Paul

"Paul's" mother asked me to treat him in September 1999 for the eczema he had suffered from since a toddler (he was then 7-years old). The most badly affected areas were his face, especially around the mouth, but it was also spreading to his arms, hands and fingers. He had been prescribed steroid creams to control the condition.

Paul was extremely sensitive to the therapy and, although normally a very active boy and difficult to keep contained and still, he quickly became very relaxed, heavy and sleepy. On the second day he also felt a little wobbly and nauseous. The areas of his field were the disruptions were most prominent were over the sacrum, the heart and the lungs.

Before the treatment Paul's mum had explained that Paul (who was the third of her four boys) was a very emotionally withdrawn child. She felt that she couldn't connect and communicate with him as she could the others because he wouldn't allow her to (she felt that her love or praise of him was deflected and that he had somehow placed himself out of her emotional reach). After the first day's treatment, Paul became very sad and angry. When he was questioned he told his mum that he didn't feel she, or others, loved him as much as the other boys. He said he felt like this at home and at school; that he didn't feel properly accepted and loved by anyone. This openness and honesty of communication was a wonderful revelation for his mum who seized the opportunity to affirm her love for him. That evening mum organised a family meeting whereby Paul was encouraged to tell his brothers how he felt and, in turn, the brothers were encouraged to tell Paul how much they loved him. No blame was attributed to anyone for Paul's feelings, but everyone in the family was asked to acknowledge his discomfort and be sensitive to his feelings. Over the next week, mum was amazed at the change in Paul - he began to "Tell"; to come and tell her what another brother or schoolmate had done to make him feel unloved and excluded. For the first time in his young life he began to honestly communicate both his vulnerability and the pain he felt about perceived rejections. Sometimes mum could intervene and encourage her boys to interact more sensitively and lovingly, sometimes this was not possible and Paul was encouraged to rely on others (currently herself) for love and understanding, but to realise that sometimes there can only be a shoulder to cry on rather than a solution to the problem.

The treatment had allowed Paul to reveal that he was in fact an extremely sensitive and vulnerable child who had pushed people away with anger, aggression and a difficult nature to protect himself from the pain he was feeling.

His eczema completely disappeared shortly after the conclusion of the therapy and has not returned. On a few occasions his skin has threatened an attack, but this has been taken as a "cue" by his mum to ask Paul what is making him unhappy or sad. Paul has always responded positively by telling his mum what was bothering him and the threat of the eczema has vanished. Paul's mum is absolutely delighted with the results of the treatment and says that both Paul and his life have been transformed. Not only has his skin problem resolved, but Paul is a happy, smiling, more confident child, who feels himself to be a valued member of the family and a more accepted member of his classroom.

Yvette Richards