emmacameron.com

Art Therapy and Creative Wisdom

  • Home
  • About
  • Anxiety
  • Work With Me
    • Psychotherapy, Art Therapy & Counselling Colchester
    • Online Art Therapy
    • Supervision
    • Therapy Client Data GDPR
  • For Therapists
  • Highly Sensitive (HSP)
  • Contact
You are here: Home / therapy / for therapists & counsellors / Using Stones in Counselling and Therapy

Using Stones in Counselling and Therapy

8th April 2018 by Emma Cameron 45 Comments

Using Stones in Counselling and Therapy

How Do Therapists Use Stones in Counselling?

If you’re a counsellor, psychotherapist, or Art Therapist, chances are that you have gathered together a nice little collection of attractive and interesting stones that sit in a little basket or bowl somewhere. Perhaps you’re wondering about finding more ways you could use your stones in counselling with your clients.

Here are 14 ways that I and my clients use stones in counselling and therapy sessions. (Personally, I think number 12 is my favourite… How about you? And if you have other ways that you use stones in counselling, please leave a comment at the end – I’d love to hear your views!)

14 ways to use stones in counselling and psychotherapy sessions Click To Tweet

14 ways to use stones in counselling and therapy sessions

1. Grounding and Mindfulness

Stones, which of course literally come from the ground, are great for helping a client practise grounding – coming back to the immediate here-and-now – when feeling overwhelmed and dysregulated.

With your client holding a stone, invite them to use words to describe the phenomenology as they experience it: the stone’s texture, colours, shape, size, weight, asymmetries, temperature, etc. An extension exercise might be to invite them to expand their focus to include awareness of the effect of gravity on their body and the stone.

They may like to begin to use their imagination to help them pay attention to the physical layers below: their bodyweight pressing down into their feet, legs and ‘sitz’ bones; the chair pushing towards the floor; the walls leading down into the foundations of the building; the soil, archaeological layers and bedrock below that. (Obviously, if you are outdoors practising Eco-therapy, Equine-Assisted Therapy or walk-and-talk therapy, you can make this immediately experiential.)

A relationally-informed mirroring/ attunement approach in which client and therapist sit on floor cushions with stones and sandtray can effectively help a hypo-aroused or hyper-aroused client return to their ‘window of tolerance’.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

2. Process-focused Working

Simply arranging stones without any plan or particular intention, can lead to interesting and unexpectedly deep work. (This can be particularly the case with HSP (Highly Sensitive) clients).

You might invite the client to allow their intuition to guide them in creating an arrangement of stones that feels satisfying to them. This may spark discussion about their experience of process, and how it feels for them to allow their felt sense to lead. Can they let their ‘inner critic’ step back so that they can play freely? What do they notice happens when they do this? And how does it feel to ‘play’ in the presence of an attuned other (the therapist)?

A client who is used to more left-brain, outcomes-oriented approaches may find this new perspective – this new way of conceptualising how to be in the world – quite illuminating and even transformative.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

3. Identifying Themes

When a client begins without a plan or intention, and simply creates a satisfying arrangement of stones, themes may emerge that seem to come up from the deep unconscious. It’s a bit like free-association or dreamwork.

This can bypass the familiar, well-worn paths characteristic of rumination. Space is created for authentic felt senses to lead to fresh perspectives, links and insights.

In other words: we get into ruts and habits of thinking, where the same thoughts churn round and round, washing-machine style. Being creative without any outcome in mind, and then exploring what that’s like – and finding words to communicate this with someone who is deeply attending (the therapist) – can shift us out of the habitual thinking-patterns and into something new and fresh. This can help us get clarity and new ways of understanding what’s going on for us.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

4. Exploration of Identity

From a group of stones that your client has arranged, you might ask ‘Where might you be, here?’ (And of course, if the client does not identify themselves there, that’s fine, and it’s useful information to help recalibrate the work.) When a client does choose a ‘me’ stone, you can begin together to unpack what attributes they may have projected on to the stone.

