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The article is developed in partnership with BetterHelp.
If you’re a child counselor looking to modernize and spruce up your office and business space while still making it kid-friendly, you may be short on ideas. After all, it seems like most therapy offices have gone for the same outdated look, with abstract art and boring decorations.
If you want to take your practice up a notch, now is the time to try DIY projects. Here are three of our favorites for making your office the most stylish in town.
DIY Fidget Station
Children have a short attention span, which can make it difficult to work with them on emotional topics. For children with hyperactive ADHD, autism, or anxiety, this attention span can be even shorter. Try this DIY Fidget Station to provide an eye-level interactive option for children to work with while you help them.
What You Need:
- A wooden square organizer or shelf around child-height
- Paint
- Bins/boxes that are shallow enough to look into/transparent
- Assorted fidget items, toys, and stuffed animals (puzzles and therapeutic items are best)
- Labels
How to Make It:
- Clear a spot in your office.
- Bring in your wooden organizer or shelf organizer and place it somewhere with a wide space in front of it.
- Paint the organizer whatever color you’d like. Children often are more positively affected by bright colors, and dark colors can actually negatively impact their mood. So don’t paint it black.
- Add your fidget items to your clear bins/boxes by category. Put stuffed animals together, squishy toys together, food items together, etc. You choose how you organize it.
- Add labels to each box for the type of fidget they contain.
- Add the boxes to the shelf, at eye level for children.
- Now your patients can pick the fidget they want during your session!
DIY Sandbox
Sandboxes are another excellent tool for child psychology. The calming nature of playing with sand can help hyperactive children focus and can provide an outlet for children while dealing with something difficult, such as grief.
What You Need:
- A large square wooden box with short sides (you can make this yourself)
- A square wooden table of the same dimensions as the box
- Chairs for the table
- White sand
- Paint
- Shovels and sand toys (preferably small ones)
- Nails/screws to attach the box
- Hammer and screwdriver (preferably electric)
How to Make It:
- Get a square table and put it in a spare space in your office. You’ll likely be working with the child directly here, so it works best in the middle of the room.
- Build or buy a square wooden box of the same dimensions, with short wooden walls that are sealed at the corners where they meet.
- Paint the box white or another bright color.
- Attach the box to the table with the tools and nails. Make sure to cover them with plastic so the children can’t get hurt.
- Fill the box with white sand.
- Add your toys and shovels to the sand.
- Now you’re ready to work with your clients!
DIY Therapy Fort
The final item on our DIY list is a DIY Therapy Fort. This item is great for children who are more tactical learners and don’t like to sit still in a chair for very long.
What You Need:
- A child’s play tent big enough for any age child
- A blanket or soft rug for the floor
- Pillows
- Stuffed animals
- Therapeutic fidgets
How to Make It:
- Set up a soft blanket or rug on the ground of your office,
- Set up the child’s play tent on top of the rug/blanket. You can add fairy lights for a calming effect.
- Set up pillows, extra blankets, and stuffed animals. You can also add a couple of fidget toys for kids to play with.
- Now your tent is complete! You can hold therapy sessions on the floor while the child plays or hugs a stuffed animal to provide them comfort.
Conclusion
We hope you like these three DIY therapy office ideas for children. If you want to learn more about counseling opportunities, check out this site.
