As you may have seen in my earlier posts, I have created a virtual store with Teachers Pay Teachers to create and distribute even more telehealth resources for work with kids. I have been using the custom room template on PlayingCards.IO to take classic board games often used in in-person play therapy and put them online.
The thing I love most about the PlayingCards.IO platform is that I can present these games in a non-directive way, and the feel is very similar to an in-person session, more so than other online play therapy games. Because you are sharing a link, the limitations you can run into with Chrome Books doesn’t apply (like sharing screen control or features on the Zoom whiteboard), and you can both move things in the room simultaneously rather than taking turns.
So far, the feedback I’ve gotten has been incredibly positive, so I thought I would share some more details about the games I’ve created so far and ask my followers to share with me what games they would like me to try and create for telehealth next. Contact me with suggestions and I will try to turn them into a reality!
Here is what I’ve created so far. If you visit my store, you can also see that I have bundles where you can purchase multiple games at once and get a discount. I want to keep these resources affordable and accessible.
Vera The Cat is based on the classic cooperative game, Max. The critters are trying to escape to their home in the tree – can you help them get home before Vera catches them?
One great thing about this game is that many of my clients are already familiar with Vera’s story, so they get invested and engaged with this game.
Classic board games like Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Guess Who, Trouble, and Sorry were staples in our in-person offices, so I created these versions for telehealth. There is flexibility to change the rules based on the client’s preference if you take a non-directive approach, but “classic” rules are still included if you prefer.
I created Clue for telehealth at the request of another therapist. This isn’t a game I had previously included in my office, but I’ve actually had a few kids choose it for telehealth. It’s great for problem-solving and can be done with groups of up to six. One child even chose to make it a cooperative game where we shared our information to figure out the mystery together!
I’ve written before about how matching games can be a therapeutic tool, but a lot of kids get bored quickly with the traditional playing cards. My solution, as is my solution to most of my life’s problems, was to involve one of my pets.
Introducing: Vera the Cat Matching Game! Find the 15 different pairs of Vera pictures. I chose some of her more “expressive” poses so you can also use the activity to talk about feelings.
Have you found these games helpful in your practice? What other games would you like to see? I’m thinking I will try and take some of the other resources I’ve shared and use this platform to create versions with flexible rules, as well as including games that don’t seem to have online versions yet.
As always, if you’re looking for more tools for your play therapy telehealth arsenal, check out my telehealth resources page!