Hello, Lily here, Occupational Therapist at Cup-O-T! I would like to share with you how the first two ‘Survival Skills for Wellbeing’ groups have gone!
The group aimed to increase the confidence of young people who were experiencing anxiety or high levels of stress in their day to day life. I hoped to teach them the skills required to maintain their wellbeing outside of the sessions and provide an environment where they could meet other young people, have fun and learn to express their needs.
Settling in
Session 1: It is only natural, that on first attending the group, some young people felt pretty anxious. We all experience this entering new environments with people we don’t really know! I thought it was important to allow this time to really settle in and get to know one another.
We made fortune tellers out of paper with questions for one another and used this as a bit of an ice breaker. We also built towers with dry spaghetti and marshmallows.
I saw how these structured but fun and accessible activities helped the young people feel more at ease with one another. One young person who came into the space very anxious was able to take down their hood, set aside their fidget tools and become one of the most active participants of the group.
Another, who had brought a family member in for comfort, was smiling ear to ear by the end of the session and was particularly thrilled to be missing an afternoon of school to be in a therapy group!
This sense of belonging in the group was sustained throughout each session.
Perhaps one of the most impactful and sustained outcomes of the group was making friends. Young people have chosen to stay in touch with one another which was fantastic to see!
Understanding emotions
Session 2: This session was all about understanding our emotions that little bit more and learning strategies to cope with day to day stressors.
We explored sensory tools including those easily found at home or in your typical supermarket. We also looked at movements and breathing exercises that can be really powerful in changing our moods.
I love talking to young people about the tools they already use – they and their parents are so resourceful! Even though I’ve worked with young people for a long time now, they always come up with ideas that I hadn’t yet thought of.
This reminds me that, for all our similarities, each of us is unique in both our creativity and our needs. You can often see how a young person manages their anxieties through how they move; for example stimming or struggling to sit still all together.
As a practitioner our job is always to adapt to what the young person brings and I love this challenge. I used yoga in the sessions to give young people opportunities to move their bodies in a way that helps them to calm or alert and to feel their best. Yoga is also so helpful in practicing listening to your body cues.
If we are able to notice subtle changes in how we are feeling we can then address discomfort early on.
Identity
Session 3: We explored the theme of identity through making collages, fimo characters and badges. The variety of different ideas was really great to see and each young person was able to select the activity/activities that they enjoyed the most.
They were able to notice similarities and differences in their opinions and interests and learnt to celebrate their unique qualities as well as those of their peers.
In one of the groups young people started making badges for each other and so we spoke about what it felt like to do kind things for others. I noticed that some young people feel much more comfortable expressing their thoughts and feelings by writing, drawing and creating something tangible.
We made a huge sky collage of positive and negative thoughts and feelings. It was wonderful to see the whole group working collaboratively and contributing in their unique ways. Some chose to draw emojis on the clouds where others wrote positive affirmations that sometimes help them when they feel ‘stuck’.
Self care
Session 4: We looked at self care; how we can incorporate it into our lives, and how balance can benefit and help to maintain our wellbeing.
What better way to really ingrain this understanding than to practice then and there! It was so nice to offer the young people some ‘free time’ to listen to their needs and nurture themselves. Many young people chose to sit together and do crafts or paint their nails whilst having a chat. Others chose quiet, solitary tasks.
We reflected how these activities make us feel and designed a ‘balanced day’.
Communication
Session 5: In the last session I thought it was important, having identified our unique needs and abilities, that we think a bit about how we make others aware of these and what constitutes healthy vs unhealthy behaviours within a relationship.
I was heartened to see that young people were all somewhat aware of these themes having been taught about them at school.
We then had a bit of send off – each young person received a personal certificate highlighting something special about them that they were able to bring to the group and thanking them for their contribution.
I couldn’t believe how quickly the sessions had flown by! From meeting them all 1:1 in their homes or online to them becoming a cohesive group of individuals who allowed space for one another and were all able to engage comfortably.
I was able to meet with a few of the participants after the group had finished. Each had experienced an improvement in their wellbeing, as gauged by one of our outcome measures, and all were keen to join a similar group in the future to continue furthering their understanding.
This is some of the feedback I received about the group:
‘*** has such a fantastic time. The group made her feel like she belonged without having to fit in and meet expectations.
‘*** told me that she was brave and spoke in front of the group which is something she has never felt confident in doing at school.’
‘I can’t thank you enough for your positive impact. We just wish that you could open Cup-O-T school!’
It was a great feeling hearing that the group had made a real difference to someone over a relatively short period of time. Because of this (and how much fun I had!) I am happy to be offering the group to other young people in Downham Market. We are waiting to hear whether the program will receive future-funding, at which point we would welcome referrals for any young person between 11-16 who feel they may benefit for future sessions.
If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch:
For more information on the group, click here:
