3 Anxiety-Reducing Activities for Children Straight from the Therapy W — Childs Work Childs Play
3 Anxiety-Reducing Activities for Children Straight from the Therapy Workbook

3 Anxiety-Reducing Activities for Children Straight from the Therapy Workbook

One in eight U.S. children suffer from anxiety, but relieving that anxiety and helping children open up about it can be challenging without the right tools. As a child therapist, knowing which tools are the right tools is essential to helping your patients.

Whether you're looking to try something new or you simply want more options to choose from, here are a few child therapy workbook activities that can help your patients open up and manage their anxiety.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique used for both children and adults in order to help reduce anxiety. You should set aside anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes for this exercise, as it's something that shouldn't be rushed. It involves methodically tensing and relaxing different areas of the body, which ensures that the child you're working with knows the difference between being tense and feeling at ease. This exercise also works best if you start with deep breathing and then move into muscle relaxation techniques.

Fears Worksheet or Worry Box
Starting a worksheet where a child can write down their fears and worries is a great way to open up lines of communication about anxiety. Not only can it help you learn what makes a child anxious, it can make children feel more comfortable if they don't initially need to talk. Another variation of this activity is a worry box, in which a child writes down their fears or anxieties on slips of paper and places them into a box labeled as such. This is just one variation of therapy tools for children used to help curb anxiety.

Therapeutic Card Games
Therapeutic card games for children can be another way to help them address and open up about their anxieties. Some card games may involve finishing sentences or identifying emotions in animated characters.

These are just a few of the many children's counseling tools you can find in therapy workbooks. Make sure you're using the right tools to help all of your patients learn how to open up about and properly address their anxiety.
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