Breathing Exercises

Today, teens are struggling with stress and anxiety issues due to peer pressure, social media, academic performance, and college preparation. This can cause teenagers to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms to manage their stress such as avoiding responsibilities, overeating, substance and alcohol abuse. There are healthier ways for teenagers to manage their stress such as drawing, listening to music, positive self-talk, meditation, yoga, and playing sports. Research also shows that breathing exercises help reduce stress at all age levels.

When people are stressed or anxious, they take shorter and more rapid breaths. By taking a few deep breaths can instantly calm and reduce stress in people. As a social work intern, I’ve been looking for practical tools to provide education and mental health services during my sessions with students. Many of my students have been struggling with stress and anxiety. So teaching my students how to take deep and slow breaths when they are feeling stressed or anxious can help them feel calmer at that moment. Breathing exercises can be helpful for students to use inside and outside of school. They can use deep breathing exercises before a test or even help fall asleep better. It can be easily used in their home, classroom, after school activity, anywhere. It is also a tool that can be used in the workplace after they graduate. I found three easy breathing exercises from Kids Health that can be implemented during counseling sessions or even at the moment a teen is experiencing a lot of anxiety or stress.

Reference

Teens Health from Nemours. (2019). Relaxation exercises: breathing basics. Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/relax-breathing.html

Anger Management Groups

Anger Management Groups

This item of interest is based off of a CBT-based anger management curriculum called Healthy Choices. This is geared towards high school students, but can be easily adapted for younger students. The goal of this group is to work towards three social and emotional learning goals: 1A.4a: Analyze how thoughts and emotions affect decision making and responsible behavior. This is achieved through focusing on the A, B, C model of the relationship between events, thoughts and feelings. The second goal it focuses on is: 1A. 3b: Apply strategies to manage stress and motivate successful performance. The focus of this goal is to help teach relaxation techniques, including deep breathing, counting backwards and positive imagery. The last goal is: 2D.3a: Evaluate strategies for preventing and resolving conflicts. In this strategy you will help students be able to use assertiveness and positive decision making to stay out of conflicts.

The format is an 8-week session with small groups of students who either have been identified from your experience, the Dean’s office or a teacher referral. Below is an example of what the 8-week outline resembles.

Session Outline

 Session 1 – Introduction

 Overview of the purpose and goals of group

 Review group rules, expectations, and confidentiality

 Icebreaker Activity

 Pre-Test

 Anger Thermometer

 Introduce Hassle Logs

 Session 2 – Triggers and Cues

 Identifying Triggers (Anger Buttons worksheet from Strategies for Anger Management workbook)

 Identifying Physical Cues (body signs) (Physical Cues to Anger worksheet from SAM workbook)

 Session 3 – Anger Reduction Techniques

 Deep Breathing

 Counting Backwards

 Positive Imagery

 Session 4 – ABCDE Model

 ABCDE of Anger Control

 ABCDE Analysis of Student Examples

 Session 5 – Effective Communication

 Assertiveness Training

 Conflict Resolution

 Session 6 – Skill Building #1

 Dealing with an Accusation

 Keeping Out of Fights

 Session 7 – Skill Building #2

 Dealing with Someone Else’s Anger

 Understanding the Feelings of Others

 Session 8 – Review and Closure

 Review of Past Sessions

 Completion Ceremony

Reference:

http://www.schoolsocialwork.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Anger-managment-group.pdf

Stress Balls or Pick Apart Corks to Relieve Anxiety/Stress

Stress Balls or Pick Apart Corks to Relieve Anxiety/Stress

                  This mode of therapy is well suited for the school atmosphere since it does not require any additional supports from other students or staff members. Stress balls or pick apart corks are used when students are experiencing levels of anxiety that they are either not able to control or that leads (or can lead) to trichotillomania or excoriation. Trichotillomania is defined as a compulsive desire to pull out one’s hair. Excoriation is defined as the repeated urge to pick at one’s own skin. Research has been documented to show that with this desire is the body’s reaction to stress. The stress balls or corks are given to the student to keep and can be used in and outside of the school setting to help distract their hands when they feel the need to start picking at their skin or hair. Since both of these alternatives focus on something simple to keep your hands busy, in a repetitive movement, it eventually relieves your stress on to the ball or cork versus internalizing feelings and self-harming. Stress balls can be used to crunch or block the stress or anxiety you are feeling, in a repetitive motion which can become a subconscious movement. As the social worker you will have to guide and explain how and when a stress ball is used (to reduce the urge to pick or pull). A pick apart cork is used in the same manner. It is a cork that can easily be picked apart to stimulate the same action as if the student was doing it to themselves, yet in a non-harmful manner.

The Social Social Work practice model this emulates the most is that it provides evidence-based education, behavior, and mental health services. This treatment should be used to ensure the most effective outcomes. This is also an activity in which you can monitor progress and evaluate the effectiveness. This can and should be achieved by check-ins with teachers and through classroom observations, also by checking with the student and their progress with either the stress ball or pick apart cork.

Stress balls come in a variety of styles, sizes and types. They can be purchased in a store or online easily searched through google. Stress balls can also be made very inexpensively by purchasing a pool “noodle” and cutting it into smaller circular pieces to be easily, inexpensively, distributed. Pick apart corks may been purchased at this link: 

 https://www.therapyshoppe.com/category/P3389-fidgets-tools-fidget-toys-for-skin-pickers-dermatillomania-trichotillomania