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Using Therapeutic Tools. Derbyshire Association of Family Therapy Conference 17th of May 2012. Tracey Woodcock. Introductions. Take a few minutes to choose a picture that connects you and your work. Use the picture to introduce yourself to the group.
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Using Therapeutic Tools. Derbyshire Association of Family Therapy Conference 17th of May 2012. Tracey Woodcock.
Introductions. • Take a few minutes to choose a picture that connects you and your work. Use the picture to introduce yourself to the group. • You don’t have to think too hard about it; just something that catches your eye. • Say as much or as little as you are comfortable with.
Aims of the Workshop. • To inspire the inspired. • To put aside some time to think and reflect on your work with children, young people, adults etc. • Hopes for a dialogue: an opportunity to share thoughts, ideas & experiences. • To have fun trying out a few new ideas.
The theory part…! So why use Therapeutic Tools? • Making room for children’s voices with the aim of allowing full participation (Gehart 2007). Gehart talks about children “checking in” & “Checking out” of a conversation when things become too much for them. • Children rely less on words & more on touch & feel. Younger children navigate the social world through their actions and by observing the actions of adults; words come later. • Creating a context that promotes interaction with out instructing others to “be” (Burnham 1992).
Choosing carefully. • Ideas must emerge from a local dialogue, be unique and fit the context and child/young person. • The tools discussed here today are “Food for thought”, not a one size fits all. • A safe place for the child/young person’s voice to emerge is crucial.
Younger Children. • The Collage. Mapping a family event/story. An accident, the death & loss of some one special, leaving home, exclusion from school, etc. Particularly helpful when words are difficult & or family members have found an event difficult to talk about. Also helpful when development is delayed & or have differing learning abilities. • The Imaginary X-Ray machine. An X-Ray machine that shows a child’s feelings. This technique can help other family members etc. to see and hear the child’s perspective. Also helpful to promote emotional intelligence.
Older Children. • WORD Cards & Symbol Cards: When getting started is difficult. When the child or young person needs words of inspiration. Can be used to explore Identity, relationships, change, abuse, loss etc. • Story Cubes: Similar to symbol cards but can be used more light heartedly; leading to more personal stories i.e. The Best, Worst & Funniest thing that happened to you today.
Exercise. • Split into groups of two or three to try out some of the techniques/tools. (30 minutes).
Closing Thoughts & Reflections. • How was it? Would anybody like to share their experience/story about using the ideas & tools etc. • What might you try in your work with children and young people? • What will you be taking away with you today?
References • Burnham, J. (1992). Approach, Method Technique; Making Distinctions and Creating Connections. Human Systems: The Journal of Systemic Consultation. Vol. 3 Pgs. 3-26. • Gehart, D. Creating Space for Children’s Voices: A collaborative and Playful Approach to working with Children. In: Anderson, H. & Gehart, D. (2007). Collaborative Therapy. Relationships and Conversations that make a difference.Routledge.London, UK.