There are many ways you can go with this; for example, one stone might represent ‘me when I’m feeling confident’, another ‘shy me’, whilst another might be ‘my anxiety’. Besides exploring self-states/ parts of self, a client can consider what other attributes they sense in their ‘me’ stone. What does its relative size suggest? How about its shape, colour and texture?

Keep in mind that projections on to objects in therapy can be intense and powerful. An exercise like this can evoke difficult-to-manage emotions such as shame, which may risk decompensation, so be careful about grading therapy experiments according to the ego strength and needs of your client.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

5. Right Brain – Right Brain

Successful psychotherapy, says Allan Schore, always involves communications between the right hemisphere of the client’s brain and the right hemisphere of the therapist’s brain. Schore also reminds us that communication between conscious and unconscious processes are always mediated via the right hemisphere.

Working with arts and play materials, such as stones, allows the right hemisphere to become more central, and thus frees up brain/ body pathways for information and energy to flow, helping unblock the stuckness that may have brought someone to therapy in the first place.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

6. Evoking Sensory Memories

“This stone feels like your skin feels when you’ve been swimming in the sea… smooth but also a little bit rough, and that faint stickiness from the salt and sand” said my client Tina*, thoughtfully. Her voice slowed as she connected with body-based memories.

Transporting us both through her evocative words, to a beach that she knew well from childhood, Tina got in touch with a deep felt sense of peace and pleasure. We were subsequently able to use this multi-sensory image as a resource in helping her heal from a trauma dating from her teenage years.

Many people find that when they hold a stone and take some time to allow it to have an effect on them, memories from earlier in life emerge spontaneously.

These may be pleasant and nurturing memories (such as Tina had); but it’s important to be aware that stones may equally evoke memories associated with traumatic events including bullying, accidents, and assault. When the trauma-based associations can be carefully untangled in therapy from the benign ones, a client can become freer to enjoy the supportive pleasures of nature once more.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

7. Where Am I in Relation to Others?

After they’ve selected and arranged a group of stones, you might invite your client to imagine that these stones represent their social group (or their family, or people at their place of work). How do they feel the arrangement needs to be reconfigured, when they see things in this light? Where is the client’s ‘me-stone’, in the arrangement? Are they on the edge? In the middle? Who is the largest stone? Who is the smallest? Does anything seem unfair or troubling in the constellation?

When Tina did this, she noted that the group was swirling around in one direction. She explained that her ‘me-stone’ was happy to follow along with the others, but she also realised it needed to be pointing in a slightly different direction. That led to a productive exploration of her sense of self in groups, and her fears and needs as they conflicted and merged with those of others.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

8. Genograms

Many counsellors and therapists use genograms with their clients, to help clarify and identify wider family patterns and themes. Use of concrete materials such as stones, in conjunction with paper diagrams, may deepen and enhance the symbolism and learning.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

9. Life Timelines

Rolls of cheap paper can be used to create a life timeline. The client can place stones along the line to mark particular moments of significance, including change-points, powerful emotional memories, etc. You or the client might take photographs to create a record of the work.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

10. Transitional Object

Some clients, particularly in depth-oriented attachment-informed psychotherapy, benefit from having a transitional object, taken with permission from the therapy room, between sessions or during therapy breaks. A stone can be particularly useful for this purpose, particularly if it’s small enough to hold comfortably and discreetly in the hand or pocket.

The stone has no monetary value, yet it can hold enormous symbolic value for both client and therapist, standing as a reminder and token of the importance of the therapeutic relationship at this time in the client’s life.

As one client said, the very fact that the therapist is willing to take part in the lending of the stone, and could understand the symbolic importance for the client in their (temporarily) regressed state, can be a large part of the healing power of this intervention.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

11. Talisman

A client may choose a small stone to represent supportive qualities such as courage, resilience, love and strength. Carrying this ‘talisman’ around, they may feel that its energetic properties are an available resource that they can draw upon in times of need.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

12. Evoking and Fostering Creativity

For some clients, especially those with ‘art wounds’ (painful memories of being shamed or judged over their drawings etc), creativity can seem like something that others do but they cannot. For these clients, being flung full-on into painting or drawing can feel too intimidating, and even shaming.

