Liar, Liar Pants on Fire

I am excited to introduce a new game designed to help children who tell lies.  Over the years I have worked with many children who have been in trouble for telling lies, but there are many different motivating factors for their behavior.  I have found that talking about it directly often leads to more lies, as they are either ashamed to talk about it or they fear being in trouble.  Naturally, the children who are in the habit of lying tend to lie about their lying habit. 

I scoured the internet looking for resources but didn’t find much related to lying.  I figured it was a good time to make a new game.  This game plays like Old Maid.  There are 10 different characters in addition to the Liar, Liar Pants on Fire card.  You pass out all of the cards to the players.  It’s likely that one person will receive more cards than the others due to the odd number of cards.  Each player will hold up their cards and one player will select a card from another players hand. If they get a match, they will lay it down on the table.  This will continue with players taking turns until the Liar, Liar Pants on Fire card is the only one that remains.  The player left with this card loses.

Each character has a different motivation for lying.  The game comes with a description for each character and questions that can be used to generate discussion about motivation for behavior as well as encouraging the child to think of possible consequences for the behavior. The goal is to open discussion, normalize feelings, and to help identify the client’s motivation for lying.  The therapist can segue in to talking about alternative behaviors that would work better than telling lies.

One reason that I am so excited about this game is because my daughter illustrated the game.  All characters are original pieces of art.  I may be biased, but not to shabby for a 12-year-old!  I’m extremely proud of her hard work. Once I figure out the logistics, I plan to open a Teachers Pay Teachers account for her to sell her artwork. 

This game is now available on my website, www.pathwaystopeacecounseling.com.

It is also on my Teachers Pay Teachers store at https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Liar-Liar-Pants-on-Fire-3716967.
You can also find our games on Amazon, Ebay, and Teachers Pay Teachers
Stay tuned!  I have a couple more games that I am working on.  I'm hoping to have them available soon.

Inside Out Board Game Tweeked for Counseling Use

I absolutely LOVE this Inside Out board game.  It is so well designed that the kids get excited when they see it.  I had to do some tweaking to make it work for counseling.  I simply colored in the circles to match the colors of the "islands".

Here is what I came up with:
Red - Friendship
Orange - Goofball
Purple - Imagination Land
Yellow - Family
Blue - Sports
Green - Honesty

I simply used the game as designed, but each space required the children to talk about how that island either fits the or doesn't fit them.  If it wasn't a fit for their personality, they had they told about what would fit them better.  This game gave a great platform for discussing core values.

This game also makes a great segue for another great therapy session - having them draw their own islands!  I'm looking forward to going there with some of my more artistic kids that I see.

Journey to My New Family

After searching the internet to find resources to use with children with abandonment issues, I finally decided to make a game to use with children who have been adopted or are in foster care.  This game focuses on attachment problems, feelings of abandonment, and helps them process feelings related to changes at home.  Children are able to identify feelings related to their role in the family and trust issues. 

There are two sets of cards to address family issues and feelings.  The questions are designed to provoke introspection and to process how changes continue to impact the child's feelings.  It is important to read through the cards before playing with clients, as some may be inappropriate for the child or situation. I would also encourage therapist who use this game to print a blank set of cards to write in questions that my be specific to the situation of the child you are working with. 

To purchase, visit our website: www.pathwaystopeacecounseling.com
You can also find our games on Amazon, Ebay, and Teachers Pay Teachers

Thought Crashers

I created this game about a year and a half ago and have been playing it with kids since then.  I have been pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoy it!  The first counseling game I designed was Cognitive Distortions.  It works well with older elementary kids and middle school kids, but younger kids really didn't get it.  I created this game to appeal to younger kids.  (However, my middle school clients like it as well!)

I try in every way that I can to use CBT techniques with my clients, as I believe they are effective to lasting change and good outcomes.  Teaching kids to understand CBT principles can be very challenging!  This game was designed to help children identify self-talk, irrational thought patterns, and to help kids learn how to modify their thoughts. 

This game puts Cognitive Behavioral Therapy skills in a play format.  Let's face it.  Children really do not typically sit still to talk about self talk and thought patterns! But they are willing to learn when it is presented through play.  

Check out the game on my website: www.pathwaystopeacecounseling.com.
It is also available for sale at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thought-Crashers-1745244

You can also find our games on Amazon and Ebay.

Putting a Stop to Stealing

Stealing seems to be a common problem I face in counseling.  Many kids struggle with the urge to take things that do not belong to them and I have found few resources online that address this issue.  It seems that there are many reasons that children steal, some who simply want what they do not have and others seem to be trying to fill a deep need.

Today I created a new game to help children identify their motivation to steal, identify alternative ways to have their needs met, to develop a plan of action when tempted, and to have empathy for others.  I also included thankfulness to help children remember how much they already have.  Through combating irrational thoughts and identifying emotional drives, children can overcome the urge to steal.  

You can find the game on my website www.pathwaystopeacecounseling.com or in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop.
Also look for this game and our other resources on Ebay and Amazon.

The Trail of Fears

 

There's no better time than October to address fears and anxiety with children.  They are surrounded by monsters, ghosts, and triggers to fears.  For some children this is a fun and enjoyable time of year.  For others, it is full of fear and anxiety.  Children often struggle to separate fantasy from reality and anticipate the villains from movies to appear in their rooms at night.

This game incorporates CBT to help children challenge irrational thoughts and to learn coping skills to overcome anxiety.  I always love to play games in sessions, as children will answer questions asked by a game that they would hesitate to answer if I asked it directly.  And it is fun!

You can find it at my website, www.pathwaystopeacecounseling.com or my Teachers Pay Teachers store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Pathways-To-Peace-Counseling-Resources
You can also find our games on Amazon and Ebay

Feelings Candy Land

I love to play Feelings Candy Land with my clients!  We all have a good time and it provides a great platform for processing feelings, teaching kids how to use words to express emotion, and to identify problem areas that need to be addressed in future sessions.

I use Feelings Candy Land for several different reasons:

1. To help children identify feelings words and how to attach them to experiences.

2. To help children process feelings in a non-threatening format.

3. To establish rapport.  I think that it helps children normalize feelings when they realize that their therapist has feelings, too.

Update: You can view my tutorial video here: http://pathwaystopeacecounseling.blogspot.com/2018/02/using-feelings-candy-land.html 

I created this simple PDF download as a simple guide to demonstrate how to use Candy Land in therapy sessions.  Here's the link to the free download: https://www.pathwaystopeacecounseling.com/product-page/feelings-candy-land-game-instructions

Be sure to type "CANDY" in the discount code field.

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