Cups

Here is an activity submitted by Molly Gilbert, an RT intern at Sycamore Springs in Lafayette, IN.  

Objective/Goals: ­­To improve skills in the areas of stress and frustration management.

Population: ­­higher functioning patients dealing with mental health and substance abuse 

Materials Needed: one plastic cup per patient

Activity:

This is an activity based on the routine/song “Cups” by Anna Kendrick. 

Begin by discussing how patients currently deal with stress and frustration.  Discuss the difference between positive and negative coping skills and ask each patient to identify a positive way of dealing with stress and frustration.  Ask the patients to keep this in mind as they complete the activity, as it has the potential to increase their stress and frustration. 

Before passing out the cups, explain that the group will be learning a routine with the cups and that their end goal is to be able to do it all together as a group. (For even higher functioning groups, you can identify the goal as being able to do the routine along with the song).    Show them this video as an example (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2mawaBrvFg – Anna Kendrick Cup Song Audition - Pitch Perfect).

Teach patients the cup routine step by step:

·         Clap, clap

·         3 hits on table (right, left, right)

·         Clap

·         With right hand, lift cup and set back down

·         Clap

·         Grab cup with upside-down right hand

·         Opening of cup to palm of left hand

·         With right hand, tap bottom of cup on table

·         Place cup, up-right, in left hand

·         Right hand on table

·         Place cup upside-down on table to the right of your right hand

Once the group has the concept, practice the entire routine continuously.  Slowly increase the speed as patients become more confident.  As patients improve, add the challenge of passing the cup to the right at the end of each set.  When done correctly, the cups are passed around the circle.  For higher functioning groups, play the song and have them try to do the routine along with the music.  

Debriefing:

Review the positive coping skills patients identified at the start and discuss any that were used during the activity.  If negative coping skills were used, discuss why those were negative and brainstorm more positive coping skills.  End with a discussion on how it feels to be stressed/frustrated by something, but to keep working on it and then accomplish it. 

Choices in a Jar

As a school psychologist, this quickly became a favorite intervention. It didn't take me long to realize that these cards could be adapted and used for just about any grade level!

image via

Choices in a Jar, available on Amazon, is a set of cards. Each card has the question "Would you rather _______ or _______?"
-Would you rather not eat for two days or not sleep for two days?
-Would you rather have no long term memory or no short term memory?
-Would you rather live in a house with no walls or a house with no ceiling?

Sometimes I used this as a getting to know you activity when I had a new student in my group. Other times it was a good conversation starter when the kids weren't talking much. I also used it to talk about choices and consequences, and we would discuss what the consequences of each option would be.

How would you use this in your work?

Advertising

via

From Donica

Advertising

Size: 2-10

Equipment: Magazines, Scissors, Glue, Construction paper, Markers, Pencils

Objective:

• To promote increased self-esteem
• To identify positive personality traits

Description: Introduce the group to advertisements. Talk about their purpose and the method in which ads get the message across - visually and with words. Ads promote the positive aspects of a product, the finer qualities. Ads also persuade a person into buying the product. The individual's task in this project is to come up with and advertisement persuading someone to be their friend. Individuals should depict positive aspects of themselves through pictures, words, or a combination of the two.

If an individual has a difficult time thinking of reasons someone would want to be their friend, have them think of characteristics they look for in a friend. At the end of the session have participants share advertisements with one another. Let other participants confirm the positive qualities of the presenter.

Let's Make a Leisure List!

From DONICA

via

Leisure Lists

Size of Group: 4-12

Equipment: Pencil, paper, and leisure categories

FOCUS AREA: Benefits of Leisure

Description: Break the group into 2 to 3 groups. Begin discussion on favorite activities. On a large sheet of paper or white board, list the participant's favorite activities. Then, beside each person's favorite activity, list the + benefits they obtain from their preferred leisure.

Following discussion, begin the game of Leisure Lists. Break the group into 2 or 3 groups. Give the groups one minute to list as many Winter Activities on their sheet of paper. After one minute, turn the paper over and have the groups list as many "things found on a picnic."

