WEBSITES
Helping children cope with stress – written for parents but has a chart of varying stressors listed according to degree of stress produced and age of child likely to be affected.
An article about the link between stress and child/teen brain development which gives an overall and very readable view of the current state of knowledge in this area.
BOOKS
Fighting Invisible Tigers: stress management for teens
Earl Hipp
Free Spirit Publishing 3rd ed 2008
ISBN 978-0915793808
This is a great little book but requires the teen to be motivated to read. Some are – especially those who are stressed on account of being clever and perfectionist. It basically deals with 10 tiger-taming tactics, covering physical activity, food, relaxation, assertiveness, safety nets, goals, time management, risk taking, decisions and positive thinking – but much more interestingly presented than this list, on account of the language used, the cartoons, quotes, quizes and charts. In sepia rather than full colour.
Stress Management for Adolescents: a CBT Programme
Diane De Anda
Research Press Publishers 2002
ISBN 978-0878224364
Best used as a course rather than a dip-in resource. There’s a slim (65-page) student manual in which the teens write (there are spare pages for extras) and plenty of homework activities in true CBT style. The good thing about this is they get to keep a spiral-bound record which contains more than their worksheets and so gives them help for future occasions when they’re stressed. A substantial programme guide (146 pages) includes detailed scripts, activities, photocopiable sheets and a relaxation CD. The focus of the programme is on: Calm body, Clear mind, Calming actions, and Problem-solving actions.
Stress Relief for Kids: Taming your Dragons
Marti Belknap
Whole Person Associates 2006
ISBN 978-1570252426
These are “creative relaxation activities for home and school”. They range particularly widely in terms of visualising, touching, monitoring, having fun and energising, as well as relaxing. Dragons form the topic of many of the activities: eg “1-2-3-4, dragons marching out the door…” followed by a series of actions and words forming a shoulder massage; and where no dragons get a mention, there are cute dragons shown doing the activity. Good imagination is used in this book to produce something different, which is why I like it. For instance, “A trip through the solar system” includes comments on each planet, followed by the action required: “Beyond Mars there are asteroids flying around at very high speeds. Make fists with both hands and pound on your chest.” Thus the activities will appeal to a broad range of children. The “rhymes and rhythms” section is good for tinies and the dragon thermometer a novelty that may well appeal to whole classes because it encourages self-awareness and self-regulation of behaviour without labelling. Some of the content is for pairs and groups – but counsellors often take circle time and do groupwork, so it’s worth knowing about.
The 7-day Stress-Buster Book
Jenny Alexander
Hodder 2007
ISBN 978-0340930687
One of a whole series on different topics, this is for primary kids and can take 10 weeks to work through, but it’s flexible. Lots of tips, tricks, ideas and activities to be chosen one each day for a week, and then back to the beginning, choosing another each day for the second week and so on. Excellent if the child is willing to read and respond. But it’s not too heavy on the reading side, with reasonably large print. Counsellors (and even teachers) might well use some of the ideas found here.
DVDs
Kids Do Yoga Too
For those who work in schools or have links with holistic interventions or who practise yoga themselves, this is a resource introducing primary children to the breathing and stretching relaxation that will counteract the stress of exams and peer pressure.
Magic Island: Relaxation for Kids
www.healthjourneys.com
MP3 download for juniors, costing only a few dollars – two tracks, each around 25 mins. This is good stuff if you don’t mind the American pronunciation of levers as “levvers”. I would start track one at 8 mins thus avoiding a little girl speaking and her mum telling her how to relax. So you’d do your own initial relaxing routine with the clients and then enjoy this great ride in a hot-air balloon as the guided imagery. There’s a small free sample you can access on site.
I would use track 2 (a music track) to play as a background to all sorts of imaginative relaxation and visualisation activities (maybe five minutes self-imagery on the island after track 1 (there have been cave, beach and room options on the control panel of the basket), or choose a segment to inspire relaxation followed by painting what it brings up etc). Try relaxing to this music track before sleep and you’ll see what I mean by “comes up”!
OTHER RESOURCES
Quick Ways to Relax – a sheet that uses humorous language to access some useful exercises
Practical Ideas for Emotional Intelligence
Adele Clark and Jacqui Blades
Speechmark 2008
ISBN 978-0863886119
A set of ideas in photocopiable “worksheet plus notes”. There are 16 sheets in the stress section: one is What Does Stress Feel Like (50 mini cards to sort, each coded with the kind of support that is needed); and another is a mind-mapping activity aimed at turning the stress from negative thinking to positive. Lots of others, too.
The whole pack is for 10s-18s and covers other topics that will also be really useful, such as profiling who I am, transition, changing, behaviour change, self-esteem, bereavement, family change, study skills, motivation, self-harming, drug awareness, bullying and school refusal. Although I often use some of the same ideas starting from a discussion with the client, these sheets are very well done and not at all like others on the market. Most ideas can be used individually but also in groups. There are warnings to session leaders about being aware of their role boundaries but counsellors will be okay with whatever arises.
