Kid strategy of the week:

About Me: This sentence completion activity helps kids and teens identify all the things that make them great! Alternatively, kids and teens can draw pictures instead of writing in answers.

• I was really happy when…
• Something that my friends like about me is…
• I’m proud of…
• My family was happy when I…
• In school, I’m good at..
• Something that makes me unique is…

Source: https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/self-esteem-sentence-completion.pdf
Sample Progress Note: The focus of the session was (tailor based on treatment plan). The therapist engaged the client in a self-esteem boosting activity (About Me) to help them build understanding about their strengths and positive qualities. The client responded to the self-esteem activity by (fill in the blank).

Couples strategy of the week:

What I Like About You: This activity is designed to help boost relationship-esteem by highlighting positive feelings, strengths, and connection.

• Set a timer for 1 or 2 minutes, and assign one partner to be the speaker and the other to be the listener.
• During that time, the listener is only allowed to listen, and the speaker lists everything they like about the listener as fast as they can with minimal pauses. Each statement should start with the phrase, “What I like about you is…” Examples:
  • “What I like about you is the way you talk about your hobbies.”
  • “What I like about you is your bed-head.”
  • “What I like about you is the way you read stories to our kids.”
  • “What I like about you is your work ethic.”
  • “What I like about you is the way you sing in the car.”
• When time is up, switch roles.
• When both partners have been in both roles, discuss what the experience was like for them.

Sample Progress Note: The focus of this session was… The therapist helped the couple build relationship-esteem through an activity to highlight positive feelings and strengths in their relationship. The couple was (engaged/receptive/disengaged/etc) while participating in the activity, and they (were able/struggled/somewhat able) to identify and express their emotions and thoughts about their relationship that surfaced during the activity.

Adult strategy of the week:

Self-Esteem Journal: Like a lot of things in life, building self-esteem can take practice. By keeping a self-esteem journal, you’re more likely to notice and remember experiences in your day-to-day life that make you feel good about yourself.

• Each day, write down a few highlights about you and your day. Some examples include:
  • Something I did well today….
  • Today I had fun when…
  • I felt proud when…
  • Something I did for someone…
  • I had a positive experience with (person/place/thing)…

Source: https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/self-esteem-journal.pdf
Sample Progress Note: The focus of this session was… The therapist helped the client explore ways to keep a self-esteem journal and document thoughts and experiences that help the client build self-esteem. The client reported that exploring ways to build self-esteem was (helpful/not helpful/boring/etc), and the client expressed that they are (likely/not likely) to use a self-esteem journal in the future.

Mindfulness/Meditation of the week:

Self-Love Meditation

Sample Progress Note: The focus of this session was… The therapist led a meditation (boosting self love). Ct. (engaged/did not engage in the activity), and they reported that the meditation was (helpful/difficult/not helpful)
• Meditation Script: https://mindfulnessexercises.com/self-love-meditation/

If we do not allow the natural love for ourselves to be expressed, love does not reveal it’s beauty very often throughout each day of our lives.
Get into a nice relaxing position, removing any distractions for the duration of this session.
Take the very first action in self love RIGHT NOW.
Your ability to breathe at will, in all different kinds of ways.
Our breath has been there literally our entire lives, changing as needed to the demand of exciting circumstances and flowing effortlessly when we are resting.
Taking multiple full and deep breaths every day is proven to change our bodies and minds for the better.
Take in 5 full and deep breaths, holding it for a moment at the top, and naturally exhaling.
1 inhale a nice big breath, expanding your belly and lungs as much as you can…..
Hold it….and exhale gently with relief.
2 inhaling fresh oxygen that will be supplied to your bloodstream….holding it to soak it in….and exhaling without any effort.
3 inhale feeling rejuvenated and invigorated by this breathing….hold it….and exhale easily.
4 inhale noticing how breathing fully comes naturally for you….pausing to soak it in….and exhale any tension or worry.
And 5 inhaling fully is an act of self-love….pausing to feel this Love….and exhale into complete relaxation.
Let your breath flow at a pace without any effort from you now.
Good, by doing this you are proving you are capable of self-love.
Deep breathing increases the supply of oxygen to your brain and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, sometimes referred to as the ‘rest and digest’ system.
By breathing deeply and often, you are commanding your body to rest, which relaxes and rejuvenates you…
This is self-love in its simplest form, that anyone can do at anytime of the day.
Now let’s honor ourselves by relaxing the mind even further.
Notice now how your thoughts are rising in your mind, one after the other.
See them come, and see them go…
Some thoughts linger for some time, and some thoughts only come for a split second…
If you can really focus, you will notice even smaller thoughts, such as describing the world around you, or labeling the things in your surroundings.
Let your hearing become super alert now, and try to focus on some sounds around you…
Maybe you can hear the sound of your breath……….
Can you hear nature nearby?………
Or perhaps cars passing by….…..or people talking with each other……….just go from sound to sound, focusing on only one at a time……..
Now stop focusing on any sound in particular and just allow all of the noises around you to come in equally, and when you hear them, they almost act as tiny waves of relaxation, calming your mind.
Good…Your mind relaxes when you activate your senses on command.
Let’s use the power of your amazing visualization abilities to induce self love.
Begin to imagine yourself full of an abundance of self-love.
See yourself now, choosing healthy foods, and cooking at home so you know all of the ingredients you are putting into your body…
Vividly see yourself eating well…
When you eat well, see yourself enjoy these moments, and you feel the nutrition that these choices bring you…
Imagine now you have a strong will to avoid junk foods and unhealthy drinks…
See yourself in great detail confidently saying no all these things, you feel very proud now, when you avoid eating something unhealthy.
Good.
Eating healthy is an essential component in self-love.
Another form of self-love is observing your mental chatter…
In order to have great self love, you must expand the good things you feel about yourself and challenge any negative thoughts as soon as they arise.
So hear yourself saying,
“When I fully love myself, I am able to fully love others.
Deciding to love myself is a wonderful agreement.
Each day, I allow my love for myself grow more and more.
I am worthy of love and I honor the joy that comes with it.
Deciding to love myself unconditionally, no matter what happens feels wonderful.
I deserve love and self respect.
My self-esteem grows along with my self-love
I love and accept everything about myself
I completely and always love myself.
Today I love myself even more than yesterday.
Truly loving myself is easy for me.
The more I love myself, the better my entire health.
I love every moment of my existence.
Every part of me that makes me who I am is encompassed with love.
I have unconditional love within me that overflows in abundance to those around me.”
Great!
………..
Now gently opening your eyes, take a fresh breath and know that whenever you Love yourself, you will find Love.