14 Amazing Activities to Add To Your Virtual Counseling Sessions
Just a few short weeks ago, teletherapy and virtual counseling sessions were reserved for very few of the general population as most schools and even insurance providers were hesitant to take counseling tools online. But with the effective shut down of school building around the country, counselors and social workers had to take their act into a digital space like never before.
While there are various platforms such as Doxy.me, Google classrooms and Zoom which can be used to facilitate lessons, many have found that the lesson plans they’ve used in person don’t quite translate to the online space. In today’s post I’ll share a few ideas that you can use to engage students while you’re face to face or in a virtual session that will have them connected and engaged.
Before we dive into the tools, let’s talk about some of the challenges and how to set yourself up for success. Because there is the natural distance in telesessions, some counselors have shared that these interactions are less “fun” or more tiring than in person sessions. Others feel the technology is impersonal and I’ve also heard that it seems harder to fill a full session as many kids don’t have the same stressors at home as they may in person.
Allow me to let you off the hook, you’re not crazy this is different and it can feel harder in some ways. So don’t fight that, acknowledge it. Spend a few minutes BEFORE your session, grounding yourself and preparing to amplify your energy. Not in a clown-y way, but since not all kids perceive nonverbal cues the same, you may need to be more animated or explanatory. Set some ground rules at the beginning of the session talking about that too. Remind kids that the expectation is to be present and not distracted and that if need by the session can be shortened. 30 minutes is plenty for most kids, but you can adjust the length of session up for older and down for younger or based upon their needs. If you are concerned about a time requirement, shoot for shorter sessions with an increased frequency. And last but certainly not least, because I remember being a counselor and having an entire closet of trinkets and fidgets at my disposal, don’t allow your virtual session to become boring. Gamify everything you can to keep it interesting. Now on to the ideas.
Digital scavenger hunt. Yes, this may require them to open another tab, but you can set the timer and have them look online for something to show that correlates to this list. If you have questions that kids may share things that are inappropriate, remind them of the ground rules before you start this activity.
Show and tell. Getting to know students on another level can happen when you ask them to simply choose 3 things from their home that represent a word, phrase or even a feeling. You can do this prior to the session for kids that you think will need a little extra prep or even throw it in to fill the last few minutes or your time together.
Lunch bunch. I still LOVE a good lunch bunch which can be as fun and as simple as you want it to be. You can even switch it up and do Brunch bunch for an earlier time. Intro, mini lesson and activity is a great flow for a 30 minute time span, but I have also held a lunch bunch where we just ate, watched a portion of a movie and then chatted about what we saw/thought or felt. This link shows some great movie ideas too.
Would you rather? This game asks kids to choose between two awesome options, two not so awesome options or even a mixture with some complicating details. This is one of my favorite counseling games because you really can make a lesson out of any of the questions. For instance, from “Eat cake or pie”, you can talk about healthy eating, favorite foods, and even discuss what to do if you don’t have enough food. You can grab my printable pack of Would You Rather Cards and be ready for your next session in minutes!
Invite a guest star. Sometimes it’s not who you know, but having a new face. Invite a guest star from your building or even your community to join you for a portion of your session. You can even use a session talking about who kids might like to see and why as a way of encouraging them to show gratitude and maintain connections to people who matter to them.
Play a digital board game. There are ways of making in person party games Zoom friendly and others that are designed to be played at a distance. Check out this list of 16 games you can customize to a counseling lesson.
Simon Says. I loved using Simon Says to practice listening, focus an self-control. This is a great group activity as you can let kids be Simon and have fun playing along. If you’ve been working on self-care or calming strategies, for example, you can lead with those as the activities Simon Says and lead into silly or funny ones that might let kids get a little more movement.
Freeze and Stop. There’s something so fun about playing freeze and stop. Watching all your students dance and then freeze to their favorite edited song or one that you pull from GoNoodle is a great way to start or end the session.
Charades. A little bit of movement is sure to add some fun. Similar to pictionary, have kids move to show emotions or words as opposed to drawing those items.
Quiz: Me. I included this in my book, 8 Minute Miracles and my kids had a fun time quizzing me during our recent all nighter. You can have kids make up their own questions and answers that describe themselves, like, “What is my favorite color?” then you, or classmates can take turns answering. You can also use a worksheet like this at the beginning of a session to give some direction to the questions too.
Pictionary. Choose some simple items based upon your students age and interests, or have them each send you one word that they would like added to the pool. Then private message one student the prompt and have them draw and share after a predetermined amount of time. You can go simple like feeling words or more complex for older kids by adding locations or activities.
Mad Libs. These are not just for Easter baskets and car trips anymore. Take a few minutes and have kids choose the random items needed to fill in the blanks then read them off. You can edit the stories to have a connection to counseling themes too.
Lego Challenge. This one came from a colleague on my virtual power hours who said her students absolutely loved building animals with Legos. Obviously kids would need to have Legos at home for this to work, but if you have the budget to send out a little care package, the less famous brands that are suitable for ages 4 and up are remarkably inexpensive. You can also have older kids use items from around the house to build an animal or house or person and then let the classmates vote on the winner too. Mailing out a pack of 10-20 would be relatively cheap and if you’re already giving out packs of lesson plans or lunches they could be dropped off the same way.
Virtual Field Trip. There are so many places that have free virtual tours or live feeds from animal shows. You can vote on who you want to see or where you’ll visit, do a scavenger hunt while on the tour or even just have fun exploring with your students too. Check out my blog post on FREE virtual tools to see a huge list of free tours available now.
For more great ideas for in-person or virtual sessions, check out the School Based Session Planner which has over 300 links to FREE resources around the web. Do you have a great activity that has worked wonders in your session? Add them down in the comments for all to see!