The following was written by Livingston Care Manager, Candice Maurer, to help her fellow clinicians who are grappling with engaging their clients digitally during one-on-ones.
What our clients need most in this time of uncertainty is some FUN! And, I firmly believe that we can bring that into their homes even though we are not physically present.
Here is a list of 10 ways to make your telemedicine session FUN so that your clients will want to keep coming back again and again. We may be in isolation from one another at this time, but we can still engage our clients in deep and meaningful therapeutic sessions.
Get some puppets or stuffy’s and do a puppet show – you can incorporate role playing house hold rules or practicing coping skills
Put on a talk show. You can use a pen for a microphone and ask the client questions as if you were on a talk show.
Play Charades
Put on a costume or paint your face
Play a guessing game
Use dice and see if your client can guess what number you roll
Make a social emotional jeopardy board with sticky notes and large white board or poster board.
Use sound effects (you can find sound bites for free on google also your camera should have various backgrounds you can play with)
Do magic tricks! (Check out Pinterest for loads of ideas!)
Challenge clients to create a drawing, use recyclables to create a piece or art or practice coping skills before your next session.
Here’s another tip! Gather your materials before your session and be ready to test which game works best. Once you find an idea that your client is deeply engaged in, continue with it until it loses its luster and save your other materials for the following sessions. Be prepared to switch your strategy often as kids have limited attention spans! Don’t forget to have fun!
