Articles & Resources

Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Christmas Colouring Sheet

In December 2019 I wrote a book called ‘Brian and the Christmas Box‘. This story followed a winter adventure of Brian…. When Brian is out for a walk with his mummy he hears a dog crying and doesn’t know what to do. Alongside his friend, Blue Butterfly, Brian finds a way to share the magic

Read More »
Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

Why our brains keep re-living things

Have you ever noticed, that when you pop to Tesco you can quickly forget about it, or if someone asks you what you had for dinner last night, you can rack your brains feeling like it was forever ago? But, when something challenging happens, it can take, days, weeks, months or even years to forget

Read More »
Child Mental Health
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Self-care Bingo

Self-care Bingo Self-care is all about taking care of ourselves. If we imagine that we are a care, we would not expect to drive to the coast without petrol. Self-care is the petrol that we give ourselves to give us to have the energy and mental well-being to cope. Regular self-care improves: our physical health

Read More »
Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

8 Things NOT to say to a child struggling with mental health

Mental Health and Children in the UK Current data shows that ‘One in six children aged five to 16 were identified as having a probable mental health problem in July 2020’ (NHS Digital, 2020). Further, ‘The number of A&E attendances by young people aged 18 or under with a recorded diagnosis of a psychiatric condition

Read More »
Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: What am I feeling?

What am I feeling? A step of emotional literacy development is being able to recognise what our emotions are. In order to do this, we first need to consider their names and what they feel like. For children, this often starts with knowing what the facial imagery is that goes with each feeling. So, this

Read More »
Adult Mental Health
Nicky Edwards

The Impact of Validation on Mental Health

I was talking to a friend this week and we got onto the subject of validation. Funnily it is a conversation I have multiple times a week, all year round. Whilst not necessarily a subject topic purposely explored for it’s negativity it is a concept which impacts so many aspects of our lives, and whilst

Read More »
Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activities: Left Brain, Right Brain

Our brain is made up of two sides – left brain and right brain. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body. Each side also has preferred behaviours and activities: Left Brain         

Read More »
Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

The perils of perfectionism: supporting young people

For many, seeing a perfectionist in action can feel like watching magic unfold. In fact, frequently, the reason perfectionists do not recognise the dangers of their behaviours is because they are greeted with feedback about: – How committed they are – How much attention to detail they have – How well they are doing –

Read More »
Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Halloween Spooky Hunt

Halloween Hunt As Halloween fast approaches, we know there are lots of little ones eager to be out trick or treating. So, we’re sharing our Halloween Spooky Hunt for those parents and professionals looking for a simple but fun activity to share the fun. Download it here How to use it Download the worksheet (find it

Read More »
Adult Mental Health
Nicky Edwards

5 things to do if you are feeling burnt out

What is burnout Burnout is a term used to describe when someone is feeling sensations of exhaustion, or where someone has been overwhelmed for too long. It is created when an individual has had ongoing emotional, intellectual, physical or mental stress acting upon them or affecting them for prolonged periods. If you read our previous

Read More »
Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Adventures of Brian Colouring Sheet

Adventures of Brian In 2016, I published the Adventures of Brian, a collection of children’s books which use therapeutic language to support children to resolve their thoughts, worries and fears. Having worked in education for over 20 years, from early years to teaching A-Levels the Adventures of Brian are a passion project. Stories have long

Read More »
Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

Shame: The risks of using the blame game

Once upon a time, to use shame to motivate or control behaviour was a typical psychological method. Shame is one of the greatest negative emotions that a person can experience. Whilst in some situations, shame can be beneficial, preventing us from wanting to hurt others or cause those we love pain, as well as stop

Read More »
Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Making Sensory Calming Bottles

Sensory Activities Sensory activities have many benefits: They develop motor skills such as coordination They support language acquisition They encourage problem solving They build nerve connections and neural pathways They support cognitive development They benefit social connections They calm the central nervous system What does it include? Sensory activities can include: Playdough (plain, scented, coloured

Read More »
Adult Mental Health
Nicky Edwards

Chronic Stress: What are the signs?

We all talk about stress a lot of the time. Whether it is in relation to the many things that we need to get done in a day, or the workload we have to complete, or juggling demands from family, commitments or health needs. If you followed my blog about competitive stress (find it here)

Read More »
Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Feelings Pairs Card Game

Feelings Pairs Some days, we need simple but fun ways to start talking about feelings. This week, in our activity share, we are sharing our Feelings Pairs Card Game. Download here  What to do: Download the feelings cards sheet (find it here) Print onto card Cut the cards along the squares Shuffle the pictures Lay

Read More »
Exams
Nicky Edwards

Top Tips for Starting Exam Revision

The word of the moment is ‘mock exams’. For those sitting their exams this summer there is frustration and conflict whilst we wait to hear of the format of GCSEs and A-Levels. In my therapy office, I have already noticed the shift in worries and anxiety surrounding exam outcomes, perhaps higher than usual. Being the

Read More »
Activities
Nicky Edwards

Children’s Activity: Calm Down Flash Cards

Calm Down Flash Cards If you have followed our article and podcast about self-regulation (if you missed it find it here) then you will know we have been talking about developing children’s emotional literacy, their ability to recognise and respond to their emotions. As part of this, supporting children to know which strategies they can

Read More »
Anxiety
Nicky Edwards

Why we need to stop telling children they are shy

So frequently, we hear parents and professionals refer to children as being ‘shy’. Often, we hear these comments being made in front of the child themselves, or written in their school reports; “Child is too shy to do that” “They find it hard to do that as they are shy” “She’s too shy to take

Read More »

DISCLAIMER

The resources on this site are for individual use. They are not permitted to be mass reproduced by other organisations without a licensing fee. The content and resources on this site may not be mass reproduced in whole, or in part and are not for re-distribution by third parties without special permission from the provider. No use of these resources may be made for resale or any other commercial purposes without prior consent and written permission from Dandelion Training and Development. In some cases a licensing fee may apply. 

Scroll to Top