Treating perfectionism in high-achievers
Mental health therapy can include therapy activities in addition to talk therapy.
In fact, many adult clients prefer the incorporation of tangible, hands-on interactive therapy activities to complete during sessions.
While child and adolescent clients are typically viewed as the demographic most receptive to therapy activities, adults may enjoy and benefit from activities in counseling as well.
If you are looking for therapy ideas to deepen engagement with your adult clients, consider the inclusion of therapy activities during sessions.
A typical concern for therapists who work with adults is whether or not the interactive therapy activities they introduce will be rejected as immature or silly.
While playdough, pipe-cleaners, markers, and glue might seem like materials restricted to childhood, all adults were once children, and they may welcome an opportunity to explore the creative and playful aspects of their personalities.
3 easy and affordable therapy activities
The following therapy ideas are affordable and simple ways to try out therapy activities in your current practice with adults.
Lego houses
Provide your client with a small or medium-sized box or bin of Legos.
Allow them 20 to 30 minutes to build two houses—the one they grew up in and the one they live in now (or would like to move to one day).
After they have completed both structures, invite them to share about each house’s similarities and differences.
Discuss with your client the impact that our childhood homes have on our adult ones, and how we tend to recreate the family dynamics which accompanied our youth.
Popping bubbles
In order to do this activity, you will need to have two to three sheets of plastic bubble wrap.
Converse with your client about the intensity of their emotions, particularly anxiety and anger, and how basic acts such as popping bubble wrap can help us feel in control.
Allow your client at least five minutes to silently identify recent stressors and pop bubbles as they come to mind.
Afterwards, give your client the chance to verbally share these stressors and others as they continue popping the bubbles.
Pipe-cleaner glasses
Give your client an array of craft materials, including pipe-cleaners, beads, pom-poms, stickers, and glue.
Explain to them that we often do not see situations or people as they truly are. We tend to overrate or underestimate them.
Tell your client to use the next 10 to 15 minutes to create a pair of glasses using the provided items.
Once they are finished, inquire about how they tend to view themselves, others, and the world.
Ask what impact this perspective has on their relationships and daily functioning, and if they want to change their “lenses.”
Interactive therapy activities for adults
Depending on your relationship with the client and their treatment goals, your therapy activities may benefit from becoming interactive.
In these cases, as the counselor, you join your client side-by-side to complete the assigned task.
These types of interactive therapy activities for adults have tremendous capacity for deepening the rapport between you and your client and helping you bridge the relational gap between health professional and client.
Whenever your therapy activities transition to interactive ones, remember that you are still the counselor.
In other words, if your client displays negative behavior during the activity (e.g., cursing because they made a mistake, downplaying the outcomes), do not join them.
Retain your role as their therapist throughout the session by modeling healthy exchanges in your comments and actions.
Interactive therapy activities can be cost-effective and spontaneous. These therapy ideas may serve as an icebreaker to open the session, function as a midway point, or fill the entire hour.
Regardless of their timing, always determine a therapeutic goal for therapy activities as your rationale for their introduction.
If an adult client cannot grasp the deeper reason for the therapy ideas and activities you introduce, they are unlikely to return for another session.
Thus, it is advisable to provide them a clear, brief overview of why you have decided on that particular activity before you invite them to participate.
The examples below are interactive therapy activities you can readily use with adult clients:
Mirror image
Modern relationships tend to be fast-paced, superficial, and characterized by distraction. With modern technology, our eyes are frequently glued to electronic devices while our minds are preoccupied.
Tell your client that the activity for today’s session emphasizes the importance of slowing down, noticing another person’s facial expressions and body language, and following their lead.
Direct your client to stand or sit directly opposite you, then take turns acting as the “leader” and “follower.”
Sample actions to use are laughing out loud, dancing, making arm and finger motions, and acting out different emotions.
After three rounds, process with your client what it was like to serve in each role and if they notice applications for their relationships with others.
Nature walk
Explain to your client the multiple benefits of spending time outdoors: increased endorphins, vitamin D surges, fresh air, new stimuli, and more.
Invite them to join you on a walk outside rather than staying seated for your traditional office meeting.
If they agree, lead them on an easy route where you can walk beside them.
Ask your client to point out anything that catches their interest with an emphasis on the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch).
Have a discussion with your client about how often they enjoy the outdoors and, together, brainstorm ways they can make improvements.
Roleplay conversations
When your client’s presenting problems are linked to relational tension, offer them the opportunity to roleplay conversations within the safety of your counseling office.
Review the advantages of practicing healthy communication skills during their sessions, before they have the chance to become flustered, agitated, or to shut down during intense confrontations elsewhere.
Have your client select the relationship they want to prioritize and a common trigger for conflict in that dynamic.
Rotate turns so that you and your client each portray the two assigned roles, demonstrating positive ways to handle the discord.
Therapy worksheets
Has it ever seemed to you that your clients are talking about the same topic, week after week?
When this occurs, it can be difficult to listen attentively and to avoid interrupting the conversation to transition to another topic.
Over the years, I have discovered that therapy worksheets are exceptionally useful with adult clients who need help staying on track with their treatment goals.
Worksheets allow counselors to nonchalantly introduce a relevant theme into counseling sessions.
They provide excellent structure for the counseling hour and can serve as strong starting points for follow-up sessions.
Therapy worksheets can be completed jointly—the therapist and client can take turns reading aloud and sharing answers.
They can even be sent home with the client for comprehensive review and brought back to the next session for deeper processing.
The SimplePractice Resource Library contains therapy worksheets for clients of all ages and needs.
Therapists can easily find titles related to popular therapy topics, including worksheets for practicing gratitude and identifying trauma triggers.
Therapists who want to remain faithful to particular therapy models, such as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), can also find worksheets using these interventions.
Summary
Therapy activities allow counselors to use their imagination and innovation with clients.
Activities in counseling can be warmly embraced by adults and act as catapults for their therapeutic growth.
If you’re looking for new therapy ideas, consider the therapy activities you feel comfortable introducing into your practice and evaluate your adult clients’ receptivity.
Sources
SimplePractice, Resources Library:
How SimplePractice streamlines running your practice
SimplePractice is HIPAA-compliant practice management software with everything you need to run your practice built into the platform—from booking and scheduling to insurance and client billing.
If you’ve been considering switching to an EHR system, SimplePractice empowers you to run a fully paperless practice—so you get more time for the things that matter most to you.
Try SimplePractice free for 30 days. No credit card required.
READ NEXT: Group therapy activities for kids and teens
