I have talked before about what “makes” an activity have therapeutic value and how this description grows and changes over time. As I have said many times, in therapy sessions, I am not there to make a certain intervention happen; rather, my job is to take whatever happens and make that thing therapeutic. This isContinue reading “Any Piece of Media Can Be a CBT Intervention”
Tag Archives: children
Telehealth Activity: Rush Hour
The first draft of my second telehealth book is submitted, and I am excitedly waiting for my editor’s comments. Of course, days after I submitted the manuscript, I found an online version of yet another game I have used in my in-person office. But that is why I started this blog, right? To offer resources.Continue reading “Telehealth Activity: Rush Hour”
Feelings Versus FEELINGS
One theme that I have addressed with many of my clients is the difference between feelings and FEELINGS. Feelings are emotions we have in the moment, like happy, angry, sad, scared, et cetera. FEELINGS are how we feel towards something. FEELINGS are not fleeting, they are deep, and they are continuous. Kids especially do notContinue reading “Feelings Versus FEELINGS”
The Power of Giving Kids Choices
This post was originally written for a local paper in 2019. Does this sound familiar? You’re running late, and your child has spent the last 30 minutes “putting on their shoes,” which are still across the room. Your patience has run out, and you yell at your child to get going already. Now, you areContinue reading “The Power of Giving Kids Choices”
How Vera Says “I Love You”
This post is inspired by all the kids I’ve met who do not show affection in a “traditional” way. I hope their parents can see and accept the way their children say “I love you” even if it is not the way they are used to. Remember Vera, the cat who gets scared by strangeContinue reading “How Vera Says “I Love You””
Updated PCIO Files Walkthrough
As you probably know, I use the PlayingCards.IO platform to play many telehealth games with my clients. They have made some updates to their website, so I have made a new walkthrough for how to use these games, with a special guest appearance by Armani. (If you’re looking for more telehealth games to play withContinue reading “Updated PCIO Files Walkthrough”
What Makes An Activity Therapeutic? More Thoughts
Note: This post includes a description of a conversation I had with a client’s parent, as well as a description of an activity completed in a session. Details about the conversation, client, and the activity have been modified to ensure confidentiality while maintaining the spirit of the story. No HIPAA violations here! I’ve written beforeContinue reading “What Makes An Activity Therapeutic? More Thoughts”
Telehealth Activity: Bop-It
Remember Bop-It? Hours of fun, or two minutes of fun followed by a rage quit. I never had a Bop-It in my in-person office, but when I discovered the online version, it felt like an obvious option for kids working on executive functioning, attention, frustration tolerance, and emotion regulation. You can screen share and grantContinue reading “Telehealth Activity: Bop-It”
Telehealth Activity: Poly Business (It’s Monopoly)
I don’t keep Monopoly in my in-person office simply because you cannot get through an entire game in a 45-minute session, but kids ask about it pretty frequently. I see therapeutic benefits – what game provides more opportunities to model and practice frustration tolerance than Monopoly? A great thing about telehealth is that there areContinue reading “Telehealth Activity: Poly Business (It’s Monopoly)”
Telehealth Activity: Dance Party
There is more than one way to do a telehealth dance party! You can have a literal dance party where your client chooses a song, and you both rock out in front of your cameras. This can be a lot of fun but is also challenging because you have to try to stay in-frame. TheContinue reading “Telehealth Activity: Dance Party”