Resource #57: Virtual Therapy room checklist
Virtual therapy rooms have sparked many therapists’ attention as these can be really supportive when working online with children. These can also help storing resources in one place, support communication with parents and create engaging activities. At 3P, we have designed a number of packages to support your work online.
Virtual therapy rooms can also support an hybrid way of working to ensure therapists can promptly move from online work to face to face work with fluidity. This week’s circuit breaker 5 day lockdown in Melbourne was a clear reminder that sudden transfer to Telehealth will stay for some time to come.
Going forward you can access packages via a short course on the 3P learning platform. Packages all include many virtual therapy rooms, activities uniquely designed by 3P, resources, links, a give away of all the package rooms at the end of course, a completion certificate and a short assignment task.
To help you and guide you in designing your virtual therapy rooms, here is a PDF you can download. This is a checklist to follow when creating virtual therapy rooms.
You can also connect with many in our Facebook group to share your creations.
What’s on at 3P in 2021?
| Thank you for being there and supporting 3P. In 2020, we have had over 45 000 visitors on our website and lots of positive feedback about our blog posts and courses. We are grateful that our help was very much appreciated. Thank you! For 2021, we have lots of exciting projects at 3P so we thought we would share with you all of these.We have lots of positive feedback about the Creative Approaches to Working Online with Children. Don’t miss this comprehensive course presenting lots of ideas, resources and information about materials particularly when using art as a modality. We talk about parents as co-therapists, home visiting as a concept for online work. We also present lots of pertinent therapeutic modalities such as virtual therapy rooms, setting boxes for families and many more. Join us for this fantastic learning opportunity. |
| Register to this course today |
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| It is Summer in Australia and many school psychologists and counsellors will get ready to get back to working in schools. If you are one of them, perhaps needing to refresh your toolkit, starting a new role in a school or this is your first job out following registration. At 3P, we have courses just for you where we discuss models of professional practice such as consultation, 3 tier model, and many many resources based on most common problems coming to the attention of school based psychologists and counsellors.We received lots of positive feedback about this course too such as being “a game changer for practice” and “a much needed course starting a new role in a school”. |
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| To register for the Child/School Psychology Resources Series 1, quote specialoffer at checkout to receive 30% off current price. |
| In 2020, we have also been very busy developing virtual therapy rooms. We have set up online workshops and developed lots of resources. More online workshops are planned for 2021. Watch this space! |
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| To learn how to create virtual therapy rooms, register here for only $20 AUD to the end of the month only. |
| Tell us about training and resources needs |
| 2020 was hard for many particularly for those who were thinking of moving abroad or are in transition. At 3P, we have a few projects to support others continue developing their dreams.We have designed a completely new course for overseas psychologists moving to Australia to help them navigate terminology, systems and transition challenges. We are also setting up monthly group supervision to support many during this process (email us if interested). |
| Register here for the Overseas Psychologist in Australia Online Course as a Pre-Order. Fully Accessible in 2 weeks time. Don’t miss it! |
| We have also started A Psych Moving Abroad Stories Podcast to support psychologists who are thinking of moving abroad. We hope these stories will help others in this transition. We have received an overwhelming positive response to this project and many guests have come forward to participate in the podcast. We will hear awesome stories so stay tuned! |
| Listen to the first episode of the A Psych Moving Abroad Stories Podcast and many more to come |
| At 3P, we also do psychoeducational assessments and intervention support including Telehealth. We are on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia, and more than happy to assist with assessments (NO WAITLIST). We are also available for Telehealth Australia wide. We can also support families making a transition from and to the UK and Australia.We continue to support many provisional and qualified psychologists through individual and group supervision. We also work closely with schools in the form of training, consultations and professional supervision. Contact us via our Facebook Page, website and/or email for more information and bookings |
What if we were grateful for 2020…
I am seeing lots of newsfeed, posts and hearing comments about the need to get to 2021 urgently so that 2020 is finally over. Comments like this…
“So looking forward for 2020 to be over so we can move one”
“Very much looking to see the back of this year, 2020 is suck”
“We deserve a better year next year, I had enough of this one”
“Next year will be so much better”
And so on…
Yes we had a tough year, yeS with many challenges, yes many may want to turn the page…but what if turning the page too quickly or in frustration, without gratitude, may lead to even more problems in the future…
What if we take the time to pause and reflect on what 2020 has taught us so that we can learn from it and steer in a different direction..
In fact, in 2020, we saw many exceptional things happen…to name a few…
Significant reduction of carbon monoxide emission worldwide
Rise for equality and human rights
Watching leaders manage a pandemic which allowed for positive leaders to shine and many cracks of negative leaders to be uncovered
Recognising the importance of health, care and education workers as key to the front services of a society
Acknowledging security of employment as important and taking steps to remediate inequalities and offer solutions
Slowing down fast pace work by reducing travelling hours such as long commutes, international travels
Return to the need to meet basic needs such as health, security, housing
Telehealth recognised as important and essential to offer support to many
Technology being a key to connecting with family, friends, colleagues and supporting learning with many learning new skills
Making working from home a possibility allowing work-life balance and meeting family commitments
Maximising time to be with our children and as a bubble family
Taking time to reconnect with hobbies such as creating, cooking, reading, making
Connecting with nature, gardening, plants, flowers, animals
What if 2020 delivered a huge message saying “I can’t take it anymore, things have to change”.
