Session Planning
The team at CARE has been doing a great job of pulling together the resources and strategies for ongoing telehealth sessions as well as resources for some of our most frequent client populations.
If you believe we should include additional resources please drop us a note using the form below.
Session Planning
The team at CARE has been doing a great job of pulling together the resources and strategies for ongoing telehealth sessions as well as resources for some of our most frequent client populations.
If you believe we should include additional resources please drop us a note using the form below.
INTERVENTION IDEAS FOR THE WEEK OF…
Telehealth Ideas for Kids Ages 6-12
These are the ideas our team at CARE Counseling came up with!
6-12 working with them individually
- Art projects with whatever the family has at home. Now is a time to get creative! You can have kids make crafts with the cardboard from paper towel rolls, junk mail, anything.
- Use the Whiteboard tool on Zoom to make drawings and genograms. To open the Whiteboard, select “Share Screen” and click “Whiteboard.”
- Bibliotherapy
- You can upload worksheets onto the Portal that kids can work on at home.
- Have the kids show you their spaces. You can help them create a calm/safe place and an organized place to do their schoolwork when they’re not at home. Andrea had the idea of having kids create a name tag for their work space like they would at their desk at school.
- Coronavirus social story https://www.flipsnack.com/KeshetChicago/coronavirus-social-story/full-view.html
- Play a feelings dice game with online dice: https://www.random.org/dice/
6-12 working with families and parents
- Work on creating structure at home
- Attachment activities
- Drawing on each other’s backs and trying to guess what was drawn
- Describing pictures for the other person to draw in very simple terms
- Example: Instead of saying “draw a tree,” say “draw a long straight line, then draw another one about an each away from it, etc.”
- Catch your kids being good!
- Give parents and kids two different (secret) tasks for the week, then check in about what each of them noticed during the next session:
- Kids’ task is to choose a few things to do to help around the house
- Parents’ task is to praise every helpful/nice thing they see their child do
Telehealth Ideas for Kids Ages 12-18
These are the ideas our team at CARE Counseling came up with!
12-18 working with them individually
- Mask Activity – identify development – cut out mouth and eyes. On the front, what others see and on the back, how they see themselves
- Affirmation cards
- Make a coping skills box
- Art therapy
- Fortune Teller with self soothing skills
- House Tree Person
- Thoughts – Feelings – Behaviors
- Draw thoughts in their brain (draw a head and how much space things take up)
- Friends Genogram (self in the middle and shapes closer to them are best friends and conflictual relationships on the outside)
- Engage with friends online and help them be intentional
- Use the white board
12-18 working with Families and Parents
- Drawing house or family and pass around or telestrations
- Communication Game: show a picture and the other person can’t see it and then describe it for the other person to draw it.
- Round 2: allowed to ask questions
- Talk through sleep hygiene – keep a routine – limited news/social media
- How they are going to manage frustrations at home and how to communicate needs – I feel statements
- Creating structure – look at their normal schedule and try to mimic it
- Sibling work: Spy on each other and notice as many good things the other person did and to win you have to notice the most.
Intervention Ideas for Adults
Using CBT to Respond to COVID-19
Telepsychology Best Practice Series Now Free of Charge
Parents Resource for talking to children about COVID-19
Intervention Ideas for Children
It is completely normal to be experiencing a wide range of emotions right now. Learning to accept those feelings is the first step in building resilience. The simple act of naming the emotions you are experiencing can be very beneficial to your well being. It is okay to feel discomfort, accepting this distress is a way to immediately feel calmer. To learn more about how to help you build up your resilience during difficult times check out this Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook which is also available in Spanish.
‘FACE COVID’ – How to respond effectively to the Corona crisis by Dr Russ Harris, author of The Happiness Trap.
‘FACE COVID’ is a set of practical steps for responding effectively to the Corona crisis, using
the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Here’s a quick summary of the
key steps, and in the pages that follow we’ll explore them all in more depth:
F = Focus on what’s in your control
A = Acknowledge your thoughts & feelings
C = Come back into your body
E = Engage in what you’re doing
C = Committed action
O = Opening up
V = Values
I = Identify resources
D = Disinfect & distance
Let’s now explore these, one by one: FACE COVID – How to respond effectively to the Corona crisis – by Russ Harris author of The Happiness Trap_
Self-Care is a must right now: Practice what you preach. Self-care is as important as ever, so please take time for your own health. APA has resources on clinician self care. Click here: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/self-care
This is an Anxious Time, how are you Doing? Remember the Yerkes-Dodson Law? Well, if not, there is a level of optimal arousal. When we get too anxious/aroused, our performance and ability to provide quality care will suffer. Please use supervision and consultation during this stressful time to make sure you’re getting the support you need.
Brene Brown on FFTs (Fricken First Times): Brene discusses how Cornoavirus is a “Collective FFT.” She highlights in this podcast the importance of 1. Normalizing, 2. Taking Perspective, and 3. Setting Expectations. Listen to it here: https://brenebrown.com/podcast/brene-on-ffts/
Free Yoga App: If you are a healthcare professional, please visit https://www.downdogapp.com/healthcare to fill out a short form and sign up with your medical/work email address. They want to take care of the people who take care of us.
Prepare to have your MIND BLOWN. One of our favorite team members (fun fact: everyone is a favorite) created digital sound machines that play for 60 minutes and have a beep at the 50 minute mark so you can end sessions on time.
First, pick the noise you like most:
White Noise
Brown Noise
Pink Noise
Mental Wellness Worksheets
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Coping Strategies
Mental Health Benefits of Exercise
Videos
Watch this short video: When COVID-19 leaves Clients Feeling Helpless. Dr. Van der Kolk explains the importance of having routines, predictability, and boundaries to support mental well being during uncertain times.