Creative Ways to Help Children Manage BIG Feelings: A Therapist's Guide to Working with Preschool and Primary Children

by Fiona Zandt, Suzanne Barrett, Lesley Bretherton (Foreword)

Help children to stay on top of "big" feelings like anger, sadness and anxiety with this ingeniously easy-to-use therapy toolkit. Focusing on making therapy for children both purposeful and playful, the book provides 47 activities to transform your sessions using everyday materials and a variety of tried-and-tested therapy models.


The authors deliver sage advice on how to work with children, adapting your approach for different age groups and judging how and when to involve parents and teachers. The handy reference table allows you to quickly fish out the perfect activity for the moment, according to the emotion the child is experiencing, or the therapeutic method needed. With its winning mix of creative resources and clinical expertise, all wrapped up in a simple and practical format, this is the ideal companion for both new and experienced therapists working with children aged 4-12.

Genres: Parenting, Psychology, Nonfiction

200 pages, Paperback

Published April 21, 2017

Reviews

[Addie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts:
• Super fun, straightforward, and practical. I'm keen to try out some of these activities in sessions with younger clients. It's helpful to have a few more ideas ready to go, rather than always defaulting to 'emotions thermometer' when I'm feeling a bit stuck.
• The theory section has plenty of helpful reminders for newish clinicians. There's a clear rationale for including playful activities in therapy with younger kids, and also helpful advice for involving parents/families in the therapy process.
• The activities themselves are creative but simple, not requiring extensive preparation or special materials (in most cases). The instructions are straightforward and I like the suggestions about developmental considerations and extension activities. Not every activity will be suitable for every child, but there's a good range of suggestions to choose from and adapt as needed.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an early career psychologist working with children in a school setting. I found ‘Creative Ways to Help Children Manage Big Feelings’ to be an excellent book FULL of practical and creative ideas for working with young people and their families. It is easy to navigate and incorporates theoretical frameworks relevant to working with children and families. Most importantly, it is full of simple yet meaningful therapeutic activities/interventions which can be modified according to the child’s developmental stage and cognitive ability. This is now my go-to book for therapeutic ideas and inspiration, and would be relevant for therapists at any stage of their career.

[Bella Saunders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This resource provides a thoughtful, comprehensive and creative guide to working therapeutically with children with emotional and behavioural problems. The authors share their insights around working clinically with children and families, keeping in mind the importance of maintaining a developmental and systemic context to clinical work. The resource provides an invaluable guide for clinicians and is strongly recommended as a suitable resource for training institutions/academic settings to use for training purposes. An excellent resource with a broad range of easy to use activities.
Bella Saunders, Cairnmillar Institute, Coordinator Master of Psychology (Clinical) Melbourne, Australia

[Loretta Blackall · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this delightful book, theory meets practice with an emphasis on understanding developmental stages and the building of positive relationships with children and families, through play and creativity. This book is full of fun and creative, hands-on ideas and will be a most useful resource in any therapist’s toolkit, whether working in a clinical setting or in educational settings. It is a wonderful book to ‘dip into’ on a daily basis.
Loretta Blackall
Speech Pathologist
Clarity Plus

[Julie Dini · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for anyone working therapeutically with children. It is packed with suggested therapy activities that help with planning fun and effective inteventions for children. It is very well presented and organised. Well worth investing in.