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Use of the Game as a Therapeutic Tool for Children of Divorce

Computer Based Bibliotherapy

As an expert in child-parent interactions and child development, I found this game to be excellent in providing assistance during the very difficult process of divorce and even more so - during the years after. It allows both parents and their children to deal with the emotional effects of divorce on children which they might be uncomfortable dealing with on a day-to-day basis. It opens up opportunities for the kid coping with divorce to discuss and write about these issues in a way that suits children today. I believe this game offers lots of useful therapeutic tools for children and their parents.”

Dr. Dorit Aram - Department of Human Development and Education, Tel Aviv University

Earthquake in Zipland is an edutainment tool aimed at dealing with the emotional effects of divorce on children, giving them cognitive and emotional tools for more effective coping. It includes the proven benefits of bibliotherapy, only brought to life on screen.

We’ve created a safe transitional space where the child coping with divorce can explore his or her situation and feelings. The situations represented in the game include: guilt about the divorce, blame and responsibility for the loss of the old family structure, being torn between two households, exploring the fantasy of bringing the parents back together again and other psychological effects of divorce on children.

As we well know, at the beginning of the divorce the child’s inner reality is composed of a wide range of feeling that include fright, rage, shame and helplessness.

While playing the game, the child enters an intriguing dimension that is virtually hidden within the range of feelings he or she encounters in reality. The game enables escape from reality on one level while keeping the child within the emotional reality and avoiding escape.

While playing, children coping with divorce have the opportunity to expand their point of view, look for alternatives, listen to advice they can use in their daily reality and desensitize the intensity of their feelings.

In order to clarify this tool, here is an example of how the game deals with one issue:

Divorce Bibliotherapy & Edutainment Tool During the Forest episode, the hero finds himself walking along a path. When he reaches a crossroad, he has to decide whether to go right or left, while each parent tries to pull him to their side through a very humorous and witty dialogue.

This symbolic situation in the game represents how often children of divorce may find themselves in a powerful conflict of loyalty between mother and father in issues such as: whom do they want to live with, whom should they live with, what is right? Where, in fact, is home? Who needs them more, who will stay with them and take care of them? Though the subject of divorce is painful, the humoristic and witty dialogue dissolves much of the stress experienced by the child and enables him to approach the above questions.

For example, two siblings that played the game together were conflicted whether to go left or right. When asked why each decided upon their direction, the first answered that the mother character in the game promised to make a chocolate cake if he went left and he couldn’t disappoint her. His sister on the other hand thought the hero should go right because the hero’s mother was manipulating and emotionally blackmailing the child and therefore made a point of going in the other direction. The child’s mother sat in on the session while the children played the episode.

As a result, a discussion evolved that quickly changed from a discussion about the characters in the game to where they really felt home was - with their mother or father, and their expectations about their parents getting back together. It was an opportunity to hurt, open up and deal with the long term effects of the divorce on the children in a way that wasn’t possible previous to the game because of the difficulty in addressing the issue.

The psychological theories that guided us were short term strategic Eriksonian family therapy, bibliotherapy and cognitive and behavioral concepts (CBT).

Several dozen children participated in testing the game. They came from divorced, as well as non-divorced families, and we found a significant difference in the children’s attitude and potential use of emotional content of the game, based upon the marital status of the parents. We are continuing our research and are constantly gathering and analyzing information about the reaction of children to the game and the different uses of the game as a therapeutic tool.

Earthquake in Zipland is recommended for use in small counseling groups for children of divorce as well as one-on-one play therapy sessions.

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Earthquake in Zipland is a computer based bibliotherapy tool for combating the emotional effects of divorce on children.