Play Therapy Game-These Are My Feelings-Student #10

(Mercer University Play Therapy Student)

The game I created is called My Feelings are My Feelings


Tools:
•Pen/Pencil
•Writing pads or sheets of paper (for each person playing the game) to write responses
•Dry Erase Board and Marker (optional) or a piece of paper to take score if needed
*At least 1 Facilitator is needed

The Facilitator of the players creates scenario cards, based on the age or grade of the players in the group, on construction paper or a writing tab of various scenarios tailored toward the age group such as you are eating lunch and another student takes your sandwich, your teacher asks you to create a presentation to your class about your favorite food, you are on the playground and see a friend being bullied, your brother/sister eats the last cookie in the bag, your doctor says that you have to wear glasses, your arrive home from school and realize you left your homework at school, your best friends tells you that he/she will be moving to another state, etc.

In this game each player draws a scenario card. Each player writes how does the scenario make him/her feel and why? How he/she would respond to this feeling using only one of 27 feeling words-frightened, sad, happy, surprised, angry, anxious, jealous, joyful, annoyed, excited, tired, proud, confused, worried, scared, afraid, bored, grumpy, nervous, cheerful, lonely, loving, embarrassed, guilty, shy, silly, and curious (younger children would only have happy, sad, angry, scared, frustrated, confused, hurt, and surprised to choose from).

The player also writes, using only one feeling word, how he/she believes each player would feel and respond to the same scenario and why. Each card is passed around and each player writes down how he/she would respond to the scenario until the original card gets back to the person who originally drew each card.

Each player then reads his/her scenario and explains his/her response. Then each game player states how he/she believes each player would feel and respond in this same scenario and why.
If a person picks the correct emotion or one in the same emotion category but different intensity level, the player receives a point. The play with the most points after three rounds wins the game if the facilitator decides to have a winner in the game. The player with the most points after three rounds wins the game if the facilitator decides to have a winner in the game.

The game can facilitate some discussion on how each player views the other player and assumptions that can be made about how other people think, feel, and behave. This game can facilitate discussion about healthy and non-healthy ways to manage emotions and healthy and unhealthy behaviors. This game can demonstrate similarities between others and appreciating differences in the way others perceive and handle situations. Playing this game may allow the participant to come to terms about their own emotions in a situation by making the player take ownership of their feelings in a situation and other situations. This game can foster empathy and show the importance of not making assumptions about others and how another person’s beliefs about another can affect communication and the importance of communicating to others. This game provides the opportunity for people to see how others respond and give the other person the opportunity to see beyond what a person presents and gain a bigger person about another’s feelings. This game also can provide the players with alternative ways of responding to the various scenarios that can be applied in real life.