Title: How To Train A Wild Elephant: And Other Adventures in Mindfulness
Author: Jan Chozen Bays
Themes: Anxiety, Developing Perspective, Mindfulness
Age Recommendation: Adult Reference
Showing posts with label Developing Perspective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Developing Perspective. Show all posts
Friday, June 26, 2015
Title: Wilfrid Gordon MacDonald Partridge
Author: Mem Fox
Themes: Anxiety, Communication, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Friendship, Gratitude, Grief, Humor, Individuation, Self-Esteem, Social Skills
Age Recommendation: Elementary through Junior High School
Summary: Wilfrid Gordon MacDonald Partridge is the story of Wilfrid and his friends at the old persons home next door. Wlifrid's favorite friend there is Miss Nancy, who has "lost her memory." Wilfrid doesn't know what a memory is, but in discovering the meaning of the word, he helps Miss Nancy recover some of hers. This is a sweet story of friendship, creativity, and generativity.
Ideas / Interventions: This is a great story to use with kids who are developing social skills and learning to enjoy reciprocal friendships. Before reading the story together, review basic social skills like making eye contact, asking questions about what others are interested in, not interrupting others, etc. Then, as you read the story, point out the social skills demonstrated by Wilfrid and Nancy.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Friday, April 10, 2015
Title: Harry Potter Series
Author: J.K. Rowling
Themes: Anxiety, Bullying, Blended Families, Coping Skills, Depression, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Friendship, Gratitude, Grief, Humor, Individuation, Self-Esteem
Age Recommendation: Elementary through High School
Summary: The Harry Potter series is very well-known among adolescents and preteens, but I am finding that many kids under the age of 10 aren't as familiar with it. Chances are, however, if you're reading this post, you are familiar with this series and it's fantastic array of characters and themes! As with most stories, the books are definitely better than the movies, so pick them up and read them if you haven't already!
Ideas / Interventions: There really are endless ways to use the Harry Potter series for bibliotherapy. My favorite way to reference Harry Potter in a session is to draw similarities between client's fears of ____________ and everyone's fear of Voldemort in the stories. By overcoming the dread of saying Voldemort's, or even Tom Riddle's, name out loud, characters in the story realize a previously untapped power within themselves. The same is true of our own fears and anxieties. When children avoid talking about difficult or frightening topics,their feelings of powerlessness over that event/thought/emotion is increased. When they are coached in talking about the topic in a safe setting, they are empowered - just like saying "Voldemort" empowered characters in the Harry Potter series. Clinically, this process falls under the category of exposure/response prevention techniques.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Title: Because of Winn Dixie
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Themes: Anxiety, Coping Skills, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Divorce, Friendship, Gratitude, Grief, Individuation, Self-Esteem, Social Skills
Age Recommendation: Elementary though Junior High School
Summary: Because of Winn-Dixie is a sweet story about a girl and her dog. She feels like a stray kid when she rescues this stray dog, who becomes the catalyst for change in her life. Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal is able to create new friendships, strengthen her relationship with her dad, and begin to make peace with her mom.
Ideas / Interventions: This is a great book to read in small portions during sessions or groups. Have kids draw pictures of their family, friends, and other important people in their life and discuss the hard and easy things about those relationships. Ask them to make a list of qualities they look for in a friend and see which of those qualities they see in characters in the book. Then have them make a list of their own qualities and talk about how to strengthen them.
Another idea is to have your client read the book outside of sessions and choose one character they feel they can relate to. Ask them to make a list of the character's strengths and challenges, and then guide them through the process of deconstructing the challenges to determine how to moderate them with their strengths. After they have done this for the character in the book, help them do a similar exercise related to their own personal strengths and challenges.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Title: The Incredible 5 Point Scale: Assisting Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Understanding Social Interactions and Controlling Their Emotional Responses
Authors: Kari Dunn Buron & Mitzi Curtis
Themes: Anxiety, Autism, Communication, Coping Skills, Depression, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Parenting, Self-Esteem, Social Skills
Age Recommendation: Adult Reference
Title: The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Aspergers Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to Be a Better Husband
Authors: David Finch
Themes: Anxiety, Autism, Communication, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Humor, Individuation, Social Skills, Validation
Age Recommendation: Adult Reference
Title: The North Star
Authors: Peter H. Reynolds
Themes: Anxiety, Coping Skills, Depression, Developing Empathy, Developing Perspective, Gratitude, Individuation, Mindfulness, Parenting, Self-Esteem, Validation
Age Recommendation: Elementary through High School
Summary: The North Star is a sweet story that follows a boy from infancy through adolescence as he follows his own path to becoming his best self.
