Senior Adult Prom

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submitted here by Melinda Dykes of Lincoln Residential Center, Brookhaven, MS on Tuesday, January 07, 2003

Size: large group

Equipment: decorations, finger food, music, a specific place to take pictures

Objective: Socialization

Description: Decorate as you would for a school prom. Invite area high school students to come wearing their prom attire. Dress clients in nice clothing (e.g. old prom or wedding dresses collected from staff). Decorate an area for taking pictures. Play music appropriate for the age group. Have a great time!

Emotional Regulation

This week's handout is also from Pinterest.

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Just the Way You Are

Submitted here by Gretchen Mahraun, RMT-BC of WBJ/ADATC

Size: 5-20

Equipment: recording of Billy Joel's "Just The Way You Are", cassette/CD player, paper, pencils

Objective: Patient/Client will receive a list of positive descriptions about themselves from their peers.

Description:

1. Listen to "Just The Way You Are" while patients/clients follow along with printed lyric sheet.
2. Discuss the lyrics.
3. Have each patient/client write their name at the top of a piece of paper.
4. Pass it to the person on their right.
5. Have them write 2-3 positive comments, descriptors of the person whose paper they have.
6. Continue to pass papers until each patient/client has their original paper back.
7. Have the patients/clients read their paper aloud.
8. Discuss.

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Letter to My Future Self

This is an alternate to the "Letter to My Younger Self" activity.

Materials:

White or Lined Paper

Pens/Markers

Construction paper

Description:

Help patients make a small book using the white or lined paper.  Use the construction paper to make a cover.  Entitle the book "Letter to My Future Self."

Talk with patients about the challenges and difficulties they are currently facing.  Ask them to think about what lessons they can learn from these experiences.  Help them identify how they will be stronger and better people because of these challenge.

Instruct patients to write down these thoughts and any other things they would want their future selves to know or remember.  This may relate to life lessons, relationships, etc.  Be as specific as possible.

Afterwards, process with the patients.  What kinds of things did they include in their book?  Why?  How can they apply these lessons in their lives now, not waiting until the future? 

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Bubble Art

Here's another fun project!  Found here.

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Materials:

White Paper

Bubbles

Ink (or possibly paint?!?)

Newspaper to cover table

Description:

Mix the bubbles and ink in a container.  You could mix different ratios of ink to bubble mixture in different containers if you'd like.  Cover the table with newspapers.  Blow bubbles onto the white paint to create an abstract painting look.

"My Life" Art Project

I saw this image on Pinterest and knew there had to be a way to incorporate it into an RT group.  Here's what I came up with.

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Materials:
Art supplies of every kind - paint, watercolors, colored pencils, markers, collage stuff, crayons, construction paper, etc.
Large white paper for each participant

Description:
Ask patients to think about their lives.  What defines them?  How would they describe their lives?  What parts do they share with others and what parts to they keep hidden?

Instruct patients that they are to use the various art supplies to create a visual representation of their lives.  Give them lots of time and independence to do this.

Process the final results with patients.  Are they happy with the project they created?  Why or why not?  Does their artwork accurately portray their lives?  Are they happy with their lives?

Who Am I?

Tell patients the theme for the day. Have patients design their own “Who I Am…” pie graph (see image below for example). They can include factors such as personality, medical diagnosis, goals, religion, etc… (20 minutes)

Have patients share.

Discussion questions:

-Why did you include that on your pie chart?

-Did you learn anything new about yourself?

-Did you learn something new about your peers?

-How do we use these things to label ourselves/others?

-Are we only defined by one part of ourselves?

-How is mental illness a part of ourselves? Does it define us?

Personal Coat of Arms

Heidi Bolster, CTRS created this activity for an art therapy group at our facility.

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Supplies:

·         Copies of blank “coat of Arms” paper

·         Markers, colored pencils, crayons

·         Examples of coat of arms for reference and ideas

Purpose

·         To get patients thinking about what things represent who they are

·         What is most important to the patient?

·         To even get patients thinking about their history, their family, and their legacy

Intervention

·         Show examples of various coat of arms and ask patients what the coat of arms are/were for in the past?

·         Ask patients about the symbols in the coat of arms and the meanings behind the symbols.

·         Discuss with patients how people have used symbols throughout history to represent who they are, where they are from, and what their ambitions are in life.

·         Talk to patient about what things they might include in their own coat of arms.

·         Talk about what symbols might represent those things

·         Allow patients to begin working on their personal coat of arms.

·         Process what the patients included in their coat of arms and why

·         Talk about the benefit of knowing what you stand for and matters most to you in this life

·         Have the patients give examples of ways in which their personal coat of arms has made them more confident and inspired, and discuss how this will help them in the hospital and during future struggles.

The Face I Wear for the World

Another activity submitted by Heidi Bolster, CTRS.

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Materials

·         Paper

·         Markers, crayons, colored pencils

·         Blank face page outline

Description

·         Have a discussion with patients regarding what they openly portray about themselves to the world, and what they might hide from others.

·         Talk about why some things are guarded while others are left open for others to see

·         Give the patients the page and have them complete the following:

o   What is most important to you (use pictures and words)

o   Are you guarded around others or open (use colors to portray this)

o   How do you see life (decorate the eyes according to how they see the world)

o   What do you listen to, what words effect you? (decorate ears according to this)

o   What do you express (opinions, beliefs, etc.)- decorate mouth according to this

o   The, on the back of the mask, have the patients write down what they hide from the world/ what they don’t want others to see

·         Process what the patients put down on their masks and talk about why we guard some things and are open about others

·         Talk about the benefit of sharing with those we trust, but the importance of boundaries in doing so

·         Ask if there is anything the patients would like to change about their “mask”, and if so, ask how they can take steps toward those changes now

Nature Collage

Thanks Heidi Bolster, CTRS for submitting this activity!

