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Background. Currently, key aspects of children’s mental development remain insufficiently studied in psychological science and educational practice, among which the problem of the relationship between speech and thinking stands out. Despite considerable attention to this area, an in-depth study of a number of classical works makes it possible to identify works that were previously underestimated and are now gaining special importance due to their important conclusions and prospects for further research. Such works include a monograph that presents a study of the relationship between words and images in solving various tasks for preschoolers, carried out by psychologists under the guidance of L.A. Venger.

Objective. Analysis of the results of an experimental study conducted by a research team led by L.A. Venger in the late 1990s and devoted to the study of the genesis and mechanisms of interaction between verbal and figurative components of thinking in preschool age.

Methods. Analysis of scientific literature, review and presentation of the initial data and results of the study of the relationship between words and images in the process of solving mental tasks by preschool children.

Results. The study showed that in preschool age, thinking is mediated primarily by images and visual models, and speech performs auxiliary, guiding and expressive functions, but is not the main means of solving cognitive problems. It was established that the word can become a mediating means only when solving logical problems that require conceptual analysis and planning, which is typical for senior preschool age. Figurative and verbal thinking develop in parallel and independently of each other, but with specially organized training, close relationships are formed between them.

Conclusions. The data of the presented study strongly suggests that speech performs mainly an auxiliary role when using visual models in solving mental tasks (generating an image, drawing on past experience, designating visual means of solving problems, etc.). The word can perform a mediating function by the older preschool age when solving tasks by children where it is necessary to establish hierarchical relationships between generalizations and generalized speech planning. The study of the problem of the relationship between image and word in solving cognitive tasks by preschool children not only provided answers to some important psychological questions on the complex topic of the relationship between speech and thinking, but also outlined further lines of study of this problem.

Relevance. The article is devoted to the search for opportunities that are provided to a child in modern childhood. Modern childhood, on the one hand, provides children with extraordinary opportunities for development, such as the use of digital devices to implement various ideas, mastering various aspects of culture not only from books, but also through direct acquaintance with the original cultural samples in various museums in different countries. But on the other hand, the wide opportunities associated with travel and acquaintance with modern achievements of science and technology simultaneously generate situations of uncertainty in which children find themselves: for example, such as a pandemic. Society faces the task of realizing the changes that humanity is facing. Flights into space, robotization processes, the emergence of artificial intelligence, etc. poses a new problem of learning. Children and adults are increasingly in a situation of uncertainty.

The aim of the study. To show the possibilities of developmental therapy from the perspective of developmental psychology and psychotherapy on different groups of children.

Description of the research progress. The study was conducted on a group of children who survived the terrorist attack in preschool and primary school age (Beslan, 2004 – 40 children) and children who found themselves in a situation of emotional distress and stress during the pandemic (2020–2021 – 20 children). Group and individual classes were held in offline and online format.

Results. There is a very special task of restoring the normal course of mental development of those children who have experienced unusual situations associated with existential experiences. The possibilities of meeting with negative situations gives rise to fear of the future, which slows down children’s development and limits the horizon of the formation of the personality of a modern person. Studies show that methods aimed at the development of children in certain conditions can achieve a stable psychotherapeutic effect and emotional harmonization, and can be used to work, including with fears. It was shown that such tools as visual models and the author’s symbol can be used for development and psychotherapy, which is developmental therapy in conditions of unpredictable future and uncertainty.

Conclusion. Adaptation to the challenges of the time is becoming one of the important tasks of supporting the development of a modern child. One of the forms of such support is developmental psychotherapy, the theoretical foundations of which are set out in the proposed article.

Relevance. The ability to visually model is a universal ability that is formed in preschool age. Children’s mastery of this ability is an important indicator of the child’s mental development and intellectual readiness for school. The quest game is the least studied method of developing the ability to visually model in children.

The aim of the study is to explore the possibilities of using the quest game as a means of working on the formation the ability to visual modeling in preschool children.

The methodology. The study included three stages: ascertaining, forming and control. To diagnose the ability to visual modeling in children, L.A. Venger’s “Schematization” technique was used. The methodology for developing children’s ability for visual modeling through quest games was based on the following conditions: 1) developing the ability for visual modeling should be carried out in stages: from teaching children to use ready-made visual models to learning to create them; 2) each quest game must include tasks that involve the use of different types of models (spatial, temporal, mathematical, logical) in a single plot. The study involved 41 children aged 5-6 years.

Research results. The analysis of the results of the ascertaining stage showed that 43% of children aged 5-6 years who participated in the study had a low ability to visual modeling. The results of the control experiment indicate the effectiveness of the work carried out: indicators of the ability to visually model the children participating in quest games increased; the number of children who showed a low level decreased by 15%.The positive dynamics are due to the following circumstances: 1) The quest game is a fun form of organizing correctional and developmental activities for preschool children; 2) The form of the quest game allows you to include tasks for both the usage and the creation of visual models by children; 3) The quest game makes it possible to use different types of models: spatial, temporal, mathematical, logical, regardless of its plot.

Conclusions. The data obtained confirm our assumption that the quest game can be considered as a means of forming the ability to visual modeling in older preschool children.