Creative Counseling for Children: Attacking Anger

Many children who enter therapy have a goal of getting anger under control. Here are some creative techniques to engage children while they learn strategies to get their anger under control.

THE ANGER SANDWICH

The anger standwich teaches different coping skills that the child can use when they are angry to help them calm down. Assist the child in coming up with their own unique coping skills to add to their own personal sandwich.

OVERFLOWING EMOTIONS

The overflowing cup is a great visualization to help show the child that their anger can be a result of multiple situations in their day. It also shows them that they should implement a coping skill before their anger "overflows".

Example: Beginning with an empty glass.

Angry Situation 1:You wake up and your litter sister drank the last of the milk, so you don't get cereal for breakfast. You get a little angry. (Then pour a small amount of water in the glass).

Angry Situation 2: You get on the bus, and the driver thinks you were yelling when you weren't. You get a little angrier. (Pour a small amount of water in the glass).

Angry Situation 3: You get to class and you realize that your Math homework is in your notebook at home. You get angrier. (Pour in more water).

Angry Situation 4: None of your friends want to play with you at recess. You get really angry. (Pour in a lot of water)

*At this point I show the child that their anger is almost to the top and ready to spill over if something else angers them. This is when they should begin make sure to use coping skills to help calm down.

THE ANGER GAME

The Anger Solution Game helps children learn to control their behavior responses to anger. As players make their way around the board, they are faced with a series of decisions and learn to choose the success route over the victim cycle. The anger solution game is a unique therapeutic tool. The game includes a game board, 100 tokens, 1 solution spinner, 1 6-sided die, 24 empowerment cards, 58 question cards, and 40 solution cards. This game is available HERE for $54.99.

Creative Counseling for Children: Managing Grief and Loss

THE FEEL BETTER BAG

The following is a video by Liana Lowenstein. In this video, she describes how a "Feel Better Bag" can help to teach children coping skills to aid in the grieving process. This also can be very helpful for children who have suffered from abuse or trauma. 

THE FAMILY TREE

Making a family tree with child clients can be very helpful. The child creates leaves with the names of their family members. On the branches of the tree, the child will add the names of family members/close friends who are current living, or still part of their lives. The fallen leaves represent members of the family who have passed on, or who have left the family due to divorce. This may include any pets that may have passed on.
Tip: Have the client choose a color that represents how they feel toward that member of the family. For example: Red leaves may represent anger, green for jealousy, and so on.

TRACE YOUR FEELINGS

This activity can help the child to connect where they feel different emotions in their bodies. Have the child lie down on a large peace of paper and trace the child. Have the child choose a color to identify each emotion they have been feeling (Sadness, Anger, Happiness...). Have the child identify where in their body they feel each emotion.
Tip: If the child feels most of the emotions in their "head", you could connect this to CBT/REBT techniques.

Creative Counseling with Children and Families

CREATIVE  COUNSELING

This video shares some of the many ways creative counseling has helped bring families closer together, as well as helping children to connect with their emotions. Please enjoy!

Creative Counseling for Children: Anxiety

Anxiety and worry are common issues when counseling children. The source of anxiety in children may be generated from many underlying issues. Children often reflect the worry and anxiety that they witness from their parents and caregivers. Often times it is helpful to work with the entire family system to combat issues of anxiety and worry. Here are a few creative techniques that are very useful when counseling children with anxiety. 

THE WORRY WARRIOR

Creating the worry warrior can be a very fun and therapeutic activity for children. Simply use an old cereal box (or similar) and cut a slit into the box. The client will write down their worries and anxieties and "feed" them to the worry warrior! 

THE WORRY BOX

The worry box is a great way for children to combat their worries at home. By having the child create a worry box, they are able to write down all of their worries that they may experience between counseling sessions. This way the child does not have to think about their worries all week, but can simply write them down and not worry about them again until they are with the counselor!

GAME: BRIDGE OVER WORRIED WATERS

This is perhaps my favorite therapy game! It is specifically created for children who have anxiety. The game is filled with problematic scenarios in which the child will choose a coping skill to combat the problem. For example: 

Problem: "You have a big test tomorrow at school"

Coping Skill Choices: "Take 10 slow deep breaths", "Talk to a trusted adult", "Listen to your favorite music"

This game is available for purchase on The LearningOutlet for $34.99, or I encourage you to create your own homemade version!

Creative Counseling with Children: Self-Esteem Building

Children and teens often struggle with Self-Esteem issues. Raising Self-Esteem can help to change the child's negative view of themselves by disputing negative self talk. Creative techniques to increase Self-Esteem will help the child to focus on the people, places, and things that help to build self-confidence. Here are a few creative techniques to begin building Self-Esteem!

THE SELF-ESTEEM SHIELD

The self-esteem shield should include people, places, things, strengths, and skills that are positive for the client. The project can be adjusted for different age levels.

Bonus: I have also created a "Sword" and "Helmet" to go with this project. On the sword, I had the child write down "Sharp" comments that have hurt their self esteem (for example, "You're dumb"). The shield will protect from these sharp comments. On the paper Helmet, I had the child write down positive thoughts that protect the client from thinking negatively (for example, "I am a great friend").

Tip: Keep a stencil of the shield and sword, so that you can recreate this project with many clients!

Creative Counseling with Children: Ice Breakers and Games

Adding a little creativity to counseling sessions can not only make the session more interesting, but it may also help the client to remember the "take home message".   Children naturally are drawn to hands-on activities that can help get them talking. Since building rapport with children and teens can be a challenge, here are a few creative, and inexpensive "do it yourself" techniques to break the ice!

THERAPY JENGA

 

Jenga is a familiar game for most children and teens. Therapy Jenga is a great spin off, that will get kids talking, while having a great time! Simply write therapeutic questions on one side of the block, and begin playing. This works great for family sessions!

Example Questions: "What is your favorite subject in school?", "What do you like best about yourself?" 

Tip: Use different colored Sharpie markers to differentiate each topic. For example- All questions about "Family Background" will be in blue.

TOSS AND TELL THERAPY GAME

Toss and Tell is a great game for younger clients. I have found that it is difficult for some children to sit down during sessions. This game is perfect for hands-on kids with a lot of energy! Write questions all over the ball to get kids talking. Play catch with the client, and whatever questions that the child's right hand lands on, they answer that question.


Tip: You could make several therapy balls with different topics.
For example: Make a Self-Esteem ball or Coping Skills ball.

THERAPY UNO

Playing Uno with a child, teen or family can be a great way to interact. To play, I suggest following the standard rules, but when someone plays a wild card, that person gets to ask anyone at the table a question.

For example: When playing a Wild card (black) I might ask the client, "who does the majority of the discipline in the house" or "who is someone you can talk to when you're upset". For families, I might ask the Father, "What is one way you will spend quality time with your family this week".