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)”
Tag Archives: play therapy
Play Therapy and Documentation
Who loves writing progress notes? Trick question; no one does. Therapy is nuanced, and good sessions often do not go in the direction intended. I have said many times, my job is not to make a specific therapeutic thing happen in a session, but to make whatever happens in the session therapeutic. Often what isContinue reading “Play Therapy and Documentation”
Telehealth Activity: Marble Run
Remember Marble Works? I had completely forgotten until a colleague bought some for our office, and I learned that they are a great creative activity for kids who aren’t interested in art. You can incorporate problem solving and team work, and a lot of sensory-seeking kids really enjoy watching the marbles race down the track.Continue reading “Telehealth Activity: Marble Run”
Tumbling Tower Questions
A while back, I discovered a virtual Tumbling Tower game that you can use in telehealth sessions. The website offers prompts to help clients talk about anger and other feelings while playing – each block has a number, and you ask the corresponding question from the list. For in-person sessions, you can purchase blocks thatContinue reading “Tumbling Tower Questions”
Therapy with Kids: What Makes an Activity Therapeutic?
I have noticed that many play therapy activities involve games developed in the 1970s and 80s. Additionally, a lot of the pushback against telehealth with kids has been that screen-time activities are not sufficiently “therapeutic.” This makes me think of how people initially thought card games would be the death of family time, since peopleContinue reading “Therapy with Kids: What Makes an Activity Therapeutic?”
Snakes and Ladders for Telehealth
Whether you prefer to call it Snakes and Ladders or Chutes and Ladders, the classic ladders and slides board game is popular among therapists. In the version I keep in my office, each ladder shows a child making a good choice, and every slide shows a mistake, so it fosters great conversation about consequences. It’sContinue reading “Snakes and Ladders for Telehealth”
Telehealth Activity: Duo Survival
A year ago, I never would have considered using flash games in therapy sessions, but then again a year ago I thought I was only working from home “temporarily.” Anyway, cooperative games are a good tool to have available when working with kids. If a child is very competitive, cooperative games can build rapport betterContinue reading “Telehealth Activity: Duo Survival”
Jigsaw Puzzles for Telehealth
Many of my clients like doing puzzles, which is why I keep a few to choose from in my office, but pieces can get lost, and doing the same puzzles over and over gets boring. Enter telehealth. This website and lets you put together a jigsaw puzzle on your computer screen. Pieces never get lost,Continue reading “Jigsaw Puzzles for Telehealth”
Tumbling Tower
A great thing about being in Facebook groups for therapists is I am constantly being alerted to new telehealth resources. Earlier this week, someone shared a version of online Jenga (called “Tumbling Tower” for copyright reasons, but we know what we’re here for). Tumbling Tower is a great therapy game for concentration and self-regulation, andContinue reading “Tumbling Tower”
Online Dollhouse
I’ve been trying to create a virtual dollhouse for months and could not figure out the best way to make it intuitive, simple, and aesthetically pleasing. Fortunately, I’m one of thousands in my field, and someone else had a strength I was lacking. Dr. Karen Fried did an amazing job creating an interactive virtual dollhouse,Continue reading “Online Dollhouse”