Ideas / Interventions: Adolescents secretly love this book; some of them might not want to admit it, but they can relate to the main character in the story and are asking some of the same questions about life that that he is. When working with teens, I use the same tactic as I do with any other picture book, which is to ask them to just listen and watch for the underlying message, even though it might seem "too little kid" for them.
If I have time, I like to use this book in conjunction with art therapy. Encourage clients to identify what the specific points on their stars are; some choose to list coping skills, some list values, others point out internal qualities. If you are using this book for group therapy or in a classroom setting, invite kids to share details about their star with others and utilize it as an opportunity to appreciate individual differences.
Ideas / Interventions: Adolescents secretly love this book; some of them might not want to admit it, but they can relate to the main character in the story and are asking some of the same questions about life that that he is. When working with teens, I use the same tactic as I do with any other picture book, which is to ask them to just listen and watch for the underlying message, even though it might seem "too little kid" for them.
If I have time, I like to use this book in conjunction with art therapy. Encourage clients to identify what the specific points on their stars are; some choose to list coping skills, some list values, others point out internal qualities. If you are using this book for group therapy or in a classroom setting, invite kids to share details about their star with others and utilize it as an opportunity to appreciate individual differences.
Title: So Few Of Me
Authors: Peter H. Reynolds
Themes: Anxiety, Coping Skills, Developing Perspective, Humor, Individuation, Mindfulness, Parenting, Self-Esteem
Age Recommendation: Elementary through Junior High School
Summary: So Few Of Me tells the story of Leo, a busy, overscheduled kid. Leo starts keeping lists of all he needs to do and eventually finds that he needs more than just himself to keep up with his to-do's. Before we know it, there are lots of Leo's, each of whom is inundated with too long to-do lists. The real Leo becomes overwhelmed just trying to manage his clones and learns that the secret to happiness is simplicity.
Ideas / Interventions: This is a cute book to read with kids and/or parents with anxious temperaments and perfectionistic tendencies. Point out that Leo isn't someone who starts lots of things and just doesn't get around to finishing them, like a child with ADHD might be, but instead he likes to take on too much and wants to see everything through to completion. If you are working with older children who have developed performance-related anxiety related to pressure they perceive from their parents, try to engage them in a discussion about how Leo' self-esteem became too wrapped up in his external accomplishments with their parents in the session.
Ideas / Interventions: This is a cute book to read with kids and/or parents with anxious temperaments and perfectionistic tendencies. Point out that Leo isn't someone who starts lots of things and just doesn't get around to finishing them, like a child with ADHD might be, but instead he likes to take on too much and wants to see everything through to completion. If you are working with older children who have developed performance-related anxiety related to pressure they perceive from their parents, try to engage them in a discussion about how Leo' self-esteem became too wrapped up in his external accomplishments with their parents in the session.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Title: What Are You So Grumpy About?
Authors: Tom Lichtenheld
Themes: Anxiety, Communication, Coping Skills, Depression, Developing Perspective, Gratitude, Parenting, Self-Esteem, Social Skills, Humor
Age Recommendation: Elementary through Junior High School
Summary: What Are You So Grumpy About? is essentially a list of common kid complaints, accompanied by illustrations that highlight the difficulties they perceive in their circumstances. When you read this with children, plan to spend quite a bit of time examining the illustrations together; they are the key to having fun with this book! The author's humor is spot on for gently introducing the concepts of cognitive distortions, thinking errors, and negative automatic thoughts.
Ideas / Ideation: This is a great book to use with clients who suffer from anxiety or depression and present with symptoms of irritability. Helping children and their parents understand that when a kid is being "grumpy" there is typically an underlying cause that needs to be addressed is important; doing so helps parents develop perspective into the nature of their child's (oftentimes difficult) behaviors, and supports children as they develop self-awareness and learn communication skills to appropriately express their feelings.
As mentioned above, this is also a book that could be used when introducing the concept of cognitive distortions and helping clients develop skills to challenge negative automatic thoughts. Read this together in a session and ask your client to identify the name of the thinking error used on each page, and then help them create an alternative realistic yet positive response to the events depicted.
Ideas / Ideation: This is a great book to use with clients who suffer from anxiety or depression and present with symptoms of irritability. Helping children and their parents understand that when a kid is being "grumpy" there is typically an underlying cause that needs to be addressed is important; doing so helps parents develop perspective into the nature of their child's (oftentimes difficult) behaviors, and supports children as they develop self-awareness and learn communication skills to appropriately express their feelings.
As mentioned above, this is also a book that could be used when introducing the concept of cognitive distortions and helping clients develop skills to challenge negative automatic thoughts. Read this together in a session and ask your client to identify the name of the thinking error used on each page, and then help them create an alternative realistic yet positive response to the events depicted.
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