Counseling teens can be challenging, as they tend to have huge emotions and face difficult challenges. Some teens enjoy talk therapy, while others do not respond well to it. Games can be helpful in counseling for several reasons including reducing resistance, helping to establish rapport, allowing for deeper discussion on topics they may not freely discuss, and helping to target specific issues.
People tend to get defensive when they feel like someone is prying into their business or making them feel blamed for problems. While talk therapy can be beneficial, it is easy to say something that raises tension in the session accidentally. Games are helpful because they can ask difficult questions without the client feeling targeted. The cards make it feel like the questions are random, while the game is targeted for a specific purpose.
Counseling games are designed with thought-provoking questions to help kids think deeply about issues. They often also introduce skills and ideas to help kids break free from stuck points and to learn new, adaptive ways to think. They may also broaden ideas for coping skills and ways to develop support systems.
The following are some of my favorite games for teens. Some are traditional, store-bought games with a description for how to use it in counseling and others are counselor-made therapy games. All games listed are $20 or below with a variety of in-person and telehealth options.
by Pathways to Peace
This is a cognitive behavioral therapy game that targets many issues common to teens, including anger, anxiety, depression, temptation, guilt, and relationship issues. The imagery depicts a character with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other, helping kids relate to temptation and their conscience. They face many challenges but can learn to overcome them. The game focuses on confronting negative thought patterns and replacing them with positive thoughts. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and on Google Slides for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
The Breakup is a short story and game about relationships, boundaries, coping, and breaking up. It helps kids process huge emotions related to the loss of a relationship, ways to identify healthy relationships, and how to establish boundaries to foster healthier interactions. It is available as a hard copy or for telehealth.
by Heart & Mind Counseling Resources
This card game would help establish rapport and get back into the swing of things when school starts. The card topics focus on personal values, favorite activities, friendships, and goals.
by Pathways to Peace
This was my very first game to make and it has tons of content! It will challenge kids to recognize and break free from cognitive distortions. The distortions discussed in the game are blaming, controlling, magnifying, mind-reading, filtering, catastrophizing, and global labels. The game defines each of these cognitive distortions, offers vignettes to consider what to do with them, and helps introduce ways to break them down and implement healthy thought patterns. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
Color Your World is an art-themed game using metaphors to help kids identify goals for the future, process past mistakes, and to create their own masterpieces for their lives. The concept is looking at their life as a blank canvas. They can choose what to fill it with by career choices, who they want to be in relationship with, and where they want to live. They are challenged to find strengths and people who support them. Â It can be played in individual, group, or family sessions and is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, or for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
This is a CBT game to help kids identify a variety of coping skills and ways to implement them to overcome a myriad of diagnoses. This game caters to a wide age range, as the same skills work for all ages and most presenting problems. It can be played in individual, group, or family sessions and is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, or for telehealth.
by Love City Counseling
This game challenges kids to identify things they are grateful for. It has scenario cards to prompt discussion. This one comes via Google Slides, which allows you to play online for telehealth sessions, or you could use a device to use it in person.
The Game of Life
by Hasbro
The Game of Life has been around for decades and continues to be a favorite due to it's engaging art work and concepts that the kids love. I like this one for teens who struggle with hopelessness related to feeling stuck in their current situation. This game offers a glimpse into the future, allowing them to consider what life will be like when they are grown and able to choose their destiny.
I recommend avoiding being a stickler on the rules and allowing freedom of choice with this game. When the client lands on the "get married" space, ask whether or not they want to get married. Likewise, when they land on a baby space, ask if they want to have children.
I like to play this game with the My Life cards that I created. They replace the yellow cards that come with the game, asking targeted questions about values, beliefs, desires for the future, and challenges common to adulthood. They also include blank career and house cards that allow the child to create their dream job or home. Many kids have a specific plan in mind and want to play it out in the game.
by Pathways to Peace
Managing expectations can be hard, especially for kids. This game helps kids consider appropriate expectations based on past experiences and different types of relationships. It also incorporates cards for ambiguous grief, such as a parent who is absent due to a drug problem. It can also be helpful for children whose parents are divorced. One parent may be consistent and predictable, while the other parent may roll in and out of the child's life. This game offers insight on how to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Kids will learn how unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment and heartache. It can be played in individual, group, or family sessions and is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, or for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
This game helps kids manage anger. It covers a wide range of issues related to anger, including triggers, coping skills, turning off the fight or flight response, and making a plan of action. Kids will become aware of body signals, thought processes, and ways to avoid blow-ups. It can be played in individual, group, or family sessions and is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, or for telehealth.
by Mixedprintables
This game is designed for use with groups of teens. It plays like hot potato and the person caught with the potato (you can use a ball or plush toy) will have to answer a deep, introspective question or take on a dare. The concept sounds really fun! It shows that it is made for high school kids.
