Articles & Resources
Children’s Activity: Self-Belief Balloons
Self-Belief Self-belief means that we have the ability to recognise our abilities, and capabilities to achieve and move forward with our goals and plans. When we have healthy self-belief we recognise our positive qualities, are able to read situations and identify what we are able to achieve. As well as being able to set ourselves
Social Media – the Good, the Bad, the Ugly
Previously, we’ve explored the impact of technology on child mental health, if you missed it, you can find the article here. But, what about social media? When social media hit our computers and phones in the 2000s, little were we to know what an impact it would have. With over 100million users worldwide, social media
Children’s Activity: Create a Personal Needs Plan
When supporting children with mental health needs, being aware of their personal needs, including triggers, distraction and regulation techniques, as well as applying these consistently is key to proving exceptional support which allows children to thrive. Creating personalised plans, which explore these needs with the child and their parents, and key carers allows us to
Our thoughts are our instructions
Have you ever heard the comment, ‘your thoughts are instructions to your mind’? I frequently, in my coaching and therapy work, explore the concept of words and thoughts with clients, and their parents. We often, fail to recognise that our thoughts are literally telling our brain what to think/feel/do/behave/respond/look for. Stay with me… Our brain
Children’s Activity: Emotions Flash Cards
Feelings So often, children struggle to explain how they feel because, they either: Do not have the vocabulary for the feeling They have the vocabulary, but do not understand what it means Therefore, spending time exploring feelings, to consider: Their names The way they affect our bodies The thoughts that they are associated with The
ADHD is not about ‘naughty school boys’
Many moons ago, when I started my career with children, ADHD and ASD were two words we rarely heard. In fact, when I started my career in early years 24 years ago, most frequently, children were just described as ‘fidgety’ ‘having ants in their pants’ or in worst cases, described as being ‘naughty’. Whilst we
Children’s Activity: Brian’s Birthday Colouring
Something a little different today. Those who follow regularly, will know that I have a sidekick, a therapy dog called Brian, who works with me in my therapy practice. Today is Brian’s 7th Birthday. On his first birthday, we launched the Adventures of Brian, a children’s book collection to support children with their thoughts, worries
5 benefits of practicing daily gratitude
Many people can look at the practice of gratitude and quickly label it as ‘woo woo’ or that it would not work for them. However, in recent years, research into the power of gratitude has identified the importance that this practice has on our sense of happiness and well-being. For those who find their mindsets
Children’s Activity: Back to School Planner
Back to School As we prepare for the return to school, everyone’s mind is in different places. For some, they cannot wait to get back and see their friends, for others, they feel the summer needs to be 12 weeks (not 6), for others there is excited apprehension as they prepare for transitions, unsure about
Causes of difficulties with food behaviours
What messages did you receive about food as a child? Were you …. Shown that food was energy? Encouraged to listen to your internal satisfaction? Taught that certain foods were bad? Encouraged to eat everything on your plate? Punished if you did not finish everything? Always surrounded by a parent on a diet? Treated with
Children’s Activity: Problem Solving
Many children and young people can find the concept of problem solving difficult. Therefore, supporting them to find strategies to work through problems and possible solutions is beneficial to their cognitive development. Problem Solving This downloadable problem solving sheet, allows us to utilise questions and exploration to discover possible options for problems. Download here
Breaking Negative Thought Patterns
At some point in life, we all experience negative thinking. The struggle when we fall into a cycle of negative thoughts, is that they literally spiral, and quite quickly become contagious. It is often easy to assume that because things are a certain way now, they will always be that way. We can find it
Children’s Activity: Tell me about…..
Talking about feelings does not need to be boring. In fact, when we can normalise it, and create emotional conversations on a daily basis we open children up to feeling more comfortable to talk. So, we are sharing this simple feelings game, where you can explore memories of feelings. Tell me about: Download it here
Spoons Theory and Sensory Processing Difficulties
We often hear spoon theory discussed when talking about fatigue conditions. However, the same principle applies for many mental health conditions, and particularly for children working with sensory processing challenges. Imagine this: A child wakes up each morning with 20 spoons. However, they struggled to settle last night – take away one spoon (19 spoons).
Children’s Activity: Create your own
Feelings Exploring feelings doesn’t have to be hard. Exploring feelings through games, activities and stories is a great medium, especially for little children. This week, we are sharing ‘Create your own characters’ to encourage children to create their own characters and think about what they feel like. Download it here Download it here Next
Left Brain – Right Brain
Whilst the brain is split into both conscious and unconscious it is also created from two hemispheres – 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. However each side also has
Children’s Activity: Make your own ice lollies
If you follow us often, you’ll know that we often discuss regulation. A great way to help children to regulate is through freezing cold drinks – and in this heat wave, ice lollies work brilliantly as well. The act of sucking cold fluids through a straw, or having cold foods helps us to calm our
How do I know who I am?
I frequently meet children, adolescents and the occasional adult (I focus my therapy and coaching work on young people) who will comment that they: Don’t know who they are Do not feel like themselves Feel like they do not fit in I often explore the concept of congruence with them, as it is an important
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