Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dibs in Search of Self, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Therapy, Empathy, and Non-Judgment
Parental Expectations vs. Self-Determination
Trust and Security
Intelligence vs. Emotional and Social Skills
Summary
Analysis
This is a true story of a boy named Dibs finding a strong sense of self through psychotherapy. Dibs’ experience in therapy helps him to grow up, understand himself, and discover that he himself can create a sense of stability and security in his life. Psychologist and author Virginia Axline notes that while Dibs’s background is unique, his story is universal.
Through Axline’s non-judgmental therapy practices, she and Dibs build trust, which helps him to express and understand himself in a more constructive way. Axline also suggests that this process of building inner strength and learning to express oneself without fear of criticism goes beyond Dibs’s experience—it’s applicable to everyone.
Themes
