Dibs in Search of Self

The classic account of a lost boy’s emotional breakthrough, from a renowed child psychotherapist

‘I welcome this book with all my heart’ D. W. Winnicott

When renowned psychotherapist Virginia Axline first encountered Dibs at his New York School, he was a little boy lost to the world. He would not talk. He would not play. He sat alone, defying every attempt at interaction. Axline was the last resort. This is her seminal account of how, through weekly play therapy sessions over the course of one year, Dibs’s extraordinary character, and the reason for his silent withdrawal, were gradually revealed. Dibs in Search of Self is a classic of child therapy, and a moving story of transformation.

‘A very empowering and kind book’ Tanya Byron

‘It should be the law that you have to read this book’ Adjoa Andoh, BBC Radio 4