Learning Features:

The Worry Scale:

The “Worry Scale,” a self-reported measure of the kids’ degree of anxiety, serves to remind the children to monitor their own emotions, and, because this measure is employed throughout the program, it serves as a record of their changes in mood. When the kids look back through the workbook, their past worry scales act as feedback, and their behaviors are reinforced.

“A good way of describing how big a feeling is, is to use what we call a scale…think about a situation and then give it the number which shows how worried you are by that situation.”

Thought Bubbles:

The “Self Talk” thought bubble activity informs the kids of the links between events, thoughts, feelings, and behavior, such that each causes the next to occur. With this mental map, they develop a conceptual understanding of the role of thoughts in their experience of anxiety. As part of the “Self Talk” activity, the kids fill in two thought bubbles above illustrated characters that are depicted in different situations- one bubble is the unrealistic “worry” thought, the other is the realistic thought. The activity guides them to think about what thoughts are associated with their anxiety reactions, and helps them to reframe their thoughts so that the anxiety response is not triggered.

“So what you think can change how you feel and what you do because your thought comes first!”

Detective Thinking:

The “Detective Thinking” activity encourages kids to recognize and think critically about their own thought processes, while assuming the character of a detective. The kids examine the “evidence” and find “clues” to establish whether a thought is appropriate for the given context, if not they must reframe their thoughts so that they are more realistic. Because the kids choose the situations that they are to examine, they are, in a sense, constructing their own activities. This activity utilizes construction, role-playing and fantasy as motivators and learning tools.

“One way to decide if there’s been a thinking mistake is to find evidence for the thought.”

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Introduction

Anxiety Manual
 Product Characteristics
 Approach
 Benefits
 Appraisal
 Suggestions

Cellular Games
 ROBOTIC CONVERSATIONS
 LIFE SIMULATIONS
 ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS

 REFERENCES
 
 

Continued: Learning Features:

Stepladder Activity:

The “Stepladder Activity” introduces the kids to an element of cognitive behavioral treatment for anxiety called “exposure therapy.” The children choose a situation that is moderately anxiety-provoking. They then devise a stepladder plan of activities that gradually introduces them to the anxiety stimulus until the anxiety reaction is no longer associated with the stimulus. In a sense, the children are the designers of these
activities, so they can control their exposure to anxious stimuli. This autonomy may transfer to the overall sense of control associated with their emotions and feelings of anxiety.

“The next step to overcoming worries and fears is to gradually face the situations that we feel anxious about.”

Rewards:

The workbook introduces the idea of rewards early on in the Cool Kids program. The children are encouraged to reward themselves by engaging in “self talk rewards,” or mental pats on the back, or by letting themselves do some special activity they enjoy. This reward system is meant to establish positive reinforcement for accomplishing the anxiety-provoking
tasks outlined in the workbook, and it would ideally transfer to difficult situations they encounter in their everyday lives.

“When you do something for yourself or for other people you can rate yourself on how good a job you did…say something to yourself like ‘Hey, I did a good job!’”