Tools For Counseling Children

It is important for children to know how to identify and handle their feelings. There are many times in school when they do not know how to handle the emotions that they are feeling. As a school psychologist, it is important to have the tools to help children identify and handle their emotions. Here are some tools you can use when counseling children.

Help Them Identify Their Feelings

Help students to identify the situations that cause them stress and anxiety. Help them to figure out what triggers their emotions. Is it the classroom setting? Is it having too much work? Is it being away from home and friends and family? What are the situations that trigger their negative emotions?

Give Them Tools To Help Calm Down

There are different coping mechanisms that you can teach students to use to help them gain control over their emotions. Here is a list of things that you can teach them to do when they feel anxious or stressed.

• Take deep breaths
• Draw or color
• Write down your thoughts
• Ask to take a short walk down the hall
• Stretch
• List three positive things in your life
• Move away from the distraction or the thing that is bothering you.
• Focus on your senses: List five things you see, four things you feel, three things you hear, two things you smell and one thing you taste.
• Ask your teacher to help you with the assignment or to break it down into smaller parts.

Help Them Take Their Mind Off It

Sometimes students just need someone to talk to. They often just need someone who is willing to listen to them and listen to the problems they are facing. They want to feel heard and acknowledged. Listen to them and give them advice if they seem like they want it. They do not always want advice, they might just want someone who will listen.

Fidget Toys

There are many small toys that students can use to help them relieve their stress in the classroom. They usually need to move around or need something to do with their hands. Keeping fidget toys like fidget rings and stress balls in the classroom for students to use will help them stay calm and focused throughout the day.

To learn more about how Grand Canyon University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences provides students with ways to bring psychological practices to the workplace, visit our website or click the Request More Information Button on this page.