Saturday, February 21, 2009

Teaching Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies to Small Groups of Children

One of the most common questions I receive from school professionals about the Challenge Software Program is:

"Can I use this program with groups of children?"

The following feedback I received from a School Counselor this week does a fine job of illustrating how the Challenge Software Program can be used with small groups.

"I used it during two social skills support groups. With the boys group, we all watched the same video and talked about the video and choices as we went. With the girls, they each watched different clips and then discussed them. The kids really liked playing the games. We talked a lot about healthy vs unhealthy choices and what happened when the unhealthy thoughts won. One of the girls was really excited to add her own scenario:)" ---Morgan, School Counselor

Group discussion about healthy and unhealthy thinking patterns can be very powerful. The group can very effectively generate several ways to Challenge unhealthy thinking and give powerful "evidence" for arguments that shoot holes in Negative thoughts.

Think of sharing a negative thought that is bothering you with one friend. You might say,
"I can't do anything right."
Then your friend says, "That's not true. You just helped me fix my paper for class and gave me good advice on what to wear tonight."

One person is helpful, but then think about how much support you would get from a GROUP of friends challenging your Unhealthy comment. The more evidence, the better!

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