A few weeks ago, one of Shawn Joaquin's younger friends gave him this picture of a tree. Shawn Joaquin has taken an almost fetish-like obsession with this tree. The paper has become worn from the constant folding and unfolding as he carries it around his pocket and takes it out to view it a few times every hour. When he goes to school it is placed on the fridge just above Madelena's reach, and when he comes home it is folded into thirds and then half and placed in his pocket. Yesterday it was a prop in some imaginary scene in Shawn Joaquin's head; he was throwing himself on the floor and whispering "no, the villains are coming. We'll have to run for help!" while reading the picture as if it were a map to his safe haven.
So many hours have been enjoyed with this simple picture — both by myself and by Shawn Joaquin. I love that this picture is somehow so precious to him, and that he likes to show it to people and tell him it's from his friend. All of that changed, however, when Gregg picked it up and showed it to me.
"Why is Shawn Joaquin carrying around this....um...picture? Do you really think that's appropriate?" And with that, a simple childhood memory became the focal point of future therapy sessions.
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