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Center in Shanghai offers hope to abused kids

2015-03-27 09:03 Shanghai Daily Web Editor: Qian Ruisha
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A counseling center for child abuse victims and other troubled youngsters made its official opening yesterday in Qingpu District.

Featuring themed consultation and treatment rooms, the facility is a joint venture between the district's education commission and procuratorate, and the local women's federation.

"We have four consultation rooms: a colorful one filled with toys for children under 10, a pink one for girls, a blue one for boys and a cosy family room with lots of sofas," counselor Tian Yinping told Shanghai Daily on a tour of the center.

"But we never choose the room. We let the children do that as it gives us our first insight into the way they are feeling and thinking," she said.

As well as the consultation areas, the center has several therapy rooms, Tian said.

"The catharsis room, for example, is a soft space, with lots of cushions and padded walls that children can throw or bang on to vent anger and frustrations," she said.

"At the other end of the spectrum is the relaxation room, which has a massage chair that even plays soothing music," she said.

While the center was officially launched yesterday, it had been operating on a trial basis since last year.

In November, Tian and her colleagues were introduced to a 12-year-old boy and his 3-year-old sister who were trying to come to terms with a horrifying ordeal.

Last August, the boy, nicknamed Xiao Yong, was at home with his sister, nicknamed Xiao Mei, and their uncle.

After asking the boy to go to the shop for some cigarettes, the uncle locked the door to the property and raped the toddler. Xiao Yong returned home minutes later and witnessed the assault on his sister.

"The young boy was devastated," Tian said.

"He told me that no one believed him when he told them what had happened to his sister. Some people even accused him of making the whole thing up, which made him very angry," she said.

"He also felt guilty. At night, Xiao Mei would often wake up screaming and her brother felt he had failed her," she said.

Xiao Yong needed a release for the anger and pain he felt, and the catharsis room was just the place, Tian said.

"We left him alone in the room and he just kept beating the punch bag," she said.

Counselors at the center also provided the boy with a lot of emotional support.

"We kept telling him how brave he had been in telling the truth and trying to protect his sister," Tian said.

Though he still has a long way to go, Xiao Yong has managed to rid himself of many of his negative emotions, she said.

For a child as young as Xiao Mei, the counselors took a different approach, Tian said.

"We used a lot of sandplay," she said.

This technique allows children to create a three-dimensional world within the boundaries of a sandbox, where they can give a tangibility to their feelings and emotions.

"Xiao Mei was playing with dolls in the sandbox. She picked a fierce-looking man and buried it in the sand," Tian said.

"The doll seemed to represent the uncle who assaulted her and she was trying to bury a horrible memory," she said.

In a later session, the 3-year-old expressed more positive signs, Tian said.

"She created a forest in the sandbox, in which she put an angel with a little girl looking up at it. She told me that the little girl was her, which was a much more peaceful image and something we took as a sign of her hope," she said.

"During a later session, Xiao Mei created a scene in which a little girl was sitting on a chair watching television. It made me feel that she was making huge progress and really trying to move on," she said.

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