101 Mindful Arts-Based Activities to Get Children and Adolescents Talking

Working with Severe Trauma, Abuse and Neglect Using Found and Everyday Objects

by Dawn D'Amico, LCSW, PhD

Offering 101 creative, mindfulness-based activities, this book is a highly useful resource for engaging therapeutically with children aged 5-17 who have experienced severe trauma. With minimal preparation and only everyday objects required, the activities can be used in a number of settings. Case studies throughout show the many positive outcomes.

Many children who have experienced serious trauma are withdrawn and closed off, making it difficult to engage with them in therapy effectively. This book offers a compendium of therapeutic activities that will help children who have endured painful abuse to open up, so that they can learn to express their feelings and therapy can be directed towards their individual needs.

From useful techniques for bridging memory gaps to using masks for self-expression, the innovative activities use mindfulness, art and play to help children feel relaxed and responsive. The activities require very little preparation, and use only everyday items that are easy to access and can be used time and time again. Case studies throughout offer a helpful demonstration of how the activities work in practice.

This is an ideal resource for use with children in therapeutic, home and school settings. It is appropriate to use with children aged 5-17 who have experienced trauma, physical abuse, sexual abuse, forced migration and severe neglect, as well as those with acute depression, anxiety and behavioural difficulties.