Yet a therapy that ignores the deep human need for creative expression is not going to help a client blossom into their fullest self. This is when natural materials such as stones can be invaluable. There is no ‘wrong’ way to arrange stones, and no ‘right’ way either. Stones can be handled and placed in various ways, and a client can be encouraged to tune in to their inner sense of ‘what feels right’.

A client can discover that different configurations of stones may resonate for them in different ways. One client may feel deeply satisfied by arranging the stones in lines, or a grid. Another (or perhaps the same person on a different day) will respond to an inner urge to lay the stones in size order, or in a spiral or circle, or in clusters, or creating a design like a mandala or concentric circles.

In this way, a client can develop a new relationship with their intuition and aesthetic senses, moving away from fear and judgement towards trusting their own inner guidance.

How using stones in counselling can help clients boost their #creativity Click To Tweet

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

13. Supervision Perspectives

Inspiring supervisors are always looking for ways to help their supervisees to view their work with fresh eyes, especially when a supervisee feels stuck or muddled around their work with a particular client. Use of arts materials such as stones in counselling supervision can offer a non-shaming, sideways way of looking at a therapeutic relationship. It can also offer a new way for a counsellor to conceptualise a client’s relationships and inner landscape.

[Looking for online creative supervision? Email me espcameron[at]protonmail[dot]com]

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

14. Painting on Stones

Acrylic paints and ‘Posca’ pens could be used for painting on stones. If you’re an Art Therapist  you may have these available for clients to use during sessions. Outside of sessions, some counsellors like to paint words or statements on stones. Others paint images and symbols that might later be used alongside other objects in the sandtray.

Don’t forget to seal the stones using some kind of varnish (advice on this can can be found online; always be mindful of toxicity and possible noxious fumes). There are many books, videos and blogs about stone-painting, and you can find plenty of inspiring examples on Instagram and Pinterest.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

Finally, a Couple of Practicalities…

When you use stones in counselling and psychotherapy, there are a couple of practical things to think about: what to make available as a backdrop or ground, and of course the all-important issue of sourcing your stones.

Consider the Ground

Stones in Counselling sandtray sand tray therapy
Stones are great for using in the sandtray

A client can place the stones within a designated ground or frame, such as a sandtray, tabletop or large sheet of paper. This boundaried space is helpful for containment and building a felt sense of safety. Alternatively, both client and therapist may sit on a carpet, with the area between them forming the ‘potential space’.

If you work with stones in counselling, do make sure you have thought about boundaries and containment, and how these themes play out in basic concrete terms as well as metaphorically, relationally, etc.

Where to Get Stones

Aim to amass a collection of rocks, stones and pebbles that is very varied and encompasses a wide range of sizes, shapes, colours and textures.

What could be more relaxing and soul-nurturing than wandering along a beach, looking out for interesting stones? Of course, beaches vary, so keep visiting different ones when you can, and notice the different types of stones available in different places.

You can also buy stones, pebbles and glass ‘pebbles’ in home-improvement stores, aquarium stockists, cheap homeware shops (like Wilko or The Range) and places that sell crystals and semi-precious stones.

Let your family and friends know that you’re on the lookout for interesting rocks and stones, and maybe they’ll bring one back from their travels.

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

Lastly: What have I missed out?

How do you use rocks and stones in counselling and psychotherapy sessions? What has your experience been?

Do please leave your comments below!

