Dr Margot Sunderland is Director of Education and Training at The Centre for Child Mental Health London, Senior Associate of the Royal College of Medicine and Child Psychotherapist with over 30 years’ experience of working with children and families. Dr Sunderland is the author of over 20 books in child mental health, which collectively have been translated into 18 languages and published in 24 countries. Her books, which form the Helping Children with Feelings series, are used as key therapeutic tools by child professionals all over the UK and abroad. Margot Sunderland’s books are recommended reading for those who attend our courses. Our trainees find the Draw On books very helpful in training and then also with their children - not just those children identified for special help. They deal with universal life themes relevant for all. I particularly like the theoretical explanation mixed with superb, doable activities/exercises and copyable handouts. For each of the emotions, I encourage clients to do an abstract picture and avoid words, faces, and recognizable images. I ask them to think about what colors they connect with each feeling and then what lines, shapes, and gestures could express that feeling.

This manual contains a series of structured "easy to do" picture exercises to help people of all ages express, communicate and deal more effectively with their emotions in everyday life. Providing a series of photocopiable illustrations, it is a source of effective ready made material. In the tradition of our most popular resource, My Feelings Workbook, Draw Your Emotions encourages the reader to use the gingerbread man figure to draw how a variety of emotions affects their body. The reader explores where in their body they feel the particular emotion and what it feels like. The user is encouraged to explore the various ways and places a particular emotion affects them. The goal of this resource is to help people recognize when, where and how they feel particular emotions so that they will be better able to regulate their feelings. The new suggestions will take the work with children from labelling feelings without a real connection to deeper meaning to an integration of feelings, imagination and language that deepen awareness and supports emotional development. By witnessing the art, the therapist gives the client the experience of validation and acceptance of their feelings.

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Figueroa-Sánchez, M. (2008). Building Emotional Literacy: Groundwork to Early Learning. Childhood Education, 84(5), 301–304. Offering a broad range of exercises which can be adapted for any ability or age from middle childhood onwards, this unique book explores a range of emotions surrounding a person¹s important life experiences, key memories, relationships, best times, worst times and who they are as a person. This is an essential resource for therapists, educators, counsellors and anyone who engages other people in conversations that matter about their relationship to self, others and life in general. This blog is not intended to diagnose or treat any mental health conditions. All directives, interventions, and ideas should be used by qualified individuals within the appropriate bounds of their education, training, and scope of practice. Information presented in this blog does not replace professional training in child and family therapy, art therapy, or play therapy . Art therapy requires a trained art therapist.

This exercise can be introduced by the therapist as a within-session exercise, or as a homework task which can be discussed in the next session. It is helpful to inform young people that there is no ‘right answer’ but that the therapist is simply interested in how they might feel in a range of situations. As important as the drawing itself is the therapeutic discussion which the exercise can facilitate. Clients might be prompted to consider: Wayne lives with his wife, three youngest kids, three dogs and an insane collection of his kids' other pets outside of Columbus, Ohio. In addition to his work with Hope 4 Hurting Kids, Wayne is a partner in a local consulting firm, an avid reader, coaches his son's soccer team and is a proud supporter of Leicester City Football Club (and yes, for those in know, his affinity for the club does predate the 2016 championship). The cards will not go out of date as I imagine they will illustrate life’s difficulties that are timeless. The second edition of Draw on Your Emotions contains a new section that explains how to get the most out of combining the activities in the book with these cards to encourage meaningful conversations and take steps towards positive action.All of these have been helpful for different clients and situations, and I continue to use them when they are appropriate. However, sometimes the idea of drawing or painting feelings can be really challenging for client who aren’t used to thinking about their emotions in the language of color or metaphor (or who aren’t used to paying attention to their feelings at all). I am a founding director of a company that supports approximately 1,800 adults working in education to understand if a child has emotional developmental interruptions and what to do to make a difference. We train many teachers and other adults working in schools.

When I’ve done this in a group setting, there is the additional benefit of experiencing one’s emotions accepted and witnessed by the whole group. Group members are often able to relate to each other and enjoy discussing the common connections that they see. 6 image art sequence to help with expressing emotions At other times, the therapist might want to more directly encourage the expression or exploration of emotions through art. They might set up a directive in a way that will enhance affective processing or will directly give clients a prompt to make art related to their feelings. Why is it helpful for clients to express emotions through art? Wayne is the founder and executive director of Hope 4 Hurting Kids. He is a happily married father of four kids with a passion for helping young people who are going through rough times. In addition to Hope 4 Hurting Kids, Wayne previously started I Am A Child of Divorce and Divorce Ministry 4 Kids to help kids who are dealing with the disruption of their parents' relationship. These are now part of Hope 4 Hurting Kids. Wayne speaks frequently at conferences and churches on issues related to helping kids learn to deal with difficult emotions and life in modern families. Encouraging client to express their feelings in art is something that I have often done as a therapist, in many different ways over my years as a therapist. For example, I have asked clients simply to “draw or paint what you’re feeling today.” I have suggested that they draw what anger, depression, or anxiety look like to them. I have done art about feelings and needs. I have tried feelings mandalas (draw what you’re feeling in the inside of the circle and then what is going on in your life on the outside). I have done feelings hearts and pie charts with kids who have trouble opening up about feelings. I often suggest that overly anxious or angry kids make a monster to represent the feeling. Carolyn Mehlomakulu, LMFT-S, ATR is an art therapist in Austin, Texas who works with children, teens, and families. For more information about individual therapy, teen and child counseling, family therapy, teen group therapy, and art therapy services, please visit: www.therapywithcarolyn.com.

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Share your thoughts in the comments! What’s your favorite directive to creatively explore feelings? Did you try the 6-image sequence and how did it go? Very useful book ... clear explanations for each template." - Speech & Language Therapy in Practice Offering a broad range of exercises which can be adapted for any ability or age from middle childhood onwards, this unique book explores a range of emotions surrounding a person (1)s important life experiences, key memories, relationships, best times, worst times and who they are as a person. This is an essential resource for therapists, educators, counsellors and anyone who engages other people in conversations that matter about their relationship to self, others and life in general.