Pediatric mental health treatment ideas

Pediatric treatment ideas

• Emotions Jenga: write an emotion on each Jenga piece and have child give an example of a time when they or someone else experienced this emotion.

  
  

• Emotions Candyland: give each color on the board an emotion and when the child lands on it, have them give an example of one coping strategy they use to calm self.

  
  

• Story Cubes: write a story about a situation and coping strategy based on cubes rolled.

  
  

• Collage: have child or teen make a collage based on all the things they are good at or enjoy.

  
  

• Breathing beads craft: punch a hole on either end of an 8 inch piece of cardboard. Have child string 10 beads on a pipe cleaner and attach pipe cleaner at each end. Child slides the beads back and forth, one at a time, in coordination with their breathing. Repeat until calm.

  
  

• Yoga (I really like Yoga Pretzles: 50 Fun Yoga Activities for Kids & Grownups (Barefoot Books Activity Decks).

  
  

• Mindfulness (lots of fun ones to try through a simple internet search!)

  
  

• Worry jar craft: use a plastic cup, coffee container, or other similar sized container and cut about an inch wide hole in the lid. Have child write worry on a piece of paper and drop into worry jar. Instruct the child that "Once you put your worry in the jar, you aren't allowed to think about your worry anymore". This is a child friendly version of "worry time" that I use with adults.

  
  

• Reciprocal game with an unfamiliar or other peer (for busier clinics) to work on coping with losing and to decrease social anxiety.

  
  

• Have child give themselves kudos for anything they do during their day that is even just a little hard for them by creating a star chart (ex. if brushing teeth is hard, have child put a start next to the task on their chart each time they complete task).

  
  

• For older children, have them journal these kudos throughout the day or at least as part of a bed time routine. Aim to journal at least 3 things daily they did that was a little or a lot hard, something that went well, or other pleasant experiences that happened.

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with brands or activities mentioned in this post and recieve no monetary or other kickback for mentioning these on my blog.