This game is reminiscent of "Scattegories." After the 1st round, have the group with the most items listed read their list. If the other team(s) have the same item on their list, that item is crossed off on everyone's list. If no one else has an item (e.g., snow boarding), then the team gets one point. After team one has finished reading their list, the next team(s) read their list. The team with the most listed items wins the round.

You can continue with additional round with different leisure topics (things related to football, names of dances, things people collect).

Complete the activity with feedback from participants on what choices they might make when feeling depressed, bored, etc. and tie it in with the benefits they listed earlier.

EXPECTED OUTCOME: Participants will better understand how engagement in preferred activities can positively affect their feelings, moods, and thoughts.

SUMMER TIP for Parents: Use this to help your kids think of fun activities to do over summer break! Then create a master list and see how many of the activities you can do before school starts again! 

Potential Drug Free

via

Another idea submitted by Jill Sederberg.

Kick a ball in the goal as many times as you can in 30 seconds.  Do it a second time, but this time blind folded.  Notice the difference in success between the two attempts.

Discussion questions:
How can you relate this activity to addiction?
How does addiction limit your potential?
How can you eliminate the "blindfolds" in your life, or the things that hold you back?

Mind Bending Maze

submitted here by Brigette Siegel on Monday, July 28, 2003

Size: works best with 16 or more

Equipment: wooded area (or around campsite) and two lengths of rope, each 50' or longer.
-two flags for end of maze, two blindfolds

Objective: participants will experience the confusion of hearing many conflicting directions at once
-participants will work together in constructing a maze
-participants will experience healthy competition between two groups
-participants will recognize the importance of short, specific directions
-participants will have fun

Description: First have each team construct a maze either by arranging desks throughout the room or by using the rope and a stand of trees.

The best mazes have lots of turns and dead-ends; they also have several directional choices (such as an area where the maze maneuver could take either a right or a left. After building the maze, each team places their flag at the end-point or goal area of their maze. Both teams then select a maze maneuverer. This person is blindfolded.

Now, the fun part. You deal with one maze at a time.

Both teams stand together in a spot designated as an area where there will be no contact with the maze maneuverer. Team A's maze maneuverer stands blindfolded in Team B's maze. Both Team A and all of Team B stand together off to the side. Now, Team A's job is to shout commands (forward, turn right, turn back, etc..) to their maze maneuver in order to reach the flag. Team B's job is to shout the opposite commands to try to get the Maze Maneuvered off track.

This is a loud and fun initiative. 

via

How to Deal with Rude People

I saw this on Pinterest and there was no way I could not post it!

via

Crisis Intervention Model

Found this on Pinterest!

via

Building Community

Isn't this a great handout?!?  How can you apply it at your facilities??

via

Dictionary Definitions

via

Group Size: 4 to 10

Equipment: pencil, paper, dictionary

Focus: social interaction, family involvement

Before there was Balderdash, there was Flibbertigibbet. Before there was Flibbertigibbet, there was just a dictionary. What ever the name, a dictionary can be a source of fun for everyone in the group.

Description: Invite one person to look through a dictionary till he finds a word he believes no one else would know its meaning. This person reads the word aloud and spells it out for others.

The other players tries to think of a good definition for that word.

Encourage players to try to make the definition sound as if it really belongs in the dictionary as they are attempting to fool others as if there definition is the real one.

Meanwhile, the player who shared the word from the dictionary writes down the real definition on a sheet of paper.

When everyone is done, the definitions are collected and read aloud one at a time. Everyone listens and tries to guess which is the real definition.

Point distribution:

• Anyone who guesses the correct definition gets a point.
• The writer of a false definition that is voted upon gets a point for each vote he receives.
• The player who shared the word from the dictionary gets a point for every person who guessed a wrong definition.

Continue the game with each person having an opportunity to share a word from the dictionary.

Discussion: What family games do you play within your family? How do you think that games can promote communication within the family? Would a regular family game night help improve communication in your family?

Expected Outcome: participants will learn a new leisure activity and add to their repertoire of leisure interests and skills. Participants will understand the need for family activities.

submitted here