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Materials Needed: Construction paper, national geographic magazines, glue, markers, Scissors (if appropriate for the group)

Description: Have patients create a motivational collage using images from nature. Talk with patients about how nature can inspire, uplift, and help us with our physical, mental, spiritual, emotional etc. health. Talk about what images the patients chose and why, and discuss how nature can help them through hard times in their life.

Watercolor Trees

Thanks Heidi Bolster for this awesome activity!  It works great with some of our lower functioning geriatric patients.

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Give each Pt. a copy of a silhouetted tree. Instruct the pts. to water color the different sections of the tree (as divided by the branches), into different colors. Allow the Pts. to use whatever colors and styles of painting that they want in order to foster creativity and expression. If a Pt. wants to add more detail, show them how to add texture to their painting through different strokes and styles of painting. 

Emotion Wheel

I originally found this art therapy project here, and modified it slightly to meet the needs of my patients.

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Materials:

Copy of Emotion Wheel for each participant

Crayons/Markers/Colored Pencils

Description:

Give each patient a copy of the emotion wheel.  (A circle divided into 8 pie sections).  Have them write above each of the eight sections with an emotion they have felt over the last few days, week, etc.

Then, instruct the patients to come up with a color/picture to decorate each section of the pinwheel to match the emotion they listed.

Processing:

Have the patients share their emotion wheels.  Consider the following questions:

*When did you feel that emotion this week? What was the situation?

   *When else in your life have you or will you feel that emotion?  How can you cope with it?

*What made you choose that color/picture to represent that particular emotion?

*How do the emotions you chose differ from those selected by another patient?

*Did you include more positive or negative emotions in your emotion wheel?  What does that say about your overall mood?

*Are there any emotions that you feel regularly that you did not include on the will?  

   *What would those emotions have looked like?

*How does the way you experience a particular emotion differ from the way someone else experiences it?

Here was our finished product!

Inside Outside Bags

This activity was submitted by the Activity Therapists at Provo Canyon Behavioral Hospital.

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You’ll Need: Magazines

                         Glue or Tape

                         Paper

                         Markers or Colored Pencils or Crayons

                         Brown Paper Bag for each participant

Patients should be instructed to decorate the outside of their bag with things that represent how other people see them and put things inside that represent how they really are on the inside. Patients can tear out of the magazines, so scissors are not needed!

Then, patients should share the outside and inside of their bags with the group.

Can process:

1.     The difference between who we really are and how we present ourselves.

2.     Why it can be difficult to share what is inside the bag, what are we afraid of?

3.     How can communicating who we are be important in relationships?

4.     What happens if we don’t communicate who we are?

Leisure and Feelings

Submitted by Joselyn Whetzel of UVA Medical Center / Adult Psychiatric

Size: 4-10

Equipment: papers, pens/pencils, chalkboard, small basket

Objective: To raise the awareness of leisure activities being effective as positive coping strategies.

Description: Pass out paper and pens and have each patient write down 2-3 leisure activities that they enjoy. Collect these papers in a basket and put aside.


Next, ask patients to brainstorm feelings or emotions they enjoy or like to feel (i.e. belonging, sense of adventure, love, happiness, sense of accomplishment, self- worth, etc.). List on chalkboard leaving space under each emotion.

After you have listed about 8 or so emotions/feelings... pull out the basket you have set aside. Pull out the papers and read each leisure activity and ask patients how it makes them feel (i.e. How does walking in the park make you feel? relaxed, peaceful). List the leisure activities on the board under the appropriate emotions/feelings.

Lastly, explain to patients that when we feel low or depressed we are able to get back in touch with these emotions/feelings that we like through the magic of leisure activities!!

Straw Blown Paintings

Here is an activity submitted by Heidi Bolster, CTRS.

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Materials:

·         Paper (preferably thicker paper for painting

·         Acrylic paint

·         Water mixed with acrylic paint to thin the paint for the straw-blowing portion of the activity

·         Paint brushes

·         Drinking straws

Description

·         Patients will paint a background using whatever creativity they like onto the paper until the whole page is painted

·         Patients will use straws to blow the “water thinned” paint across the background painting

·         Patients can create trees with this technique, or they can make spiders/monsters, etc. for a Halloween activity.

Processing questions:

·         How well were you able to control the paint when you were blowing it with the straw? Was it frustrating when it didn’t go the way you wanted? Were you able to create the image in your mind, or did it turn out different than expected? Was it frustrating, and how did you deal with those emotions?

·         Does this happen in life sometimes? (When things don’t go as planned?) How do you deal with this in your life? What are emotions you feel when things don’t go as planned? How do you deal with those emotions? How do you want to deal with those emotions? What can you do right now, while you are in the hospital, to help you manage your emotions and choices when life seems to go a different way than planned?

Two Truths and A Lie

I like to use this game after we discuss communication or even as an ice breaker/getting to know you game.

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Materials:
Index Cards
Pens/pencils

Description:
Give each person an index card and a pen.  Instruct them to write down two truths and one lie about themselves on the card.  (Not necessarily in that order!)  I've found that by having the patients write down their three statements, they remember them better and it makes it harder to tell which one is the lie.

After everyone has written down their three statements, select one person to go first.  This person reads his three statements and the group tries to guess which ones are true and which one is false.  After the group guesses, have the person reveal whether or not the group was right.  Then select another player to go, and continue doing so until everyone has had a chance to read their statements.

After everyone has finished, I like to lead a discussion about communication   We talk about non-verbal communication, body language, tone of voice, eye contact, etc. and how that relates to how we communicate with one another.  It also helps us get to know each other and feel more comfortable as a group.