Resources for Play Therapists Transitioning to Telehealth

Update: social stories for kids returning to school in person and online. 
In person school option

A social story for elementary-aged kids who will be returning to classroom learning in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Click here to download the in person social story: ​
in_person_school_option.pdf
File Size: 2810 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Distance Learning Option

Social story for elementary students who will be returning to school via distance learning.

And here for the distance learning social story:
distance_learning_option.pdf
File Size: 2377 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File
Okay, play therapists, we've got this. We are pros at flexibility and coming up with ideas in the moment, right? Social distancing offers quite the challenge for play therapists who do child-centered work, but we are a creative bunch. We are trained to meet our clients where they are, and right now they happen to be at home via screen. They may be anxious about the state of the world and need reassurance that things are going to be okay, and we still know how to provide reassurance. Here are some resources to get you started. 

How are we going to talk parents/kids into distance therapy? 
Check out the language I'm using for parents and kids to talk about transitioning from in person to online sessions. You can find that on my social distancing tab. 

What are we going to do in distance play therapy? 
We've got lots of options, and we can still let kids choose. If you aren't wanting to play online games, you could ask parents to provide a few materials on their end and
Online Games and Resources
  • Uno: play.unofreak.com
                Free. You set up the "room" and invite the client to that room
  • Roblox: roblox.com
               Free. With parent permission, kids can invite you to be their "friend" on Roblox and show you their world. 
  • MineCraft: minecraft.net
               $27 to join, but many kids already have this. Available on PC or mobile devices. 
  • Battleship: http://en.battleship-game.org
               You can set up a specific game and send the link to that game to parent or child. 
  • GuessWho: Crazygames.com
               You set up a specific room and child/parent can log in to that room. 
  • Chess: Crazygames.com​
​                       You set up a specific room and child/parent can log in to that room.   
YouTube Videos
Logistics
  • If you want to have a split screen so that you can see a session on one side and something else (a game, notes, etc) on the other, download the Tab Resize extension for Chrome. 

Resources for Therapists
Resources for Clients
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