What if we should listen carefully to what 2020 said…
What if we were grateful for learning points of 2020 before turning the page, because many things may be here to stay.
Not only that, 2021 will be a turning point for the world as we will need to face the challenges 2020 brought so vividly and all at once bringing a need to heal and receive, and put in place lessons learnt.
What if 2020 was there to help us pause and reflect of what is really important in life and re-centre our actions in a constructive manner and a slightly different cap for 2021 with exciting projects that are grounded in what we value the most and what has been reflected upon…
Let’s think about it, let’s leave 2020 grateful and in peace of a better tomorrow…
#Resources 56: Virtual Therapy Rooms
Whilst creating and finalising the content of the Creative Approaches when Working with Children Online, I came across Bitmoji Therapy Rooms. I initially did not think it applied to the therapeutic work we do as it was more referred to as Virtual Classrooms. As I am not a teacher with a class, it did not feel so relevant. I did a little more exploration and I am now completely sold on the idea that these virtual rooms are amazing and so helpful in planning our work with children.
Are you running out of ideas when working online with children?
Not sure what else to do to keep children engaged in online therapy?
Finding the whole online process tiring and exhausting?
Virtual therapy rooms is probably what you need. I really think it could revolutionise ways of working as a therapist.
What are Virtual Therapy Rooms?
You create rooms in Google Slides or Powerpoint and insert your Bitmoji in the presentation. There are a few technical hurdles associated with getting the technology right initially, but it does then become second nature and designing the rooms become easier. I made mine in Google as I have a Google Drive, it seemed easy this way.
Videos on YouTube and professional Facebook groups have shared resources to get you started. Therapists are also selling their rooms on TeachersPayTeachers to help you. I decided I really wanted to design my own as it can be personal as you design your rooms, depending on the type of work you mostly do, presentation and needs of children and families, and also your own creative style. It is so much fun thinking about it all and bringing it together.
Yes you have to be particularly creative. This is what is so exciting! Who does not like a bit of interior designing!
I share in this post the photo of my first room. You can see a room with me and many objects in my room. All the objects are linked to other Google slides or web links. You can link worksheets from your Google Drive to the presentation. This is what is amazing!
All your therapy resources in ONE Google Slideshow!
Here is another example of a room about feelings where each of the big emojis lead to a different room with links about these different emotions.
You can have as many rooms as you want, depending on children’s needs. I have designed a few now: feelings’ room, doll’s house, chill out room and a Take a Break room, to name only a few. You could also have a Parent Room where you have lots of top tips and information.
How to Use the Virtual Therapy Rooms?
In sessions, you present the slides, show rooms, using the shared screen functions. You can give remote control access to the child so that one has control over visiting rooms and clicking activities or the child can tell you where to click on the screen. This way you discover together different activities, rooms and resources. If a child is talking about a specific topic, you can direct the conversation to the room where information is shared on the topic.
The most amazing of it all is that you can share your Google Slides with clients with the Share button so they can revisit rooms or look at them in advance. You can also create a PDF and all links remain. You can then send a room to parents in an email with all the links you covered during the session.
What Does Not Change?
All your skills as a psychologist are still needed, including clinical judgement, knowledge of the discipline and scientist-practitioner, all your essential competencies. This is just a way to store all your resources in one place, increase engagement from children in sessions and support communication with parents.
Could Bitmoji Therapy Rooms Revolutionise the Online Therapy World with Children?
I am such a visual person and also a creator-designer, love art work so this type of approach is completely revolutionary for me as a child psychologist but also for training! I love that it keeps all the resources in one place. Even when we go back to face to face work, this resource will still be useful for videos, web based resources and communication with parents. You could still use a room during a face to face session when you want to share a video with a child for example.
I have now created over 30 therapy rooms and completely beside myself on how amazing these work. It feels such a long way since March 2020 when many moved to working online, scared and anxious about the prospect.
This resource has to be a life changer for therapists!
You can join Creative Approaches when Working with Children Online where these rooms will be discussed and shared. You will have 10 rooms with links and resources you can then tailor to your needs.
We set up free live events and the recording is now available with links and resources. Here is the link to register. https://learning.3ppsychologies.com/courses/free-live-event-virtual-therapy-rooms-2-an-amazing-resource
We also set up a Creating Virtual Therapy Live Workshop and the recording is also available for viewing at a low cost of $20 (AUD) https://learning.3ppsychologies.com/courses/virtual-therapy-rooms. With this training, 5 rooms, links and resources will be shared with you. If you are interested in a live workshop, get in touch and I will do what I can to arrange this.
You can also register for the 2 courses as a bundle https://learning.3ppsychologies.com/bundles/creating-for-children-online
I am also happy to offer specific tailored training for practitioners and workplaces/practices who would like this training for a number of practitioners. Get in touch with me, we can arrange something together.
#Resources 55: How is home learning going?
Just checking in, how are you coping with home learning…
I am not sure how you are going with home learning, but here, it is definitely challenging!
