Socially Distanced Stress Management for Kids (Grown-Ups, too!) for the Summer

By Jack Fox, M.A., Resident in Counseling in Northern Virginia
During the summer, the strain on family relationships can increase with kids home from school and around the house all day. Especially coming off of a spring of distance learning, this phenomenon may have already happened to some families!
Here is a quick activity that will help manage stress and give the kids something fun to do! It’s a cross between a grounding technique, stress management, and a scavenger hunt that can be done at a local park, during a walk, or even in your own back yard!
Have your kids begin to search for the following things, which you can choose or come up with your own, in order:
5 things that they can see (butterflies, types of trees, unique leaves, etc.)
4 things of different textures that they can touch (a feather, smooth grass, tree bark, etc.)
3 things that they can smell (have them point them out to you)
2 things that they can hear (birds, ice cream truck, lawn mower)
1 thing that they can taste (have this be a treat at the end of the activity or something along those lines, as a fun little reward!)

About Jack Fox:

Jack graduated from the College of William and Mary with a B.S. in Psychology and recently finished his graduate work at Regent University with a M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Throughout his studies, Jack has seen and worked with many clients, both adolescents and adults, struggling with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment issues, and even people with a desire to get to know themselves just a little bit better! The more Jack has worked with people, the more a simple truth has come to light: You are not alone!

Jack believes that success in therapy results from a combination of understanding first what is dysfunctional, then where the dysfunction comes from. Finally, changing a behavior resulting from the thoughts or emotions driving the dysfunction can result in truly powerful changes in life. He mainly uses Cognitive Behavior Therapy, EDMR, and Solution Focused Brief Therapy to help attain the goals of his clients. Through these techniques, Jack enters into relationship with his clients and gets to understand and hear their full story, providing a safe environment for vulnerability.

To learn more about Jack, visit HERE.

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