Tonsilectomy/Surgery Script for Children?

Question
My friend says she will bring her 8 year old son to me before his tonsillectomy in July. Please direct me to a script in the book that I can use for fear and for pain control.

Answer
I would first use the Locating and Solving the Problem script (if the book doesn't get to you in time for your first appointment, you'll find the script offered on my web site on the For the Therapist page). Then, I would read the Being Animals scripts to get a basic structure for asking the child what animal do they think is able to handle anything, that is, something armored against attack and pain. Have them become like that animal whenever they experience it. Another possibility, since a child's imagination is vivid, is to use the old standby idea of having them put a hand in an ice bucket and then touch the painful spot to deaden it (no script in the book on this). You can also make use of Meeting the Magician, who uses his wand to make the pain disappear. I also let children choose, from one of my magic boxes, a special shiny stone that, when they hold it, and say "pain, pain go away", makes the pain disappear. In the new volume I'm currently working on there will be other scripts that may be helpful for this, but this is about all I can offer off the top of my head in this early hour. Good luck, and let me know how it goes for you and your client.