Keeping two parents demanding jobs going as well as supporting three kids at different path of their educational journeys (Grade 2, Grade 8 and Grade 12), and a dog, are not the easiest tasks.
After 10 days of home learning, I really wanted to write something in support to ALL parents out there who are feeling this juggle real! with a few reflections about my learning points and what we have come up with that has worked better…
What is Learning? What is Home Learning?
It is not new that learning takes place at home. Home has always been full of learning opportunities. There may be times that are less intense in learning and others that are full of learning opportunities, but learning at home is happening all the time.
Learning is defined as (see just a few web searches)
the act or experience of one that learns
knowledge or skill acquired by instruction or study people of good education and considerable learning
modification of a behavioral tendency by experience (such as exposure to conditioning)
process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviours, skills, values and preferences (Richard Gross, Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour, 6E, Hachette UK);
Considering these different definitions, we are then in a position as parents to have a deeper understanding of what we are trying to achieve or aim to do during our ‘teachings’. The definition of ‘act or experience’ certainly resonates truth. What about a discussion about construction in Lego Masters and how to make a tower stay up from a shaking machine, is that not an amazing learning experience? or what about discovery different plants growing in the garden, are they not great experiences? or even cooking a cake with a sibling? learning cooperation, maths and reading skills?
What if Home Learning is Different to Home Education?
Home Learning is completely different to Home Education. As parents, we have not necessarily chosen to be in this situation. If I had chosen the Home Education path, I would probably have a very different daily schedule or would make alternative work arrangements. There would definitely be something different in our life as a family. I would also seek social contact with families in a similar situation or maybe seek support from community organisation. I remember teaching French to a group of 15 children who were all home educated and were coming to College for additional lessons as parents were feeling they were not able to give them this learning opportunity at home. Sports, hobbies, clubs and community services are not events accessible at the moment so learning from home is definitely different.
Why does it feel so hard to do home learning?
“I am not going to do what you tell me to do”…”Well don’t talk to me like this, I am your teacher, would you talk to your teacher like this?”
It may feel hard, but it is also normal for children to test our limits. As parents, we offer safety and security to their life. We have also overnight adopted a completely new role in their lives, we have now become a teacher. I can safely say that the youngest one has not liked it and it has taken a number of conversation to explain I now have a teacher role in his life and the oldest two have also challenged, wake up calls and getting to bed at a decent time. With a few conversations later about expectations and our role- what is a teacher, what does your teacher do, why needing a teacher – we are in a better place of acceptance of my/our role and activities I/we set.
There is also another element to their new learning experience, a child-centred approach aspect to learning without being fully child-centred as school prescribes lesson plans. Children have not experienced this type of learning before, a one to one learning experience, intense with “let’s do this now”, “here is the next goal or activity”. They are usually in a social environment with peers all doing the same, an incredible amount of socialisation and peer modelling taking place.
Learning a ‘new style of learning’ may need some adaptation as well as some scaffolding to this new experience such as a child needing lots of support and modelling initially and then gradually moving to more independent steps (see Vygotsky). My son, 7, reflected beautifully on this, saying ” but no-one is around me doing the same thing”. As we are busy with keeping a family ticking and a job going, it is hard to be there at all times, but perhaps helping them to initiate the task helps, with us hovering around to check in how they are going and keeping on task for a short while.
Outline the Plan for the Day Including the Plan of the School
Knowing what’s on for the day and me guiding conversations as to what is expected has certainly helped. I certainly don’t have the perfect recipe, but the moments that have been better in terms of learning is when I have been close by.
Certainly, outlining the day ahead before wake up time has helped create some prediction and routines. The days when I did not do this, my youngest said “well, it’s not on the board”. On the board, I also include a schedule from the school so we all clear about the tasks of the day such as
spellings
reading 30 minutes
zoom call
shapes
and then I explain what is exactly required in terms of outcome like ‘write 3 words’ or ‘read 2 books’. It has helped knowing we achieved the goals and I will then revisit in discussions ‘outside learning times’ to check on learning acquisition.
Keep it Fun and Engaging
Learning at home is a bit different. Typically lots of children would be together in a classroom sharing and learning. In itself this would create a buzz of energy and activity. Now being at home is a bit different where one or two children may be learning together in the same space. Certainly, my youngest has reflected on this “this is the most boring schooling I ever done, no one is here”.
It is not to say that we cannot have activities that are engaging and captivating attention. For example, we needed to look at shapes this week, so we did shapes using modelling clay and discussed these together. I took a picture of the models, glued it in the ‘home learning book’ and then shapes were identified in writing.
Was the aim of lesson met: Yes! Was knowledge acquired: Yes! it could have been also achieved by attempting to do body shapes or jumps on the trampoline, identifying shapes from plants, trees, objects in the garden or making Lego shapes…
Setting Specific Tasks in Short Bursts and Chunks with a Clear Finish
Learning would not typically happen on a one to one at school or with 2 or 3 children. There would be movements around the classroom as well as social interactions so it is normal for a primary school aged child to feel tired after a burst of 30 minutes of one to one learning. This may also vary depending on a child’s needs and developmental age. It has helped my youngest to have specific tasks that are manageable within a 30 minute window and to be able to tick when finished. We also have a folder and book where we put all his work in so when work is out, we work, when work is finished, we put it away. We also check in as to what has been done and not, what are the next steps for the next learning chunk.
