or finger puppets, marionettes, Muppets, or ventriloquists dummies.
Hand puppets are placed over the puppeteers hand and the bottom jaw is manipulated.
Marionettes are more complicated, and are controlled by several strings attached to the
arms, legs, and head. Marionettes movements are a bit more life like than hand puppets.
Muppets are described as a combination of hand puppets and marionettes. Their mouths
are manipulated like a hand puppet, but their arms and body are controlled with strings
and rods. Finally, ventriloquists dummies are operated with strings and rods inside the
body. Ventriloquists dummies generally create the most realistic movements (Carter and
Mason).
There are several guidelines and recommendations as far as how to select puppets
for therapeutic purposes. In Play Therapy Techniques, Charles Schaefer and Donna
Cangelosi suggest having fifteen to twenty puppets in the room so the child has plenty to
choose from. However, it is also important not to have too many puppets, so the child

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does not become overwhelmed. They also state that the puppets must have a range of
affects such as aggressive, friendly, and neutral. Carter and Mason provide even more
guidelines for the appearance and functionality of the puppets. They say that the puppets
should be simple, so that the child can easily manipulate them. Additionally, puppets
should fit adult and childrens hands. It is important for the therapist to be able to interact
with the puppets as well to encourage play and expression of emotion. Puppets should be
soft and cuddly as well as washable, in order to engage the children and prevent the
spread of germs. Finally, Carter and Mason recommend that the puppets not appear as
universal characters such as Santa Claus, as it might inhibit the childs imagination.
However, Schaefer and Cangelosi argue that it is all right to have universally symbolic
characters such as a witch, prince, or superhero. This would allow insight into the childs
projection of a relationship.
Carter and Mason also provided some suggestions for manipulating the puppet to
make it the most believable. The puppets should engage the audience and never stop
moving. One should not move the upper jaw of a puppet, as that does not mimic
humanoid movement, and the goal is to have the child believe the puppet is really alive.
Additionally, the therapist should store the puppets after the child has left. If the puppet
is stuffed in a box at the end of the session, some, or all of the suspension of disbelief will
be lost.
In conclusion, puppets have many applications and are extremely useful in
therapy. It has been demonstrated in several studies that puppets have helped children
with aggression, posttraumatic stress, and other emotional disturbances. While there are
many different options for the actual style and character of the puppet, the goal should be

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to make it appear as life-like as possible in order to help the child feel more comfortable
in therapy. With hard work, creativity, and imagination, a therapist can use puppets to
help young children overcome a variety of social and emotional disturbances.

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Works Cited
Bernier, Matthew G. Puppetry as an Art Therapy Technique With Emotionally Disturbed
Children. Diss. Hahnemann U, 1983. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Carter, Richard B., and Perry S. Mason. "The Selection and Use of Puppets in
Counseling." Professional School Counseling 1.5 (1998): 50-53. Web.
Schaefer, Charles E., and Donna M. Cangelosi, eds. 2nd ed. N.p.: Jason Aronson, 2002. Print.