We help you train and help yourself in this journey. Training the family is a very effective way to improvement. In order to achieve this, we need to collect some data to find the cause and effects of the so called symptoms or problems. After all what are all those diagnosis and symptoms all about. They give us a collection of symptoms and then offer ways to help smooth the edges.
- Step 1: Mood monitoring is an important part of treatment. It helps the child, the caregiver, and the therapist see patterns in the child’s mood fluctuations, and also helps us identify the things that trigger these mood fluctuations. Complete your own Mood Calendar for your child during the week.
Help your child fill out a Mood Calendar for the next two weeks. When you notice that your child is experiencing a particular emotion, help the child label that emotion using the Mood Calendar’s Feelings Legend and have the child color in the feeling.
2. Step 2: Create simple everyday routines for your child such as bedtime, wake up time routines and create automatic reminders that don’t come from you. Put notes on the fridge or have phone reminders , Alexa reminders, etc. Then build up to that and add more steps.
3. Step 3: Create strategy for when your child gets angry and starts a tantrum or melt down. A good example of a descaling method is LOW LINE
Listen and understand from your child’s point of view
Offer comments by repeating the last words, showing you are listening but not in a robotic way
Wait till your child is done talking and let their frustrations out
Look and maintain I contact and get to their eye level
Incline your head slightly, to show you are listening and give you a threading posture.
Nod to confirm that you are listening and have understood.
Express empathy to show you have understood.
Step 3: Id the difficult feelings
Sad
Guilty
Angry
Worried
Step 4:
Talk about difficult feelings I’ve had before (like sad, angry, nervous, guilty), and what might have caused those feelings. Everyone has difficult feelings, and there is nothing wrong with having them. But I can do things to help myself, like say how I’m feeling and express my feelings without hurting myself or others.
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Talk about my ANGER CLUES. When I feel angry, it’s kind of like a volcano: my anger bubbles up inside just like lava bubbles up in a volcano, and sometimes I may “explode” out of control. But there are CLUES in my body that tell me when I’m getting angry. This is my warning that the lava is bubbling up and something better be done before my anger volcano explodes. Be sure to ask me or my therapist what my Anger Clues are!
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Talk about the situations where I feel angry and experience my Anger Clues. These situations bug me, and so we call them my bugs. Soon I will start learning things to do to deal with my bugs.
How you can help me this week:
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Help me express my feelings, and help me put those feelings on my Mood Calendar. Are there any patterns to my moods?
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Help me recognize my Anger Clues if you notice them.
How Do We Solve This Problem?
During my session today, my therapist and I are going to:
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Figure out things I can THINK and things I can DO to help me deal with my bugs (my difficult situations) and emotions like angry, sad, or nervous. These things can help me stay in control when my Anger Clue warns me that my anger is starting to rise. What I think, feel, and do are all connected—if I think more positively, then I will probably have better feelings, and I can do things to help myself.
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Talk about my positive qualities and the people, places, and activities that make me feel good. I can think about my good qualities, and the things or people that make me feel good, when I’m feeling upset or angry.
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Talk about how THINKING and DOING things to help me deal with my bugs not only helps ME feel better, but also may affect how other people react TO me. The better other people react, the better I will probably feel about yself.
How you can help me this week:
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Help me express my feelings and recognize my Anger Clues.
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Help me use my THINK and DO skills to stay in control when my Anger Clues warn me that my anger is starting to rise.
12 Exercises for Mindful Parenting: http://www.hillcrestschool.ca/media/files/12%20Exercises%20for%20Mindful%20Parenting%202.pdf
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Mindful Parenting Resources from the Child Mind Institute: http://childmind.org/article/mindful-parenting/
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Discussion Guide: http://mindfullifetoday.com/wp-content/uploads/Mindful-Parenting-Discussion-Guide-201508.pdf
Many children with bipolar disorder often feel incompetent—much attention is given to their problematic emotions and behavior, and not to their strengths. You can help such children recognize their strengths (and build their self-esteem) by pointing out these strengths and giving equal attention to what they do well. This week, talk with your child about his or her strengths.
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You can also help raise your child’s self-esteem by encouraging activities that build on these strengths—activities where your child can do well. If possible, figure out one or two activities your child can do that will promote his or her strengths (for example, doing an art project, taking a music or dance class, or enrolling in sports at a local park district).
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Talk with your child about positive statements she or he can say to her- or himself (giving a “pep talk”). Together, figure out some strengths that your child can remember to think of during the day. For times of difficulty, help your child come up with coping “scripts” he or she can use when feeling depressed or angry. This script may focus on the child’s strengths, previous experiences where the child has dealt with the feeling successfully, calming thoughts, and so on. Typing the “script” on the computer, or making it an art project, may help make these stick.
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Time to focus on you! This week, practice using mindfulness techniques. Begin to incorporate mindfulness parenting strategies
Reference :
Page 120 Published: September 2017