Times Pi Day

I'm a little late, but I wanted to mention two ways to use a paper circle in therapy.

Personal Time Pie:  Have the client divide the pie into percentages of where they spend their time.  Then how they want to spend their time. And then have them keep track during the week to see where they actually spend their time.  Talk about obstacles in getting from here to there.  Talk about why they spend time the way they do.

Family Time Pie:  I have had times when a child wants more attention and the parents feel like they don't have enough time.  I've had the child product two pies: how much time is spent in which areas now and how they'd like it to be.  They can be quite fair.  I have the parents do the same thing.  Then we compare with each other.  Great reality check and perspective enlightening.

Many Selves - An Art Intervention

This is an original intervention I presented at the 2015 International Association for Play Therapy conference in Atlanta, GA.  I was inspired by Internal Family Systems, although, the concept of the self exists in many theories and this exercise can be used well with many theories.

• This intervention explores what roles a client sees themselves as occupying and how these roles conflict or complement one another.
• It also explores how they manifest in or are influenced by the wider world of the client.
• While Internal Family Systems restricts roles to two types, exiles and protectors, this intervention widens the scope to utilize the client's understanding and definition of themselves.

As the client comes to know the real self, they learn how to manage these other internal types and self-competency and mindfulness increase. This exercise, used to uncover the roles a client identifies with, is appropriate for children and adults and is especially helpful with multicultural clients.