Capture Learning Taking Place via lots of Methods
There is also lots of incidental learning happening such as a discussion around the table, a reflection after a film, counting peeled carrots, or measuring a cup of flour. It is important to think about learning taking place all the time and not necessarily when a child is sitting in front of a book and a pencil. It is also important to remember that reading and writing are a small proportion of a learning experience. Evidencing acquired knowledge and skills can take place in lots of varied ways, such as through a video, a photograph, talking, drawing. It is also important to remember that learning takes place in different developmental areas such as language, physical, emotional, thinking and social and therefore learning can be demonstrated in different ways.
Keep evidence of all the rich experiences taking place at home, you will then being able to share with the school teacher who can then match this to their learning objectives and goals.
Respect of Family Values and Reminders about Chores and House Rules
Whilst lots of learning is taking place during the day, it is also important to reinforce family values and rules as these are central to happy family functioning. It is important you continue to ensure you are distributing chores equally with developmental age appropriate tasks as well as reinforcing how we work together, what our values, how we come together as a family unit…
The Concept of Time is on Your Side
You may say, but I have a busy schedule, it is difficult to do all of this. I say I hear you and feel it too. Don’t forget “time is on your side”, you can do home learning all day long, bring the lesson plan into your routines, just check in with acquired learning and knowledge. What about catching up with a few things on Saturdays, who said home learning was 9-3 Mondays to Fridays.
Busy Schedule at Work – ‘It’s ok to say we will do some catch up at the Weekend‘
Praise Small Steps towards an End Goal, Achievements and Reinforce What is Working Well
Establishing goals will help with gaining a child’s intrinsic motivation and effort ” wouldn’t it be great to get all 100 words right” and also involve the child in establishing their own goals “I would like to write two sentences with your help”.
As part of the process, it is also important to reinforce what is going well, something like ‘what’s working well when I write”. Praising as we go can also give us some wins such as commenting on effort and a quality, “I noticed you did this well with commitment”. It is also important to discuss moments that are tougher and describe effort over a challenge. It helps children develop a growth and resilient mindset.
Be Compassionate to Yourself – You are doing the best you can!
We are all in this together and you are doing a good job, the best you can in the current circumstances. Yes it can be hard because we are exhausted and feeling the pressure. It is also part of our daily routines and what we do anyway, it just needs to be slightly more emphasised and reinforced as children are with us all day. I really enjoyed a psychologist interview who said “Your job as a parent is to keep peace” and it makes so much sense to me as children will remember this pandemic for a long time to come. They will remember the good and fun times, and also the arguments. So choose your battles, keep learning going as you have always have, keep ‘home learning’ fun, vivid and engaging, and ensure you are also be kind to yourself…
Author
Pascale is an educational and child psychologist (UK)/educational and developmental psychologist (AU) working in private practice, a university clinic and supporting professionals online via individual, group, webinars and training.
News from 3P
 3P Psychologies for Life Adventures We have a surprise at the end!!!  What A Few Weeks! Busy, enriching, connecting, creating It has been an incredibly busy few weeks. It was not that long ago when I was looking at launching the Child/School Psychology Resources Webinars again, but then realised the situation with COVID-19 was bringing challenges to many. I was meant to travel abroad to speak at a couple of conferences about implications for professional practice when working with families in global transition as well as visiting friends and family. Instead, it is from my office at home that I started to reflect on the situation as my family and friends abroad were beginning their lock down, isolation and school closures. In support of my family and friends, I started writing a few Resources posts (particularly 48) and then realised this situation would be coming to Australia where many psychologists would need to prepare for online working, see 49). Posts gained interest with more than 15 000 hits and many lovely comments. I did not anticipate reaching 50 resources on my website in this context. Connecting in professional groups about working online, triggered further ideas about bringing professionals together to create a Working Online Webinar Series. The series grew from planting a few seeds…  Working Online Webinar Series 1 Beautiful collaborations, networking opportunities, full of compassion, from all over the world  We started the series with Barb Kelly who presented a number of ideas and strategies about working with children. Barb’s presentation was engaging and full of colourful ideas. We then had Sonia Jaeger who presented on counselling online and supporting expats communities for the last 5 years. The concept of being digitally nomad is fascinating and Sonia approached this well. Shellee Burroughts gave us a great insight into working online with children and families using creative approaches. It was particularly touching and insightful to hear about Shellee’s work supporting children experiencing trauma. Our last presentation was from Ellen Mahoney who gave an overview of her work online with international staff and particularly unique insight into different phases of her experiences with Covid-19 and the impact on students and staff.We then came all together as a last webinar in this series to discuss the different stages of the Covid-19 around the world as well as reflecting on each presentation, ‘take away messages’ and impact on professional practice. As the sessions evolved, many joined but a few technical issues were frustrating. Administration systems changed to accommodate this growth and reduce administration time and tasks. The newly and purposefully designed learning platform allows for quicker administration processes, safe storage of resources, videos and additional features such as a certificate on completion and feedback. Working Webinar Series 2 Other presenters joined in this adventure, creating further collaborations worldwide  As we