STAFF RESOURCES
Scheduling:
- Video chats work better for some clients rather than a phone call
- Call younger clients 3 times a week for 20 minutes each time
- Older youth can be twice a week for 30 minutes
- Keep the same schedule week to week
- 12-18 year olds; let them pick the time for your sessions
- Try to reach older youth before 4:00 pm
- Group text with client and parent as a reminder of the upcoming session has been successful
Sessions:
- Engage the parent
- Call can be half with the client and half with the parent
- Structure your sessions with a check list
- Check-in
- Activity (interactive, tactile)
- Make sure they’re getting exercise
- Intervention, guiding conversations
- Check-ins could always start with asking about school work/distance learning and then their relationship with their parent(s) that week. Identify feelings, routines.
- K-4th grade tactile activities are successful
- Physical activity for younger kids before calming down – you could start with them going outside to do push ups, jumping jacks, high knees, some type of circuit, and then start your session
- Use workbooks, mindfulness cards, coloring books
- Fortune teller (with coping skills or anger management strategies)
- Hangman (positive affirmations, theme of session)
- Scavenger Hunt (example: go to and describe the calmest space in your home, or strike a yoga pose in your kitchen)
- 5-4-3-2-1 grounding activity
- Journaling
- Poetry
- Draw self portrait and discuss
- Draw how you are feeling
- Read together
- Use check-in scales
- Feeling charades
- Clients can talk to pets
- I-statement practice (I feel [blank] when [blank] because [blank])
- Identify button pushers using scales
- Guided mini meditation or body scan
- Thoughts, feelings, body sensation and energy level check-in
- Time for mindfulness coloring
- Check in - one word to describe how you are feeling right now and one thing you are grateful for
- Go to http://www.lianalowenstein.com/e-booklet.pdf for an entire book of creative interventions
- Color-your-life: matching colors with feeling states (use crayons if they have)
- Beat the clock: build (if they have blocks), color, or draw for a designated amount of time (age and what they can currently handle) where they work on this independently without looking at you, making comments or asking questions- after just a couple minutes you attempt to distract them (they will fail initially but then can be challenge you bring into routines)
- Slow motion game, red light green light, simon says
- Blowing bubbles (if they have any) to practice breathing
- What animal/character am I most like (or match to emotion)- see if they have toys they can pull out you can use or have them draw these.
- Broadcast news: starring you and the client as the “expert”; you report the news as it relates to the treatment goal for the day and then you pretend to be a caller to ask questions of the expert (i.e.- what would you tell someone struggling to listen to their parent)
- The Spy & the Sneak: great for parent attunement and improving parent/child relationships; meet with client first to give them the task of being the “sneaK” and help them identify 3-5 positive behaviors related to treatment goals they can be sneaky about doing over the next week (or until next session); then talk to parent about being the spy and writing down any sneaky positive behaviors they notice their child doing; discuss findings together at your next session.
- Second story technique: have clients write down the story of the coronavirus (telling the big trauma story what they know about it and what is happening in society); and then they write down the second story which is how they have shown strength, bravery, etc. as a result (i.e.- by staying home I am helping out my community)
- Coping Survival Strategies Worksheet
- My Strengths Worksheet
- Taking Charge of my Mind - Peaceful Place
- Practicing Mindful Booklet Small
- ADHD Info for teens
- ADHD kangaroo packet
- Anger warning signs children
- BX Support Daily Feelings
- CBT for kids
- CBT thinking errors
- Check in and sequencing
- Coping skills anger
- Coping skills anxiety
- Core beliefs examining evidence
- Core benefit analysis
- Core beliefs info sheet
- Decatastrophizing
- Fun Family Activities
- Life story
- Protective factors