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For Children

Training using elements of fairy tale therapy

Today, the issue of children's emotional development comes to the forefront. Human emotions directly influence the development of various spheres of personality - from psychomotor to self-awareness.
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The “affective-emotional-volitional (personal)” philosophy of education, which centers on the emotional and social development of the child, is becoming increasingly important. Therefore, there is a great need for game and training technologies aimed at children’s emotional development and self-regulation.

The training is not corrective. It has a developing character. The functions of correction and therapy are realized “naturally”. Nevertheless, the game will be effective in the process of correction of emotional disorders in children, especially fear.

The proposed training is a tool to harmoniously build the process of emotional development of the child.

Goals

The objectives of the game “Island of Childhood” are:
– Formation of life values based on the idea of creation,
– emotional development of children,
– non-directive correction of children’s emotional problems (anxiety, fears).

Tasks

The main tasks of game training are:
1. explaining the nature of emotional difficulties by means of fairy tale therapy.
2. Formation of effective models of self-regulation.
3. Development of creativity (imagination, creative abilities, creative thinking).
4. Formation of the basics of communicative culture.

Age

The age of application of the game – from 4 to 11 years (with normal intellectual development).

Quantity

2-6 people

Game composition

The game training consists of three parts.

1. The first part is related to the child’s exploration of his/her own emotionality, in particular the peculiarities of experiencing fear, to establish the child’s current level of self-regulation (how well he/she is able to cope with fear on his/her own, for example).
2. The second part of the game is connected with the accumulation of resources for overcoming fear and the development of creativity.
3. The third part is a stage of meaningful application of the knowledge obtained at the previous stages.

Usability

The game can also be used by a psychologist, primary school teacher or educator for psychoprophylactic purposes.

So, the main uses of the game are:

• Correctional classes aimed at working with children’s fears and forming the basics of self-regulation in children,

• psycho-pedagogical courses developing communicative culture in preschool and primary school age children,

• family counseling.

Monitoring

When conducting psychological programs there is always an acute question – how to prove the effectiveness of classes? Traditionally, it is customary to make two psychodiagnostic “slices”: at the beginning of the program and after its completion.

Since the game “Island of Childhood” is a means of emotional development of children, we recommend using psychodiagnostic methods that investigate the emotional state and self-esteem of the child.

Pace and duration of play

The pace and duration of the game is chosen by the leader (psychologist) independently, in accordance with the actual psychological tasks.

If the psychologist’s goal is to entertain the children and motivate them for further psychological sessions, he or she can choose a “fast pace” and go through the whole playing field in one or two times. In this case it is necessary to spend minimum time on discussion of tasks, the main emphasis should be on the game process itself.

If the psychologist is going to build deep work on the basis of the game, then he chooses a “slow pace” and spares no time for performing tasks and discussing them. In this case a program of psychological correction is built on the basis of the game.

Like any board game, Childhood Island can be played many times. In this case, don’t let it bother you that your client has already played and knows the rules. On the contrary, it increases the quality of work. And there are enough variants of tasks so that the game does not become boring.

The psychologist’s position

The psychologist is a facilitator and an active player at the same time.
As a leader, he explains the rules of the game to the participants, builds a discussion of game situations and tasks.
Thus, he/she conducts the main psychological work.

As an active player, the psychologist follows the rules of the game. Like everyone else, he chooses a chip, rolls a die, and performs tasks. His behavior as an active participant gives the players a peculiar model of constructive behavior, self-work, creative process and search.

If you find it difficult to play two roles at the same time, stay only as a facilitator. As you gain experience in the game, you will feel confident and willing to be both a facilitator and an active player.

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