Helping Children Smile Again with Amanda Seyderhelm
Helping Children Smile Again with Amanda Seyderhelm
S2 #04 Exploring emotions through game play with Arts Psychotherapist, Karen Stallard
The pandemic has taught us the true importance of emotional connections. While we protect our bodies from infection, emotional bonds protect our minds from poor mental health and the disconnection that comes with isolation.
Within the Western culture, we are very good at saying “I think”, but not so good at saying “I feel”. We are also not very good at listening to someone talk about distressing feelings. Rather than empathising we may try and solve the problem to remove the feeling as quickly as possible.
In this episode, Karen shares the background to 20 Dreams, an innovative card game that is designed to encourage people to explore different feelings and the language used to describe those feelings.
The 20 Emotion cards have been carefully chosen from research that explores the variety of human emotions to help reduce inhibitions surrounding talking about feelings as it normalises the feelings language.
Karen Stallard, the creator of 20 Dreams game, is an Integrative Arts Psychotherapist, she loves working with dreams in the therapy room and is fascinated by the role dreams play in our lives. After waking up one night from a strange dream Karen was inspired to create 20 Dreams, a card game that would reward the right hemisphere of the brain by tapping into emotions and creativity. Karen realised that it could also be an excellent resource for therapists and educators. So whether you are a Therapist, English teacher, Drama teacher or Senco teacher, our storytelling card game - 20 Dreams might just be what you need in your toolbox.
About Karen
Karen Stallard is a Registered Psychotherapist with UKCP, registered Counsellor with BACP and registered Art Therapist with HCPC.
Karen’s career journey began as an actress with a passion for the performing arts, storytelling and communicating creatively. She then trained to be a member of the clergy of the Christian church, working mainly in pastoral care particularly within mental health, this led to training as a full-time counsellor and psychotherapist.
As well as running her private practice Feeling Found, which is based in Highbury and Islington, London, Karen is also the co-creator of 20 Dreams – a card game that can help reduce inhibitions when talking about feelings.
About 20 Dreams
20 Dreams is a crazily creative card game that challenges your imagination, tests your dream telling skills and stretches your emotional intelligence to bring you endless entertainment and hilarious outcomes!
One quick explanation and you are off!
https://www.play20dreams.com/
Twitter: @20dreamsgame
Instagram: @20dreamsgame
Facebook: @20dreams
Connect with Amanda Seyderhelm
Visit my website to download my free eBook 10 Simple Play Therapy Techniques You Can Use To Help Your Child With Grief, Loss and Change
If you are supporting a bereaved child, or know someone who is, you can purchase my books - Isaac and the Red Jumper (for 4-10 yr olds) and Helping Children Cope with Loss and Change
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