Nature Puppets

intervention themes engagement, problem solving, feelings expression estimated time needed for activity 20 30 minutes recommended age range ages 4 and up materials needed supplies are nature based items indigenous to your area they can vary widely depending on where you live the only store bought item is clay or playdoh or some time of sticky substance to hold the items together or markers/sharpies look around your backyard or go to an area where you can find loose (items from nature that are on the ground) nature items find loose items that are native to your area such as leaves sticks small or large grass rocks small or large flowers seeds berries shells bag or container to hold the items they are collecting playdoh / clay / model magic markers/sharpies scissors preparation there are 2 possibilities to begin this activity both therapist and client have gathered the nature items in their area and are ready to begin creating their nature puppet once the telehealth session starts this would require you to contact the child's caregiver to have them collect nature items and be ready with various nature items send the caregiver a list of nature items that would be indigenous to your area therapist and client gather their items simultaneously, or just the client is gathering the nature items, and the therapist already has them ready did you get permission from the parent to have the client collect nature loose nature items outside? does the client have access to a device so they can take you with them in their outside area to collect their nature items? they may need a bag or container to hold the items they collect therapeutic goals client will be able to practice verbalizing a variety of emotions client will develop various coping skills such as breathing, naming feelings, and asking for help client will demonstrate an increase and practice the ability to cope with frustration/or anxiety description creating nature puppets activity is designed for children to project their thoughts and feelings onto the nature puppet when we use puppets, we can create distance for painful emotions, playfully practice learning different coping skills, and experience a sense of control and mastery nature in and of itself is healing and promotes improvement in mood and creativity, and offers a grounded experience begin the session by telling the client, "today we will create a nature puppet with the items we collected, or today we will be collecting nature items together that we will use to make a nature puppet i am so excited to see what we find together " let's see what you collected today, and i can show you the nature items i found in my area this would be a fun way to take turns showing each other and noticing what is the same and what is different from your collection and your clients some clients may need a visual prompt for what a nature puppet is you can screen share the pictures in the slide show i created the idea is for clients to create their nature puppets and project what they need on the nature items, but some clients may benefit from a visual prompt direct the client to create, and the therapist creates with the client option share music while you create together option as you create together, you can share what you notice about your items for example, wow, i am noticing the leaf i collected has green and red spots on it, this pine cone has some pointy sides i need to be careful about, or this flower smells so sweet then you can ask the client what they notice in their nature items when nature puppets are complete then, introductions are ready i would consider changing the video filter to the theater option or another option that would match the introduction of your nature puppet have them change their video filter as well direct the client to come up with a name for their nature puppet and introduce their nature puppet option you can use your puppet to interview the client's nature puppet and have a scripted dialogue or spontaneous conversation back and forth, or the client's nature puppet can interview you first take turns being interviewed be silly, and have fun! it is the best way to learn and express ourselves nature puppet interview questions what is your name? how old are you? where do you live? what do you like and don't like? what is the weather like? how do you feel? what are things you wish you could do? what are the things you don't like doing? etc discussion this technique encourages clients to communicate, express their feelings, and cope with frustration or anxiety children project their thoughts and feelings onto the nature puppet, creating distance for their painful emotions, and, in the moment, can practice playing with different coping skills for children who are perfectionistic or have difficulty with frustration in the creation phase of this activity, the client may have moments when the puppet is not coming out the way they want it to, so the therapist has an opportunity to introduce coping skills in the moment for example, the therapist would say "it is so frustrating when the berry won't stick on the leaf, as the therapist takes a deep breath in and out" the therapist can model making a mistake for example, the therapist may say, "this is so hard when it doesn't come out the way i want, ugh, it's okay i don't have to be perfect this is for fun", or "if i try to get it perfect it will take soooo long our time might be up, then i missed all the fun " this activity is also a sensory based experience, and some children who have experienced trauma may feel more activated in their bodies in addition, if a child has a traumatic experience with nature, using nature items may stir up their memory network as it relates to that trauma some considerations if the therapist is having the client collect the nature items outside during the session include bugs, animals, or other elements like rain/cold temperatures that may impact the activity therefore you may need to discuss this with the parent and check the weather before the session for a child reluctant to engage the therapist in the dialogue of the nature puppet, writing about the nature puppet may be appropriate i find that can work well with some clients they may then share what they wrote in addition, creating the nature puppet can only be a therapeutic intervention, and dialogue is not necessary it is up to the therapist to use clinical judgment to decide if it is appropriate for their client if a child doesn't have nature supplies, you can use the digital whiteboard to create nature puppets screen share nature items from either this slide show or from images you have collected from different locations clients can use the digital whiteboard to make a nature puppet it's fun to be creative and think of nature items outside of your indigenous area for me, i would draw a palm tree or coconut puppet the therapist can use the processing questions and dialogue as described processing questions ask the client if their nature puppet to share thoughts or feelings "tell me more about where you live and what it is like to live there " how can you use your nature puppet this week when you are frustrated/anxious? when you have a specific clinical goal the client is working on, like learning how to handle frustration or anxiety, you can integrate your questions or role model with your nature puppet on dealing with those feelings for example, when your nature puppet has a turn to share, have your nature puppet take a breath or name their feelings, or ask for help on a problem for example, ask their nature puppet a "what should i do" question (ex i have this problem i need help with, what should i do when i get really mad that i made a mistake i don't know how to handle that?) this allows the client to use their puppet to share coping skills however, if they tell you, "i have no idea," then you can integrate a skill to practice at that moment between the nature puppets this also allows you to assess the client's need for developing further skills about the creator,rose lapiere, lpc, rpt s, acs, emdria certified consultant rose lapiere, lpc, has been a child and family therapist for over 20 years she is a writer, presenter, emdria consultant, registered play therapist supervisor, synergetic play therapy supervisor, and "being with" parent coach she has a private practice in new jersey she works with children and adults through the lens of attachment, mindfulness, therapeutic powers of play, interpersonal neurobiology, and family system theory rose is passionate about teaching and training other professions and integrating nature and sand tray therapy into her work she provides consultation for therapists seeking certification in emdr and play therapy she is the past president of the new jersey counseling association creativity division rose has co edited and co authored nature based play and expressive therapies contact rjlapiere\@mac com