Quote of the Day

Both Mike and Andy were engaged in making flower holders. Andy quickly made a receptacle that resembled some of the ashtrays that the boys made on another evening. His was quite smooth and he took a good deal of time in pointing out how smooth it was. Quite naturally this called Mike’s attention to Andy’s ability. Therefore, each time a crack appeared in his asbestos receptacle, he would lump it together and with much swearing make some remark like the following: ‘The goddamned thing won’t even stay together." After lumping it together several times, he finally started on a receptacle like the one Andy had been working on. Andy called him a copy-cat for doing this. I said something to the effect that it really didn’t make any difference and that sometimes, if people had a pretty good idea about how something should be made, it wasn’t really too terrible if the idea were imitated. I even pointed to my imitation of some of the things that the boys had done before. Since Mike kicked up such a fuss over his inability to make these receptacles, I got hold of a dish of water and worked with him in smoothing the asbestos and piecing it together whenever a crack appeared. This seemed to take care of the problem for the time being and he began to relax and continued under his own steam. (Entry: 3/19/47, Pearl Bruce)

Needless to say, this technique has its flaws. First of all, it can take care only of frustrations coming from an actual problem-solving block and not from other pathology; the youngster who has to throw a temper tantrum because he is jealous of the other child’s production will not be stopped from having it by simple hurdle help. At the same time it is also obvious that the technique of hurdle help has its limitations for hygienic reasons. Excessive use and too reckless offering of hurdle help in all cases might produce a smoother performance and avoid emotional complications but would involve the damage of giving the child so much overprotection that the chance of running into a new challenge is practically excluded, or of making him overdependent and unable to meet situations on his own. On the other hand, hurdle-help techniques may become the most important rescuers from an otherwise rather disturbing incident. The same thing, of course, is true for the group as a whole.

If an adult, notices that a chaotic frustration-diffusion of everybody attacking everybody else is a result of the inability of a group to handle a task which they have tried to approach, then some reasonable hurdle help may solve the problem and offer a really ego-constructive experience. Thus, for instance, the youngsters may plan a project the basic nature of which they could well be able to enjoy. At the same time, the attempt to distribute their roles to handle the financial problem involved, etc., may lead the group toward hurdles for which they are much too confused to find an answer. The result could be disinterest in the project or total personality disorganization of the group. In such cases, it would be the task of the leader to take over the supportive and organizational function, to make the basic project lines for which the group is ready possible and through this offering of hurdle help in other phases of the task avoid the amount of conflict behavior which otherwise would break it up. The educator usually has a great stock in trade of tricks of this type up his sleeve. His problem lies along the line of overestimating the long-range therapeutic value of temporary hurdle help. The clinician does not run into that danger and seems rather ready to underestimate the possibility of stopping or avoiding even senous momentary complications by this seemingly simple supportive device. The evaluation of indications and counterindications for advisability and limitations of this technique forms a practical issue.

FRITZ REDL AND DAVID WINEMAN
Redl, F. & Wineman, D. (1952) Controls from Within, Techniques for the Treatment of the Aggressive Child. NY: The Free Press. pp 177-178