Jenga
Kids of all ages seem to love Jenga. It is inexpensive and easy to find in stores. I have even bought a small version from Dollar Tree. It is great for working on impulse control issues. If you don't regulate your body, you will knock it down. Underlying issues also pop out during this game. Kids with anxiety will fret and worry. Kids with anger issues often blame or get upset when it falls. I found these questions on Etsy that you can add to dive deeper. Simply answer a question with each turn. You can glue them onto the game, or I like to keep a stack to the side to answer. That way you can switch out cards depending on your client's needs. You can also borrow cards from a different game to use as you play. Here is a like to an online version of Jenga.
by Pathways to Peace Counseling
Level Up is a video game-themed therapy game to help kids create a strategy to win at life. Getting in trouble or messing up is like having to repeat a level on a game. It is a learning opportunity to get it right the next time. Kids will learn that they can make intentional choices to get them ahead in life and that carelessness can lead to major setbacks. The impact (both good and bad) of friendships is also explored. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
Medieval Minds is a CBT game to help children learn what the fight, flight, or freeze response is and how to turn it off. The imagery may cater more toward younger kids, but the content is applicable to a wide age range, including adults. This is a valuable psychoeducation tool to work on body awareness, triggers, and helpful coping skills to regain control when angry or scared. These tools are also vitally important for panic attacks. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
The Memory Box is a game to address grief, built upon the idea of creating memory boxes to memorialize special memories and to create a safe place to feel connected to loved ones. It can be used for a wide range of ages, as the content and concepts are the same for young and old. The game helps kids process different aspects of loss including the shock of hearing of the loss, processing memories, coping skills, and working through unfinished business. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
by All Therapy Resources
This is a behavior modification game for teens. The mirror cards challenge kids to self-reflect and consider their actions and motivations. The sun cards focus on positive behavior and kindness. The compass cards focus on direction and guidance.
by Pathways to Peace
This game helps kids identify goals, make steps to achieve goals, and focus on prioritizing things. It also addresses organization and establishing healthy habits. This is helpful for kids who struggle with bad habits or who can't seem to figure out what they are working towards. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
This game is all about big emotions, cycles, and managing life when you feel out of control. It is perfect for helping teens and tweens understand their moods and the underlying issues behind them. This game addresses triggers for feeling unsafe, ways to engage and have fun with others, but also creating space for peace and reflection. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
by Heart and Mind Counseling Resources
Help teens work on self-esteem with this game that plays like UNO. The red cards focus on growth and goals. The blue cards are about personal strengths. The green cards discuss supportive relationships and the yellow cards help kids identify positive qualities. This creator has similar cards for anger management, self-care, establishing rapport, and coping skills.
by Pathways to Peace
This technology age has made it increasingly hard for kids to find a peer group where they feel like they belong. Kids often have virtual relationships but struggle with connecting in person. This game addresses social anxiety, how to find people with similar hobbies, values, and interests, and how to avoid unhealthy relationships. The game will challenge kids to identify barriers to engaging and the pitfalls of masking. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
This is another coping skill game to help with anxiety. It has a spa-themed game and includes CBT skills such as visualization, thought-stopping and replacement, and coping mechanisms. It focuses on self-care and introspection. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
This game uses metaphor to demonstrate the condition of your heart. Bad seeds or weeds of negative thoughts and beliefs must be uprooted and good seeds of positive thoughts and beliefs must be planted for a fruitful garden to grow in your heart. The imagery of flowers can also be used to address body and self-esteem issues. Just like flowers come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors, they are all beautiful in their own way. Kids will be challenged to embrace their unique qualities rather than trying to fit in a mold. A free eBook is also available with this game.
by Pathways to Peace
This game focuses on CBT skills to recognize self-talk, challenge irrational thoughts, and to use skills like rescripting to develop positive self-talk statements. This is a skills based game that is applicable to a wide range of ages. It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
UNO
UNO can be customized in many ways for therapy. I like to play Feelings UNO, offering all of the same benefits as Feelings Candy Land. When a yellow card is played we tell a time we were happy. Green is for scared/anxious, blue is for sad, and red is for angry. You can substitute in almost anything as far as questions. Some counselors will use cards from other games and choose one for each turn. You can use the cards for in person sessions or use the online game option for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
The Wishing Well is based on the miracle question - If you woke up tomorrow and everything was perfect, what would be different? The game poses this question in several different ways to explore desires for family, friendships, career choices and more. It utilizes Solutions Focused and CBT concepts to help identify goals and how to achieve them. Â It is available as a hard copy, a PDF download, and for telehealth.
by Pathways to Peace
This game is helpful for kids who struggle with keeping their humor respectful. It is best for kids 8-14ish. The cards help kids identify the difference between joking and bullying, joking with kids vs. adults, and considering the content of their jokes. The situation cards help them think through times it is okay to use humor and when they should refrain. Best of all, they get to tell jokes and use their humor as part of the game! It is all about aiming it in the right direction.
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