Bettelheim’s approach towards curing Joey was to first understand the way he operates and then deal with his problems one by one.

Toilet Training- Bettelheim observed that one of Joey’s anxieties was the toilet.  His childhood’s rigid toilet-training contributed to this anxiety. Going to the toilet was quite stressful for Joey as he felt the need to take all his clothes off, squat and not sit on the toilet seat, with one hand touching the wall. He was scared that his whole body would be sucked into the toilet. To help him overcome his fear, Bettelheim gave Joey a metal wastebasket that eventually Joey did not need to take all his clothes off or hold the wall when eliminating. Joey still used tubes and motors which he believed moved his bowels for him.

Yet Joey believed that his machinery also had bowels. He was afraid that if they were to move their bowels (because they are more powerful than human beings) their feces would fill up the entire place and leave no space for him to live. Giving him the metal wastebasket created a problem as Joey became more comfortable with eliminating; he began to do it everywhere, wherever he might be. However, Bettelheim saw this as progress because Joey was able to realize that he could perform this action without mechanical aid and that was the first psychological progress Joey had made.

Drawings- Joey slowly begins to interact with human beings in his own special way. He does this through self-portraits. Bettelheim is now able to understand Joey from his perspective through interpreting his drawings. Joey’s drawings express a lot about his development and his character. There are two images that Joey recreates a few times. Each time is different as it shows the progress he has made and his change in perspective. 

The first image is The Papoose. Bettelheim explains that Joey feels that he has no control over his body, that his machinery control everything. He later on develops and begins to believe that he has some control over his body. In this image, Joey appears bigger and less enclosed in the box. In the last version of the Papoose, Joey seemed to have progressed as he draws a smile on his face as his hand clutches a remote. This shows that he now believes that he is in control of the machine and not vice versa. 

The second image he repeatedly draws is of The Carr Family. It also shows Joey´s progress and his change in perspective. In the first image, Joey draws a car-like machine that can move by itself without anyone controlling it. Joey believes that

machines are beings that are powerful and can control themselves. In the second image, Joey draws a person inside the

car but the passenger is passive and does not have control over the machine. Joey can now distinguish himself from the

machinery, however he is still controlled by it. In the final image, Joey draws a person who has gained control over the

machine. This shows that Joey now believes that he has control over the machine.