Emotional Regulation

This week's handout is also from Pinterest.

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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!

Change

I loved this when I saw it on Pinterest!  I feel like almost everyone can relate to it, whether it be the patient or the therapist.  What is holding you back??

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Box of Chocolates

This activity was created by Heidi Bolster, CTRS.  It's a lot of fun!

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You Never Know What You’re Gonna get in a Box of Chocolates…

Materials:
-Cut up about 20 small strips of paper
-Something for patients to write with
-Candy (preferably chocolate)

Directions:
Talk about the different elements of communication (tone, verbal, no verbal, etc.).  Discuss why it is important to communicate appropriately and clearly with others Discuss emotions in relation to communication and talk about how difficult it can be to assume someone else’s emotion at times.

Hand out strips of paper and writing utensils to patients and have them write down and discuss different emotions on the strips of paper. Have patients put strips of paper in a bag.

Show the patients the written statement, “You Never Know What You’re Gonna get in a Box of Chocolates…”

Instruct patients to, one at a time, pick an emotion from the bag and act out the emotion while saying, “You Never Know What You’re Gonna get in a Box of Chocolates…”  Allow the other patients to try and guess the emotion; once the emotion is guessed, the person who guessed it correctly goes next This is similar to emotion charades.  After everyone has had a few turns discuss the ease or difficulty with which the patients could act/guess the emotion that was picked from the bag.  Talk about the importance of tone & body language in the absence of words.

Discuss how the difficulty of presenting/guessing the emotions relates to their current situation in treatment.  How can they be more clear and appropriate in communicating their feelings? How can this benefit them in the hospital and how can this benefit them after discharge?  Give the patients chocolate for participating and encourage them to make small goals to help them improve their communication skills.

Coloring with Emotions

This is a great art therapy activity!

Description:

Discuss with patients how emotions relate to color.  Consider the following chart.

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Next, have patients fill out the following emotion grid. Instruct patients to choose one color to represent each emotion and color in the square. After all the squares are complete, discuss the choices as a group. What color did each patient choose? Why? What emotions did the patients choose similar colors for?  Etc.

Feel free to add/change emotions as needed

Then give each patient a blank piece of paper. Have the patients identify some of the emotions they are currently feeling. Using the colors they chose to represent those particular emotions, have the patients create a new drawing. Explain that they can express their emotions by the colors they choose. They do not have to draw objects in the typical colors, although they can. For example the sun could be yellow for you or black for hatred. Afterwards process the pictures with the patients and talk about how color can be helpful in expressing emotions.

*Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures...hopefully you get the idea!

How Are You Peeling?

I read this book in a group during my internship.  My co-intern Katie Greenland and I had a blast preparing this lesson!

As we read this book with the kiddos, we had them play special attention to the pictures.  We then talked about what the faces looked like and how different emotions are expressed differently.

Emotion Charades

This game is always a hit at my facility!!  Hope you enjoy it!

Materials:
Emotions Charades pictures (I usually just cut up one of the charts for this)
Emotion faces chart for participants.  There are lots online, here is one sample:

Description:
Begin the group by introducing the daily theme- recognizing and expressing emotion. Begin playing Charades. Each person draws a face, and then has to get the group to guess the emotion they are feeling. NO WORDS! If they are having a hard time, they can ask one person in the group to help them.

After playing for a while (make sure everyone has at least 1 turn), pass out the emotion faces chart. You can keep playing, and it will be easier to guess the emotion because of the chart. Or you can go straight into the processing.

Processing:
Talk about the game. What was difficult about it? What made it difficult? Talk about the idea that the way one person expresses an emotion may be different than how someone else expresses that same emotion. Also talk about how one emotion may be interpreted as another emotion. Share experiences of when that may have happened. Talk about the importance of clearly recognizing and expressing emotion to those around us so that we can get the help we need.

In the Manner of the Adverb

Here's another fun game!  This can be used as an activity itself, or as a filler if you have a little extra time.

Choose one person to leave the room.  This player will be the guesser.

Everyone else stays in the room and quietly chooses an adverb (i.e. clumsily, loudly, flirtatiously).  After agreeing on the adverb, invite the guesser back into the room.  The guesser chooses someone in the room and then asks them to do an action "in the manner of the adverb."  For example, say "Player A, will you brush your teeth in the manner of the adverb?"  Player A then proceeds to brush his teeth (pretending) in the manner of the adverb.  The guesser continues to ask various players to do various actions until he is able to guess what the adverb is.

After successfully guessing the adverb, another player steps out of the room and a new adverb is chosen.

Examples of actions might include:
-Brush your teeth
-Do a pushup
-Walk to the door
-Drink a glass of water
-Write your name
-Shake someone's hand
-Wave
-Do a jumping jack

Examples of adverbs include:
-Happily
-Angrily
-Romantically
-Slowly
-Hesitantly
-Shamefully
-Bitterly
-Majestically

Afterwards, process this activity.  You could relate it to communication and how nonverbal communication affects how we pass information from person to person.  You could also talk about different emotions and how we express these emotions to others around us.  It could also be used to discuss how we cope with anxiety, as some participants might be nervous about having to play the game.  Be creative and see how your group does; adapt the processing to meet their needs.

My Many Colored Days

Here's another one of my favorite groups because it's so easy to adapt for whatever functioning level of the group.  Plus, it's a Dr. Seuss book, so how can it not be awesome? ;-)

Talk about how colors represent various emotions, and how emotions are expressed through colors. For example,
   I’m feeling blue
   Rage represented by red
   Gray being a “blah” color
   Green with envy
   Etc.

Then read the book “My Many Colored Days” by Dr. Seuss with the patients.

Discuss the book with patients. How well did Dr. Seuss express emotions through colors? Do you agree with the emotion he gave each color? Why or why not? What would you change? What emotions would you add?

Ask patients what kind of day they are having? A blue day? A purple day?

How do you know what color of day you are having.

Give patients colored paper and markers. Have them create some kind of artwork using the colors to express the emotions they are feeling. Share and discuss the artwork with the group.

Feelings Jenga

Here is another Jenga game.  If you haven't seen the Communication Jenga or the Social Skills Jenga, be sure to check them out as well.  Jenga has endless possibilities for rec therapists!!

I saw this picture on Pinterest and immediately thought it would be perfect for my facility.  The geriatric unit especially loves telling stories, and this would be a good way to keep them involved and on topic.

Basically, you write an emotion on each Jenga piece.  Examples of different emotions might include:
-Happy
-Grief
-Lonely
-Worried
-Excited
-Angry
-Disappointed
-Hurt
-Sorrowful
-Exhausted
-Hopeless
-Confident
-Friendly
-Embarrassed
-Ashamed
-Proud
-Indifferent

Play Jenga as normal.  When a player pulls out a Jenga block, he/she must read the emotion listed on the block and then share a time when he/she felt that emotion.

You could also write the same emotion on several different Jenga blocks, so that more than one person will draw that block and share that emotion.

Afterwards, process with the group.  Which emotions were easy to talk about?  Which were more difficult?  Which emotion do you feel the most?  The least?

Music Moods

Give the patients a large piece of white construction paper. Divide the paper into ten sections. Select ten different songs of varying genres. Allow the students to listen to parts of each song one at a time. After they listen to the song have them draw in one of the squares according to how the song made them feel.

After going through every song, discuss how each song made the group feel.  Then discuss emotions, the importance of recognizing emotions, and skills for managing emotions.

Discuss coping mechanisms and how music can be used to cope and how it can be detrimental.


Ideas submitted by Heidi Bolster, CTRS.