Stones in Counselling and Therapy

*Not the real name

Filed Under: Art Therapy, for therapists & counsellors, therapy

Comments

  1. Hannah says

    9th April 2018 at 6:53 pm

    What a wonderful article and I especially love the idea of using stones with more practical things like genograms. I’ve attended family counselling with my own children and it would have been lovely to have used them in this way. As a child counsellor I have often used stones and pebbles in my work and I like to include them as part of the ending of our therapeutic relationship so that the client can choose a particular stone to take away with them that best represents our time together.
    Such a simple yet very effective and versatile tool. And such a lovely subject to look into. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Cindy Corriveau says

      11th June 2019 at 6:39 am

      Having been through a lot in my lifetime I have found painting rocks to be the best therapy I have ever done for myself. Affirmations written on the stones keep me focused on positive thinking and recovery thinking. Gathering stones at ocean beaches, rivers etc. is relaxing and focuses me on grounding, nature and being in the present. Painting the stones allows me a creative outlet to see just how imaginative I can be and again in the present in the moment. Sharing my rocks with others encourages positive discussions on sayings or paintings on the rocks. Lastly hiding them for others to find or giving them away is sharing something personal that everyone can enjoy. The wonder of who might find my rock and enjoy it is just plain fun to think about. It doesn’t matter what age or skill level anyone is because regardless they always seem to come out great! It’s inexpensive. The canvass ( the rock) is free in nature and for the price of some inexpensive acrylics or paint pens one can create art. Lastly one can work on rocks anywhere. A couple rocks and some markers travel easily to the doctors office, the beach or to your favorite support group or book club. It’s an awesome hobby and the ideas generated are endless possibilities of what to paint or write on a rock. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to relax, recover, think positively, relieve depression or just create and have fun.

    • Emma Cameron says

      11th June 2019 at 12:34 pm

      Thanks for contributing your experience, Cindy! It sounds like painting on stones is a wonderful creative outlet for you.

  2. Helen Lehrle says

    14th April 2018 at 5:58 pm

    Love it…,
    I’m painting stones for my own self care as well as putting rocks out in the village where my practice is. It took off so well I’m going to run some workshops and rock painting groups for people wanting some calm.
    Thank you for posting this up.

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      15th April 2018 at 12:45 pm

      Thanks Helen. Yes, painting stones is a great idea for some creative self-care.
      And it sounds like you’re really spreading the idea in your community, so others can benefit too.

  3. Brennan says

    16th April 2018 at 5:29 pm

    I’ve never thought about how so many of us have these in our offices! Love the ideas.

    Reply
  4. Diane says

    16th April 2018 at 10:05 pm

    I love using grounding stones with clients and for myself too – so nice to ‘figit’ sometimes when processing difficult memories. Lovely article thank you for sharing your insight

    Reply
  5. Teresa says

    17th April 2018 at 3:29 am

    A wonderful, informative, and inspiring post! I would love to hear a bit more specifics on how stones could be used in supervision. I am compelled to join your mailing list. Thank you for sharing your ideas and insights!

    Reply
  6. Charissa says

    17th April 2018 at 2:58 pm

    This is wonderful! One thing I’ve done with my clients is walk down to the beach and invite them to build a small cairn. I’ve done this both as a mindful activity, and with a men’s group “what does your cairn say about you?”.

    Reply
  7. Sarah Cella says

    17th April 2018 at 9:58 pm

    I’ve used as mindfulness or grounding activity to pick the stones up and feel the texture temperature weight etc in your hand. Given them to clients to take with them as tool to relax. Also used as a discharge object, we wrote inspiring words or phrases on them in paint pen and each gave one to each other. I work with teens and kids FYI!

    Reply
  8. Sona DeLurgio says

    18th April 2018 at 2:02 am

    This is lovely Emma! I use stones in my office and have for years. My main uses of stones have been as transitional objects, for grounding and mindfulness, and (I just learned this concept in reading your blog) the Talisman 🙂

    I’m always touched when I see clients light up when they see the stones and then the very careful process they go through in searching for just the right one.

    Thank you for this wonderful blog.

