Photos of the Month: Little Monsters for Big Worries

6 days ago

1 min read

a blue and red clay figure on a desk, smiling, with googly eyes and pipe cleaner legs

Look at these fun and fabulous monsters! They were created by children ages 7-12 years old who are clients at our Cohen Family Wellness Center in Woodside, Queens.

a small purple clay monster with googly eyes and pipe cleaner hair and squiggly arms, made by a child at Cohen Family Wellness Center

The idea behind them, according to Mental Health Counselor Rashel Paula, MHC-LP, was to “pair a narrative-therapy externalization activity with mindfulness-based coping skills: Children give a worry a silly monster form, practice talking back to anxious thoughts, and learn coping skills for anxiety.”

a dark pink one-eyed clay monster with a big grin and pipe cleaner arms and tail, made by a child at Cohen Family Wellness Center

The children enjoyed using their impressive creativity and artistic skills to create the clay figures and practice their coping strategies. Then they got to take their monsters home—just in time for Halloween!

We’ll be posting more fall photos from our programs on social media, so be sure to head over to our Facebook page and Instagram!

a three-eyed monster the color and shape of a potato with brown pipe cleaner hair. Made by a child at Cohen Family Wellness Center.