Creating Rainbow House

Twin sisters June (小君) and Tina (小婷) found themselves in foster care after their drug-addict mother, who also had a criminal record, was unable to provide financial or life security for the sisters. After entering into the foster-care system, the twin sisters began to receive psychotherapy treatment at Rainbow House.

In April 2001, the Taichung branch of Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (T.F.C.F) established the first Rainbow House in the country. Rainbow House is a therapy center that provides individual counseling rooms, as well as play-therapy rooms and art-therapy rooms, where children are encouraged to express their inner feelings through games and drawing. There is also a cushioned room – The Volcano Room - complete with boxing bags, where children can safety vent their anger. Rainbow House provides an invaluable service to abused children, children who have witnessed violence and children suffering from sexual abuse.

Social worker Lee Shu-jie from Southern Taipei Family Helper Project from T.F.C.F, who is responsible for twin sisters June and Tina, said that in first grade at school the girls often lied and stole things. They would enter empty classrooms to plunder their classmates’ schoolbags, in search of food. On one occasion they even took advantage of the school sports day, ransacking the principal's office, and stealing all the candy on the principle’s table.

After discussions with the school guidance counselor and social workers they discovered June and Tina were actually suffering from insecurity and a lack of satisfaction in their early childhoods, which was manifesting in compulsive stealing. Social worker Lee said that in the course of play therapy, the therapist discovered that the girls would often take a bucket and continually stuff toys into it, the same action being repeated many times. This usually signifies that children are trying to fill an inner emptiness; unfortunately this empty void can never be filled in this manner.

In order to reduce June and Tina’s need to steal, the counselor contacted social workers and arranged for a meeting between the girls’ teachers and foster parents. In addition to treatment, the social worker also recommended that the foster parents prepare a snack for the girls in the afternoon every day. They hoped that giving the girls something to look forward to at the same time every day would stop them having to steal from their classmates.

Creating Rainbow House
URL:http://www.peopo.org/news/108215

打造彩虹屋 從心治療受創兒童

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小君、小婷是一對雙胞胎姊妹，當時未婚生下他們的媽媽有吸毒的習慣，且有入獄的紀錄，在經濟、生活狀況都不夠穩定的情況下，兩姊妹被安置到寄養家庭，進入家扶中心的寄養體系，並接受彩虹屋的心理治療。

2001年四月家扶中心在台中成立全台灣第一個彩虹屋，彩虹屋是一個完整的治療場所，包含個別諮商輔導的會談室、給孩子透過遊戲、繪畫表達內心感受的遊戲治療室跟藝術治療室，還有設有軟墊、拳擊袋，讓孩子做安全情緒發洩的火山室。彩虹屋能夠提供服務給不同的孩子，包括受虐兒童、目睹暴力兒童和遭受過性創傷的兒童等。

負責小君、小婷案子的台北南區家扶中心社工師李淑潔表示，小君、小婷在小學一年級時，在學校常有說謊、偷竊的行為，她們會趁全班去朝會不在教室時，搜刮班上同學的書包，把同學的食物全部吃掉。有一次甚至還在學校運動會時，跑進校長室，拿走所有校長桌上的糖果。

經過學校輔導老師、社工的討論發現，小君、小婷其實是非常沒有安全感的，而且小時候沒有被滿足，所以才會透過偷竊等行為滿足自己。李社工說，後來透過遊戲治療，治療師發現，小君、小婷在進行遊戲治療時，常會拿一個桶子，然後不斷拿取玩具塞進桶子裡，每一次的治療都重複同樣的動作。這代表孩子內心有一個空洞，她們想去填滿它，但卻一直填不滿。

為了減少小君和小婷的偷竊行為，諮商師在與社工聯繫過後，表示必須讓她們學校老師和寄養父母進行溝通。除了進行治療外，社工也建議寄養父母每天在下午幫小君、小婷準備一份點心，讓她們期待每天在同一個時間會有點心可以吃，就不會去偷拿同學的了。

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