If your students (and you, too) feel a bit anxious these days, you are not alone! April is Counseling Awareness Month, so all month long, we collected activities that can help alleviate that anxiety and increase focus. Use these dynamic resources in your online therapy activities with students, or provide to caregivers for home practice.
Try a calming technique to increase student focus
54321 Grounding TechniqueHere is a simple and effective 54321 Grounding Technique that you can utilize to help your students feel more focused and calm. We love that this activity is adaptable for children in elementary all the way to adulthood!Take a deep belly breath to begin.
5 – LOOK: Look around for 5 things that you can see, and say them out loud.
4 – FEEL: Pay attention to your body and think of 4 things that you can feel, and say them out loud.
3 – LISTEN: Listen for 3 sounds. Say the three things out loud.
2 – SMELL: Say two things you can smell.
1 – TASTE: Say one thing you can taste.
Take another deep belly breath to end.
Concentrate on gratitude to reduce anxiety
Gratitude ActivitiesAre you ready to focus on something positive? So are we! When your students feel worried and anxious, try focusing on gratitude to help reduce their anxiety. Check out these activities, such as a gratitude journal that you can complete with your teletherapy students, or a gratitude jar that families can implement at home.
Incorporate videos to teach your students about mindfulness
Zen Den Listening Videohttps://youtu.be/uUIGKhG_Vq8Check out this engaging online mindfulness video for kids! This video can easily be incorporated into teletherapy sessions or sent as a resource to teachers and caregivers. Use this activity to work on listening skills, increased focus and attention, or as a calming technique.Struggle Switch Videohttps://youtu.be/rCp1l16GCXIIf your students struggle with anxiety, help them to flip the switch and turn the struggle off! Check out this video that shows adolescents and high school students that they can take control of their anxiety instead of letting it control them.
Tips for using videos in online therapy
- Be sure to preset the video before you start your online therapy activities, and skip past any ads that may precede the content you want to share.
- Zoom in on the screen so that the student can focus on the material you are sharing without being distracted by anything else on the webpage.
- If your student has trouble hearing the video, try unplugging any headphones or external speakers and increase the volume on your computer.
E-Therapy has more online therapy activities for you
Check out our March, February, and January Online Therapy Activity Round-ups for more fun games and activities that can easily be used in your online therapy sessions.Our online speech therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and counselors curated a list of tried-and-true resources that they use in their lessons.Download a PDF version of the Online Resouce Guide:
Ready to join our online therapy team? Sign up to be a therapist or search our current openings!