were finishing our series of webinars, it became evident that further presentations would be pertinent in the context, and further collaborations were created. Again in this series, we were able to form a team with international coverage, which I find particularly fascinating.Colin Newton started the series with a graphically presented session on person-centred thinking. Colin and I have been in touch many times about working together and it was amazing to finally come to do this session. Colin will be back for another session later in the series. His work is so valuable in the current context as we are not able to do standardised assessments as much so this can be applied in many working contexts to ensure inclusion. I also think this different thinking and approach can change people’s lives. The graphically facilitated work can also bring so much to people involved in the process. I add an image of this type of work, such a great approach for our psychologist’s toolkit. So much to learn from this approach..  We had a second session from Daniela Tomer who helped to really deepen our thinking when supporting global migrants by differentiating definitions of TCKs and CCKs, and bringing important reflections about the type of psychologist one wants to be perceived online.We will be hearing from Dr Bonnie Wims on ‘Anxiety and Feeling Helplessness’ with the global migrant population and Dr Natalie Flatt on ‘Creating Successful Online Employee Assistance Programs for Employees, Teams and Managers’ later in the series. I also took the liberty to give a bonus presentation in the series on ‘Resilience when working with children and families’ as this is such a pertinent topic in the current context and was the topic of my theses.A Few Reflections So FarWhat a few weeks it has been…beautiful connections all around the world and lots of learning along the way. A huge thank you to all presenters who have helped make this project a reality rapidly. There have been so many learning points that I would not know where to start, but certainly the importance of connecting, seeking peer support in more challenging situations, bringing people together and learning together has particularly resonated with me. I am sure there will be many more reflections to come as we continue to process the second series…and who knows many other projects may evolve as a result. Watch out for the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologist in Australia where I have been asked to write an article.We have a surprise! We want the webinars to reach as many professionals as possible  We are sincerely wanting this work to reach as many. The small cost (in AUD) has been put in place to give a token of appreciation to our presenters, covering administration costs and also making the learning platform sustainable. Many have joined and we are hoping that many more can join us in the second series. All recordings from series 1 and 2 will be available to watch if you cannot make the live events so you can still register to these series. Please share with colleagues and networks. As Jacinda Ardern said Easter Bunnies are allowed…We are offering 40% discount until Monday evening on either Series 1 or/and Series 2 Working Online Webinar Series (AUD). A great opportunity to watch and listen to psychologists around the globe about their work online. Quote ‘Easter’ when you register. When you register for these series, you will have a 30% discount on the Child/School Psychology Resources Webinars coming up later in May. If you are financially impacted by Covid-19, we hear you. Please get in touch as we would like you to join us… Yours Adventurously, Dr P. READ MORE ON OUR WEBSITE To register for the Working Online Webinar Series 1 or/and 2  3P Psychologies for Life Adventures Mount Eliza, VIC Australia |
SPECIAL EDITION -Working Online WEBINAR SERIES 2
As a result of an evolving working context where many are opting to deliver services online, a group of psychologists have come together to deliver a webinar series on online working.
Webinar 1 – Person-Centred Thinking – Colin Newton, 8th April 7am Melbourne (7th April 10pm London, 11pm Paris, 5pm New York/Montreal)
At a time when assessment work may not be so feasible, there are many other ways to support clients. In this workshop we provide an overview of service centred thinking with person centred model approaches to planning. This may be perceived as an alternative to a medical model approach.
Person Centred Planning was first developed in the 1980’s by a small number of people including John O’Brien, Connie Lyle O’Brien, Beth Mount, Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest and Michael Smull. It was developed as a way of enabling people – children and adults – to move out of special segregated places schools, hospital and institutions into mainstream life – schools and communities. Person Centred Planning is built on the values of inclusion and looks at what support a person needs to be included and involved in their community.
Person centred approaches offer an alternative to traditional types of planning which are based upon the medical model of disability and which are set up to assess need, allocate services and make decisions for people. Person centred planning is rooted in the social model and aims to empower people who have traditionally been disempowered by ‘specialist’ or segregated services by handing power and control back to them.
This session will be graphically facilitated with a second presenter Elliot Newton. 20% reduction in book purchases for all participants joining this webinar. Simply email Inclusive.solutions@me.com with proof of attendance and we will send book and invoice details.
Webinar 2 – Supporting Global Migrants Online– 10th April 7am Melbourne (9th April 10pm London, 11pm Paris, 5pm New York/Montreal)
Daniela will talk about her online work with the globally mobiles. She will also discuss her work with the globally mobile population particularly linked to identity formation under this unique lifestyle and the unique challenges this population have during this challenging times we are living due to the coronavirus.
Webinar 3 – Working Online Supporting Anxiety and Feeling Helpless – 14th April 8am Melbourne (13th April 11pm London, 12pm Paris, 6pm New York/Montreal)
Bonnie will talk about her work online supporting expats in gaining a sense of mastery over situations that are worrying and creating anxiety. She will also explore Anxiety and Feeling Helpless how we can learn to recognise the intrusive thoughts that may trigger our anxiety and worry. Types of worry will be explored to help people learn how to manage these thoughts and change their mindset in order to gain a sense of mastery over their situation.