    Reply
  9. Autumn Girl says

    19th April 2018 at 6:56 am

    I’m envious of those who have a therapist who will use stones! It sounds like a way in. I don’t have that, unfortunately. I just have to talk, which I’m less and less compelled to do. No deep work for me. 🙁

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      20th April 2018 at 2:40 pm

      Hi. I hear your sense of missing out and your concern that your therapy doesn’t seem to be going ‘deep’.
      I just want to say that sometimes it can seem like no deep therapeutic work is being done, when in fact it is. I know this from both sides of the ‘therapy couch’.
      Obviously I don’t know you or anything about your personal therapy process, so I can’t say whether this is true in your particular case.
      I wish you well, and hope that you and your therapist can find increasingly meaningful ways of communicating together.

    • Autumn Girl says

      27th April 2018 at 1:42 pm

      Thank you Emma. I’m sure you’re right. I mentioned this at the end of my last session – as I was leaving – and my therapist looked like a ten-tonne truck had smashed through the wall. Therapy, eh? Always plenty to talk about.

    • Chesilbank says

      29th April 2018 at 2:41 pm

      Hi Autumn Girl, and Emma,
      I hope you don’tmind me joining your discussion. I’ve just started therapy (3 weeks); there were a few issues I wanted to cover in therapy, and I have only so far managed to raise one, when my therapist introduced pebbles and beads etc. It seems a lovely idea, and I think it might help to bring out unexpected sides of therapy, but in this session it seemed to block me talking about the other issues I wanted to bring, and took us down a blind alley that wasn’t helpful at this stage of therapy. I am wondering if pebbles etc. are lovely and very helpful, maybe later on in therapy, but maybe not always at the very beginning? Unless the client is finding it hard to begin opening up issues? What are your thoughts?

    • Emma Cameron says

      29th April 2018 at 6:33 pm

      Thanks for joining in! You sound thoughtful and reflective.
      Maybe you could mention to your therapist that there are some other issues you’re hoping to work on with him/her. Even just giving some ‘headlines’ can bring these things into the room. It can be important to not go too fast to start with in therapy, because it could unexpectedly feel too scary, so try to let your therapist know that there are some particular things you’d like to talk about, without expecting that you’ll both dive right in straight away.
      Remember it’s a valuable ongoing learning curve about communication, too. Both of you are learning how best to ‘be’ with each other, and how to talk about awkward things like feeling disappointed, blocked or critical. (Things that are hard to talk about, but can be sooo valuable to talk about in the therapy relationship!)
      Most of all, be kind to yourself – it’s lovely that you are so keen to make this work!

  10. Maya Benattar says

    22nd May 2018 at 3:55 pm

    Thank you so much for this Emma! So thoughtful and inspiring for my work. 🙂

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      23rd May 2018 at 8:25 am

      I’m so glad you enjoyed this post, Maya!

  11. Coinneach Shanks says

    14th June 2018 at 1:21 pm

    Years ago I saw an experimental film with a man moving stones around and he gave them all a name! I thought this would make a useful exercise with many variations. Like the film maker, I found it useful to have one stone with no name! That one is called The stone with No Name and can take many projections. 🙂

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      15th June 2018 at 5:22 pm

      That’s intriguing, Coinneach!
      (And are you familiar with your namesake, Coinneach Odhar, The Brahan Seer, who used a stone to foresee the future?…)

  12. Davina says

    14th June 2018 at 5:42 pm

    Lovely article, Emma. I love using stones with clients (especially to explore number 4 and 7 themes). And am so keen to try out using them as a tool for my supervision prep (not sonething my supervisor uses but figure i could do some good supervision preparatory/ reflection work on my own). Thank you so much so sparking so many thoughts!

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      15th June 2018 at 5:19 pm

      Yes, it’s great to use things like stones to help get a different perspective on our work with clients. Thanks for sharing those thoughts, Davina!

  13. Celia says

    8th November 2018 at 10:32 pm

    Hi Emma,
    This was a lovely informative article. It’s given me more ways to use my stones and shells. I really appreciate your generosity in sharing your knowledge and experience.

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      9th November 2018 at 5:33 pm

      Thanks Celia, I’m glad you find the article useful, and I appreciate you leaving a comment.

  14. Jenny says

    15th November 2018 at 7:01 am

    So glad I found this! I have only used stones once in training and wanted to incorporate them into my practice, especially for younger clients. Thanks Emma!

