What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is a special kind of talking therapy that helps kids understand and manage their feelings and thoughts. Imagine your mind is like a big puzzle, and CBT helps you figure out how the pieces fit together. Instead of just talking about problems, CBT teaches kids to notice and change the tricky thoughts that might make them feel sad, worried, or mad. It focuses on recognizing thoughts, and changing them to be more positive or solution oriented.
Who is CBT for?
CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, can benefit lots of different people! It’s like a helpful tool for anyone who wants to understand and change the way they think and feel. Kids who sometimes feel worried or sad, teens dealing with stress, and even grown-ups facing challenges can find CBT really useful. It’s like having a guide for your thoughts and emotions, helping you turn tricky clouds into bright sunshine. Whether someone is struggling with school, friendships, or just feeling a bit down, CBT can be like a superpower that helps them face challenges and feel better about themselves.
How CBT can Help Kids in Therapy or Counseling
CBT can be like having a guide map for the mind. The counselor and the child work together to spot unhelpful thoughts and replace them with more positive ones. It’s like changing a grumpy cloud into a happy sun in your brain. With CBT, kids learn simple tricks to face challenges, like homework or making friends, and become experts at feeling better about themselves.
Why It’s Important to have FUN and Engaging Activities when Working with Kids
Making therapy fun and engaging for children is super important! When kids have fun during therapy, it’s like adding a sprinkle of joy to their learning. Fun activities help children feel comfortable and excited to come to counseling, and more importantly, open up about their thoughts and feelings.
It’s like turning therapy into a playground for their minds, where they can explore and discover new ways to cope with challenges. Using games, art, or engaging exercises makes the whole experience feel like an adventure, and it helps kids build trust with their therapist. So, when therapy feels like playtime, it becomes a special space where children can grow, learn, and feel better in a way that makes them smile!
Here’s a BUNDLE of CBT Activities that can help you save time and money on planning for your CBT counseling sessions!
Provide Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) counseling with these activities and tools for your students working on Coping Skills, Depression, Anxiety, and Self-Esteem with this large BUNDLE! This bundle includes Video Links for instruction, A Power Point Lesson, Worksheets for practice, a Social Story activity, and GAMES for learning with fun!
Here are the Activities included in this Bundle
The Positive Thinking Game
This board game is a fun and easy way to work with students on improving their positive thinking habits, growth mindset, and self-esteem. It’s perfect for small group counseling groups for grades 2-8.
To play: Roll the dice to figure out which player will start. (Highest number goes first. Then players go in clockwise direction.) •When players land on a star, read the hexagon card’s question or prompt about positive thinking. •When a player lands on an X, read the square cards with a question or prompt about a negative thinking or a negative behavior. •If the player has to move up or back, their turn is over and they do not have to pull a card again. •Play until all players have finished the game.
CBT Video Links with Worksheets
There are enough videos and worksheets for 3 counseling sessions on this topic. Skills taught will help students who are working on improving their emotional regulation, coping skills, and self-esteem. Videos are good for grades 2-8 and worksheets are simple, but will require your support if students have lower reading and writing skills. Use videos and worksheets for facilitating learning and discussions regarding your students’ negative thinking patterns.
Improvements in changing negative thought patterns will also help build their ability to use a growth mindset when giving challenging academic tasks, and help build resilience with daily events that can cause feelings of stress or anxiety.
50 Positive Affirmations Art Activity for Academic Motivation
These 50 Positive Affirmations can help with counseling groups working on using positive thinking, self-esteem, and coping skills. It can also be a fun and easy Social-Emotional Learning Tier 1 activity for the classroom.
To use, just print out the positive statements and have your students color, cut, and glue them onto construction paper or stiffer board paper. Then poke 2 small holes and use string to make them hangable in the classroom, your office, or bedroom at home. They look great once completed.
The POSITIVE THINKING SUPERHEROES PLAY and Worksheet
Work with your students on building Self Esteem that will foster Academic Success! These 50 Positive Affirmations can help with counseling groups working on using positive thinking, self-esteem, and coping skills. It can also be a fun and easy Social-Emotional Learning Tier 1 activity for the classroom.
To use, just print out the positive statements and have your students color, cut, and glue them onto construction paper or stiffer board paper. Then poke 2 small holes and use string to make them hangable in the classroom, your office, or bedroom at home. They look great once completed.
Positive Thinking Power Point Presentation for Middle School-age Students
This presentation activity is made for Middle School Students. With it, you can teach your students about positive thinking through this ready-made presentation. There is a BINGO game that goes along with it to help maintain engagement and attention. It works for small group or whole class SEL.
Video Game-The Positive Thinking Game
Here’s one game from the Counseling Fanny Pack of Fun YouTube Channel. It’s good for either individual or Small group counseling for students with negative thinking patters.