Webinar 4 – Person-Centred Planning In Action – 17th April 7am Melbourne (16th April 10pm London, 11pm Paris, 5pm New York/Montreal)
In this workshop we demonstrate what this approach looks like in action. With stories and live videos plus detailed reflections on person centred facilitation this work is cutting edge.
Inclusive Solutions have been using these processes since 2001 in an ever widening range of situations including planning for education, looked after children, inclusion in schools, social care environments, transitions, whole team planning and work with families and around children and young people of all ages.
This session will be graphically facilitated with a second presenter Elliot Newton. 20% reduction in book purchases for all participants joining this webinar. Simply email Inclusive.solutions@me.com with proof of attendance and we will send book and invoice details.
Webinar 5 – Transition to Working online – top tips, strategies, counselling techniques for working with teams and managers through Employee Assistance Programs – Natalie Flatt – 20th April 8am Melbourne (19th April 10pm London, 11pm Paris, 5pm New York/Montreal)
Natalie will be presenting about her innovative approach to creating support for employees, teams and managers. In this current context, this is a particular issue needing attention.
Webinar 6 – Resilience framework when working with children and families in this current context – Dr Pascale Paradis – 22nd April 8am Melbourne (21st April 11pm London, 12pm Paris, 6pm New York/Montreal)
Pascale will present a resilience framework when working with children and families. This is to support children and families going through a difficult time currently. The resilience concept, risk and protective factors will be outlined as well as tools and strategies.
Information about the webinars
Webinars will last approximately one hour and allow Q&A time at the end. You can join live or register to watch these webinars at your leisure in a purposefully designed learning platform which includes resources, links, feedback form and a certificate after completion.
To join the webinars, please follow this link for registration. Due to the current context, we acknowledge this may be a difficult time for you, so we are offering coupon discounts for participants of the Working Online Webinar Series.
https://learning.3ppsychologies.com/courses/working-online-webinar-series-2
Based on this registration, you will have access to ALL 6 webinars for 50 days. After registration, you will be sent a link that you need to follow to give you access to the webinars and learning platform.
About the Speakers and Facilitator
COLIN NEWTON is an Educational Psychologist in the UK who trained in Newcastle and worked in Nottinghamshire, East Anglia and Essex. Before that Colin was a primary school teacher in East Anglia. From 1998 – 2001 Colin was Principal Educational Psychologist of City of Nottingham Local Education Authority (LEA) where he contributed to the consultation on and successful development of an inclusive education policy across the LEA. Colin is the co-author of a number of person-centred planning resources: ‘Circles of Friends’, ‘Circle of Adults: A Team Approach to Problem Solving Around Challenging Behaviour and Emotional Needs‘ and ‘Restorative Solutions – Making it Work together’ and Managing Change in Schools, a practical handbook, Keys to Inclusion, Person Centred Planning Together.
Colin’s career has been values driven, but also practical using applied psychology in training and real life problem solving with schools, families and individual children and young people. Colin is a proud parent to two sons and a daughter.
DANIELA TOMER is an Israeli and Belgian licensed Clinical Psychologist. Her nomadic lifestyle led her to co-found GNW- Global Nomad’s World a consultancy dedicated to help individuals and organisations around the world with different challenges, through Psychology and Sports. Daniela also serves as FIGT- Families in Global Transition Counseling and Coaching Affiliate Chair. She is a leading force of a growing movement of mental health professionals who are working to create resources that will help people around the world to better deal with the complex issue that arise when they migrate.
Daniela has lived in Latin America, Israel, Europe and since August 2016, Boston USA. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Hebrew and speaks conversational French. She is the proud mother of four TCKs.
Dr BONNIE WIMS is an Expat Therapist and Counselling Psychologist. She has a private practice in New York and works exclusively online. Dr. Bonnie Wims received her training while living as an expat in the United Kingdom. It was in London that Dr. Wims had a traditional private practice and worked with a variety of client presentations including depression, anxiety, grief and more. After moving back to the states, first Boston and now New York, Dr. Wims began working more and more with expats and has developed both workshops and courses on cultural transitions and the challenge they bring to our sense of “self”. In addition, Dr. Wims took her private practice completely online and is committed to removing obstacles to mental wellness through online counseling.
Dr NATALIE FLATT Ph.D is co-founder of ConnectPsych Services in Australia. Natalie has extensive experience in Solution-Focussed Cognitive Behavioural presentation and interventions to assist with anxiety, resilience, stress management, relationships, workplace conflict and compassion fatigue. Her therapeutic work offers practical, evidence-based solutions to assist professionals to overcome a wide variety of difficulties to ensure ongoing emotional resilience, wellbeing, and improved self-confidence; resulting in higher work life satisfaction and productivity.
Natalie’s area of work focuses on online Employee Assistance Program, “Creating Successful Online Employee Assistance Programs for Employees, Teams and Managers”.
DR. PASCALE PARADIS is an Educational and Developmental Psychologist working in schools, private practice as well as working in a university training clinic. As well as using online tools due to her global migration journey, Pascale has developed two websites with many resources for families, schools and professionals and a series of child/school psychology resources webinars. Pascale provides online individual and group supervision to psychologists and professionals working with children, families and schools.