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      15th November 2018 at 7:34 am

      It’s great to know this has been helpful – thank you for letting me know, Jenny!

  15. Northern Frontiers says

    6th May 2019 at 3:29 am

    Meditation and deep understanding of inner-peace makes us calm. The stones represent different approach of each individual. A great article and a calming peace you shared here, thank you.

    Reply
  16. Naomi says

    22nd May 2019 at 1:57 am

    I love this – particualrly the idea of boundaries and containment. But all of it. I also associate stones with the ancestors and those who have been here before us. Beautiful. Thank you again.

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      24th May 2019 at 10:54 am

      That’s a lovely perspective, to think of history and continuity through the ages. Thanks Naomi

  17. Benjamin Andrews says

    18th June 2019 at 5:57 pm

    I found it interesting that you state that therapy is successful when the right brains of the client and therapist are connecting. My brother has been having problems feeling motivated to work and take care of himself and wants to find a way to get back on his feet. I will send him this information so he can find a counseling therapist that he can connect with.

    Reply
  18. Hazel says

    27th June 2019 at 5:42 pm

    Taking stones from the beach in the UK is illegal

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      28th June 2019 at 8:10 pm

      Thanks for that Hazel, yes I should probably add this to the article. Although I don’t think it is illegal on every stretch of UK coastline, I understand that there are certain councils that prohibit it.

  19. Deb Gibson says

    3rd July 2019 at 10:07 am

    HI Emma,

    Thanks for this! I liked the idea of using stones in timelines – and for grounding. I’ve used them with teenagers and find they generally enjoy working in this way.
    I’ve used them to represent what someone “carries around with them”; ie guilt, worry, shame etc and nicer things to carry around like hope or laughter. Interestingly this brought out how the harder things to carry were the bigger heavier stones and how different it would feel to carry just the lighter stones…

    The stones have also represented different emotions they experience and this again leads to how would it feel if this one was bigger or smaller? One girls said “If I didn’t have such big anxiety, I’d have more space for the other feelings”… it just leads to some really deep insights and awareness. Love it!

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      4th July 2019 at 9:34 pm

      How interesting! Thanks for sharing this, Deb!

  20. Lorraine Golding says

    14th July 2019 at 8:02 am

    Emma thank you for this article . It felt like pearly words of wisdom deep with meaning. During my supervision we talked about endings and breaks during school time. The idea of Transitional objects came up and it got me thinking about stones and shells, whether I could use them. I think after reading your article my answer is a big Yes..

    Warmest wishes
    Lorraine

    Reply
  21. Meagan Schultz says

    5th March 2020 at 12:03 pm

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge here. I stumbled on this post when looking for some rock activities to do with some teens this weekend. I wonder if you ever read any rock/stone stories when you do this work? I’d love to find one. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      5th March 2020 at 9:29 pm

      Hi Meagan, thanks! And no, I haven’t used stories like this… let us know when you find one you like!

  22. Anna Cherry says

    12th May 2020 at 6:26 pm

    Hi Emma – it was lovely to ‘stumble’ upon your website – thanks Google! In particular, I’m so glad to find a fellow traveller who advocates the use of pebbles as a healing and well-being catalyst. I’m an Emotional Intelligence Coach and, over the past few years, I’ve been developing a new tactila-visual-semantic approach using inscribed pebbles. I call my project Mindful Runes [www.mindfulrunes.com] and have received very encouraging feedback from participants. They find that handling physical objects – beautiful pebbles – helps them to focus on their specific issues and challenges. If you have time – please take a look at the website. There are 25 Mindful Runes – the inscribed icon on each one represents an aspect of EI which is fully interpreted ad guidance in an accompanying booklet and online.
    Best wishes
    Anna

    Reply
  23. Lorna Stoddart says

    26th May 2020 at 10:37 am

    Absolutely lovely post, thank you. I’d like to let you know that I am a coach and forest school practitioner. I’ve been painting stones with eyes, noses, mouths making sure they are all different. Participants select the loose parts they want and create a portrait (of self, other or imagined – whatever they want). The conversation is fabulous.

