Benefits of Therapy – Sam Feels Better Now! An Interactive Story for Children
Read the Most Recent Review of Sam Feels Better Now! and Interactive Story for Children.
Benefits of Therapy – Sam Feels Better Now! An Interactive Story for Children
The Play Therapy Mystery Counseling Session…give away
If you are like me, you are on a budget, and don’t have a lot of money to always spend on toys or craft materials. That’s why I am so glad and inspired to find the Play Therapy Mystery Counseling Session from Dr. Michelle Stangline. In this exercise, the therapist creates and item needed for play therapy or creative therapy with objects he or she already has (no buying anything you don’t already have!). I thought this would be a fun exercise to try myself, and involve you! Please visit the “Creative Counseling Play Therapy Mystery Counseling Session” page, check the list of possible items that I might want for my playroom and comment below which one you would like to see me make. After I finish the object I will post a picture of it on my blog. As an added bonus, I will randomly select a reader from the comments who will receive a copy of my book “Sam Feels Better Now! and Interactive Story for Children.”
I will be taking votes through Monday February 6, 2012, Thanks!
The Worry Wars: An Anxiety Workbooks for Kids and Their Helpful Adults!
I receive frequent referrals for children who experience some type of anxiety, and I found a wonderful resource by Paris Goodyear-Brown titled, The Worry Wars: An Anxiety Workbooks for Kids and Their Helpful Adults!. In this book there are three stories addressing three different types of anxiety children might struggle with ; “Daniel the Dragon Slayer,” “Polly vs. Princess Perfect,” and “Oscar and Clyde, the Clinging Octupus.” The illustrations are black and white color-book style and fun, so you could easily have your child color the pages as you read. After that, there are many techniques, activities and reproducible pages that therapists can use, to help their clients cope with anxiety. Some of the activities include shields, bubble blow, and my favorite, the worry worms. I have used the stories over and over with children. They are really helpful metaphors explaining anxiety in a way that children can grasp. I would recommend this resource to others who help children work through anxiety issues, and look forward to trying other recourses by Paris Goodyear-Brown. You can purchase this book, other resources, read her biography, and find out about her counseling services at her website, Paris and Me
Favorite Therapeutic Activities for Children, Adolescents and Families: Practitioners Share their Most Effective Interventions
I am always looking for free or low cost resources, as I am a therapist on a budget (and I am sure there are many of you out there like me!). With so much info on the web it’s hard to narrow down what’s good, what’s not, and how I can find the resources I need for my clients without spending a fortune. That’s why I am soooo glad that I was sent this free copy of Favorite Therapeutic Activities for Children, Adolescents and Families: Practitioners Share their Most Effective Interventions, Edited By Liana Lowenstein, MSW, RSW, CPT-S.
This ebook is a compilation of over 100 pages of techniques submitted by multiple therapists. It is divided in to different sections: 1. Engagement and Assessment Interventions, 2. Treatment Interventions, and 3. Termination Interventions. Each intervention lists goals of the intervention, materials, advanced preparation, and detailed instructions. As I read through some of the descriptions, I found them easy to follow and detailed enough that I felt that I could easily follow the intervention. The list of contributors includes 35 different therapists, many of which are authors/presenters themselves. The best part is, that the interventions come from various treatment models, including family, sandtray, and more directive, and also integrative models. I love this, as I pull from various theories myself, and therapists from different backgrounds will all be able to glean from this book due to the wide range of ideas. I recommend this book to any child/adolescent/family therapist looking for creative ideas for their clients, as it is FREE!!! and FULL of creative interventions. What do you have to lose? I will be using this resource for a long time, and can’t wait to try some of the ideas with my clients.
Liana Lowenstein is a presenter and also author of multiple books including:
1. Paper Dolls & Paper Airplanes: Therapeutic Exercises for Sexually Traumatized Children (with Crisci & Lay)
2. Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth
3. Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce.
4. Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children.
5. NEWEST PUBLICATION: Creative Family Therapy Techniques: Play, Art, and Expressive Activities to Engage Children in Family Sessions
She has edited: Volumes One and Two of Assessment and Treatment Activities for Children, Adolescents, and Families: Practitioners Share Their Most Effective Techniques, and will be launching Volume Three this year.
To sign up for the free ebook, visit Liana Lowenstein’s website and sign up for her free monthly newsletter. You can also view her upcoming workshops.
Sam Feels Better Now! To Be Released!
My book, Sam Feels Better Now! An Interactive Story for Children will be released in July 2008. It is illustrated by Kevin Scott Collier, and Published by Loving Healing Press. Therapists will find this a useful tool in therapy with children who are experiencing a crisis, traumatic, or grief situation. This is an interactive picture book for children, ages 4-10. Therapists may use it in office as a series of sessions, or suggest it for parents to use at home with their children to supplement therapy. It provides a step by step foundation for working with children using play, drawing, and other interactive components throughout the story. At the same time, it includes a therapist guide in the back, and resources for further reading. Visit my Writing Page to read more!
Another Children’s Trauma Book??
What kind of book is it? Is it a picture book? I am asked. Well, yes, but…
It is not just a picture book! It is interactive. It has activities, like drawing and storytelling so that the child can interact with the main character, Sam. He or she will feel like they are helping him learn how to cope, all the while learning how to cope with their own situation. Also, I have included a therapist guide in the back to encourage further reading about children, play, and trauma. It will also show theoretical background for the book itself, and answer some of the questions adults may have.
Play Therapy Trainer, Supervisor, Counselor