Member of the British Psychological Society (MBPsS), Australian Psychological Society (MAPS) and the College of Educational and Developmental Psychologists (FCEDP), Pascale has developed specific interests in the following fields of psychology: school adaptation, resilience, cross-cultural issues and migration, positive psychology and, leadership and organisational psychology in schools. With 25 years in education, Pascale worked in different childcare and educational settings, notably, summer camps, primary school and secondary schools, independent schools, further education colleges and childcare centres in Quebec, Scotland and England. She also worked for local authorities developing specialised education and services for children and families.
#RESOURCES 54: 10 MORE ACTIVITIES WITH CHILDREN FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS WORKING ONLINE
As I was writing my previous post on the topic (https://3ppsychologies.com/2020/03/21/resources-51-online-tools-and-10-activities-for-psychologists-working-with-children-online/), I came up with other suggestions so I thought I would these together here.
- Watching a video together – You can do that by sharing your screen with the child and present the video. In YouTube, you can search for different videos related to the colours of the Zone of Regulation program such as videos about anger when searching for red zones of regulation. Make sure you watch the full video prior to ensure it is appropriate for the age of the child. There are different videos for younger and older children. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXXlw5bZYnCqtq03LaaeNuxAcHozkUfag
2. Puppets or little people – You can ask the child to get some teddies or little people they have in the house and develop stories with these. You could also have puppets and talk through the puppets during the session. You can develop a story or write a story together with different characters and perspectives.
3. Cartoon strips – You can develop together (either on the whiteboard or on paper) scenarios of different situations that happened and then change these into a different scenarios with either a different social response or a different thought. This can really the child to see a situation in a different way as well as the therapist being able to exactly depict what happened in a specific situation.
4. Eliciting strengths – You can design a character with a specific strength – like a kind character, a playful character, etc. and then discuss in what situation the character could help. Similarly, you can draw together a poster with different bubbles outlining the child’s strengths.
5. Lego – You could ask the child to build something out of Lego either a house, a school, etc. and then build a story around it with different characters, little people or Lego people. You can the parents to prepare a box of Lego for the session.
6. Information and Activities – You can send some worksheets/activities prior to the session for the child to have a look at. Please do not assume the family is able to print, if they do, that’s great. If they cannot print, you could still use the template to guide your session and talk about the topic. You can even make your own with the child either on the whiteboard or on paper. Whatever you do, you can send via email at the end of the session. If the child draws or does an activity, you can ask the parents to store it safely or put it in a place where the child feels comfortable with.
7. A Calming Drawing Activity – You can set up a drawing activity, they draw and you draw something different or similar, depending on the situation. For example, you could both have a mindful drawing sheet, different (one found in the house) or similar (one sent prior to the session). Whilst you are drawing, you can be talking to each other, “How was your day, how are you, what about Mum, Dad”, etc. and be together sharing a “space”.
8. Sing together or watch a Sing and Dance video – for example, a child may like the Wiggles, you can share this video on the screen and watch it and dance together.
9. Posters – Create a poster for the fridge or the bedroom – together on whiteboard or the child does it alone and you are commenting. This could be an emotional regulation poster with different strategies for example.
10. Closing the session – It is important to set a rituals to say goodbye. You may want to think how to set this up like a ‘5 minute to the end’ message, agreeing on the next steps during the week and next session time, helping the child to think about what’s next in their day to support the transition and closure of the session. You can decide together how to say goodbye online, like a virtual high five, a special wave, thumbs up, a special ritual to end of the session will help create predictability and reduce anxiety of leaving and saying goodbye.
Additional Resources and Online Webinars/events
http://www.safehandsthinkingminds.co.uk/covid-anxiety-stress-resources-links/
Different activities for psychologists – https://www.meehanmentalhealth.com/the-playful-therapist-blog/telemental-health-and-children-20-free-minimal-supply-activities
Mindful Musings for TeleTherapy https://www.facebook.com/events/214309229807510/
Working Online Webinar Series including two webinars specifically for professionals are working with children. You can still register and have access to all webinars, resources and links. Working Online Webinar Series 2 is being prepared currently and will be advertised shortly, with completed new speakers and focus. See link below to register for Series 1.
#RESOURCES 53: EVEN MORE ACTIVITIES TO DO AT HOME
As I was writing these two posts (https://3ppsychologies.com/2020/03/23/resources-52-covid-19-10-more-activities-for-home-you-are-not-alone/ https://3ppsychologies.com/2020/03/13/resources-48-covid-19-survival-tips-for-parents-10-activities-for-home/), I found I had more ideas and suggestions coming so here is another text and resources about another 10 activities to do at home during a self-isolation period.