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      26th May 2020 at 11:00 am

      That sounds great!

  24. arza says

    7th November 2020 at 3:11 pm

    thanks this help so much for my project assignment

    Reply
  25. Val Hanson says

    15th February 2021 at 10:49 am

    Wow, after reading all of these wonderful experiences, my daily walk to the beach will now have me carrying a bag for pebbles..aswell as driftwood. I work with young people and I will certainly do the pebbles in a bowl, exiting my mentees by offering them a stone aswell as using the ideas for my summer school art sessions. Thankyou so much to all of you !

    Reply
  26. Ann says

    6th May 2021 at 8:30 pm

    In my work with young people we happen to speak about things you can and cannot control. I give them a pebble in one hand and play doh in the other hand and let them feel the difference. The pebble is hard whereas the play doh can take different forms. The pebble teaches them things they can not control, like a teacher who gives them a lot of homework, the play doh teaches them things they can control : when they make their homework, the ‘reward’ (listening to music, PSgame) they give themselves after they finish their tasks, etc
    Afterwards it becomes a metaphore for things they can/cannot control.

    Reply
    • Emma Cameron says

      6th May 2021 at 9:13 pm

      Thanks for this, Ann – such a great idea!

  27. Alice Suttie says

    12th February 2023 at 1:54 am

    What have you missed out? Grief work. When my mother passed away a few years ago, I struggled with the need to be focusing on my grief and returning to work. I felt I still needed to honour and hold the grief, but knew that I would not be able to hold it fully attentively while busy with my patients as an anaesthetics nurse. My solution was to find a smooth black stone that fitted well in the palm of my hand ,with sufficient weight and substance. I deliberately let that be the holder of my grief while I had to attend to other things, and carried it in the pants pocket of my scrubs each day until I was ready to leave it at home. When my son’s partner’s father died very suddenly last year, and passed on a stone to her, via my son, to use in the same way. She was very appreciative. Just knowing that others are aware of the complexity of needing to move on with the stuff of life while still grieving and processing is helpful, of course, and being able to pass on a stone to used ( a different one) adds substance. It will certainly be something I do again as I am switching careers and currently training to be a counsellor,

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Information on this website is meant for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical or psychological evaluation or treatment. If you are concerned about your mental or physical health, please see a medical doctor or mental health professional to address your concerns. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or impulses, please dial 999 or 911 to seek emergency treatment immediately. Emma Cameron does not provide emergency mental health treatment. All text and images on this site ©Emma Cameron 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and may not be copied, published or used without permission. ©Emma Cameron All Rights Reserved

Blog post categories

Recent Blog Posts

  • Emotional First-Aid Kit
  • Top Tips for New Therapists
  • EMDR Therapy – What is it?
  • What Do Experiential Therapists Ask
  • What is Experiential Therapy?
  • Trauma Therapy Has Changed – Here’s How
  • Well-Meant Advice That’s Just Wrong
  • What is AEDP?
  • Secure Attachment – What Is It and How Do You Get It?
  • Attachment – A Beginner’s Guide
  • How to Get Less Stressed at Family Gatherings
  • Ground Yourself – 12 Easy Ways to Get Calmer
  • Art Therapy – Frequently Asked Questions
  • What Happens In an Art Therapy Session?
  • Top 10 Things I Love About Being a Therapist
  • How to Manage Your Climate Anxiety
  • When I First Went to Therapy
  • Addicted to Worrying?
  • Heartfelt Summer Fiction Recommended by Therapists
  • Feel More Secure Inside with Attachment Based Therapy
  • Coaching or Therapy – What Do I Need?
  • 7 Myths About Coaching vs Therapy
  • Therapy Works. Here’s How I Know
  • What is PTSD?
  • Why NOW Could Be the Perfect Time to Go to Therapy

Copyright © 2023 · Beautiful Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in