- Visit museums online: This link was shared in some forums. You can visit many museums around the world via an online platform. https://hellogiggles.com/news/museums-with-virtual-tours/?fbclid=IwAR0rY_yo3gN8TNpULY13GbwsixWYZwGrRC1E4HSf2JM0VDU5LJ26Y8d_zZ8
- Audiobooks: Audiobooks can be great for children either to help them feel calmer going to sleep or to vary their learning experiences. This company has announced free audiobooks for children. https://stories.audible.com/start-listen
- Science Experiments: Children are fascinated by science experiments. Some may prefer art and some others may prefer science experiments. It is important to vary activities to offer a wide range of learning experiences. There are lots of videos on Youtube or here is a link to different science experiment ideas. https://www.google.com/search?rls=en&q=pinterest+science+experiments&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=safari&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiq7O_oocPoAhXfyDgGHfaXBPkQsAR6BAgIEAE&biw=2028&bih=1310 and
- Posters for bedroom wall: Children like being to make their place their own. Choosing pictures for the wall and making a feature of it can be a great activity for them.Cutting and arranging flowers
- Mood Boards are a visual representation of how we feel using lots of different materials, images, art, magazines, drawings, etc. It can also be done using free graphic designer programs such as Canva. It can be a great activity to sit together and create a mood board and discuss how we are feeling. Here is a link to different ideas https://www.google.com/search?q=mood+boards+kids&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwic0-alq8PoAhUUGrcAHRTPBJ0Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=mood+boards+kids&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzIGCAAQCBAeOgQIABBDUK3SBFja2ARgm9oEaABwAHgAgAG3AYgBnwaSAQMwLjWYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZw&sclient=img&ei=5H6CXpzRHJS03LUPlJ6T6Ak&bih=1310&biw=2028&client=safari
- Campfire – If you have a fireplace in the house or outside, why not make a special time all together to sit around the fire, tell stories, sing songs and play campfire games (like I start a story and the other one continues, or the Whisperer/Telephone). You could even make some Smores or Encore (2 biscuits, a piece of chocolate and a marshmallow in a sandwich, melted in in foil).
- Journalling – You can encourage children to journal their experience of being at home using drawings, keywords or sentences.
- Family Recipe Book – You can take the time to put together all the family recipe in a book and ask the children to draw or photograph ingredients or the full final product if you have cooked it together.
- Labelling features in the house in a different language – It can be a helpful way to learn a language as it becomes visual using the object and a word. You can then practice together at saying the words and using these in a sentence. You could also have an activity where coffee, tea, biscuits are served in the language, ideal for the French Cafe experience.
- In our garden, there are lots of flowers growing at the moment. Picking flowers and arranging them, learning their names, etc. can be a particularly mindful and peaceful activity. Bringing nature in also brightens up the house.
Choosing and printing posters for a bedroom wall
Author
Pascale is an educational and child psychologist (UK)/educational and developmental psychologist (AU) working in private practice, a university clinic and supporting professionals online via individual, group, webinars and training.
Some Other Ideas
Bear Grylls suggest 100 activities for the great indoors in self-isolation. Yes there is some Scouting in the activities I suggested!
I came across this for Parents themselves…
Additional Resources
Training Package – Global Migration Webinars and 50 Counselling Cards
Information about the Counselling Cards Design
We have designed 50 counselling cards related to global migration. The cards are designed using a postcard concept to reflect the global migration aspect to this project. These cards aim to help support conversations with children, young people and families about global migration challenges and opportunities.
Based on the Toolkit to Global Migration, theoretical frameworks, parental, personal and professional experiences, these cards have been designed for children and young people so fun and colourful. My daughter who is 13 helped design these cards so there is definitely a young person’s mind in these. She has found the project therapeutic and helpful in understanding her global migration journey.
Cards have also been designed to use metaphors so that children and young people can talk through the metaphors with different images. For example, one of the cards has an anchor and aims to elicit conversations about settling in one place and ways to do this.
The themes have all been thought through very carefully and many linked to theoretical frameworks such as resilience, transition and positive psychology. An information booklet accompanies the cards so that the professional working with the global migrant family understands the different theoretical concepts and metaphors used. References are also provided in this booklet.
The counselling cards aim to support professionals understand global migration issues and provide tools to initiate conversations that are specifically related to transitions and this challenges and opportunities of moving abroad.
Information about the Training Package
The training package includes webinars presenting the different counselling cards, images, metaphors and concepts behind all the design. These webinars will be available for you to watch at your leisure for a period of time after enrolling in the full training package.
You will have have the opportunity to have an individual consultation with Dr Pascale Paradis to discuss the training package and the counselling cards. You will receive a certificate to show your participate in the professional development.
On completion of the training and consultation, the counselling cards will be sent to you via post for use with children, young people and families.
Who Is This For?
For any professionals working with children, young people and families experiencing global migration challenges and opportunities such as psychologists, counsellors, coaches, therapists, social workers, educators working in a counselling role.
Why Is The Training Important?
The training is there to be helpful and really understand the design of the cards and the thinking/rationale behind each card. It is also there to create discussions about global migration issues that are very specific to this population of children and families. Forums will be created to support you and others, and create discussions about global migration issues when working with children, young people and families.
When Will This Training Be Available?
The counselling cards are all ready and printed. The webinars are being developed currently. The booklet needs a little bit of reviewing and editing! so we are nearly ready to go! Very exciting!
If interested in this training package and the counselling cards, get in touch at info@3ppsychologies.com or register at learning.3ppsychologies.com