Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth ...

Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth

FEELINGS TIC TAC TOE

Theme: Identifying and Expressing Feelings
Recommended Age Range: 7-16
Treatment Modality: Individual, Group, Family
Stage of Treatment: Beginning, Middle

Goals

1. Facilitate identification and expression of feelings

Materials

• "Feelings tic tac toe" worksheet (included)
• Score card (included)
• 2 kinds of wrapped candy (about the size of a nickel or quarter)

Description

This game of tic-tac-toe uses candy instead of X's and O's. It can be used in either individual
counseling, with the therapist playing, or in pairs of children at similar levels of functioning.

Players alternately place their candy pieces on the work/game sheet provided in an attempt to
get either an uninterrupted horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line of three. Once a player gets a
line, he must uncover the feeling faces in the line and describe a time when he experienced
each of those three feelings. If he talks about all three feelings, he gets a point. If no player get
a straight line, nobody gets a point for that round. Once a player accumulates five points, he
gets to eat one of the candies. The therapist can pre-set a time limit for the activity.

Discussion

Most clients are familiar with tic-tac-toe and will enjoy this version of the game. Children are
generally able to understand the concept of feeling happy, sad, or mad. Other feelings, such as
guilt or jealousy, need to be explained using examples that the child will understand. For exam-
ple, "Guilty means feeling bad about what you did. Like, if you cheat on a test, you would feel
guilty when you realize that you did something wrong." Once the child comprehends each of
the feelings on the game board, he is better able to ascribe feelings to situations in his own life
As the child talks about his feelings, the therapist can reflect the child's feelings, ask the child to
elaborate, and praise the child for his openness. For example, the therapist can say to the child
"I'm glad you felt comfortable enough talking about your sad feelings when your rnom died. It
took a lot of guts to share that, so you really earned that point!" When it is the therapist's turn
to share, the therapist can tailor his own responses in a way that would be therapeutically bene
ficial to the child.

34 /999 Liana Lowen&lein. Alt rights teserv



Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth

FEELINGS TIC TAC TOE

Happy Mad Nervous

Scared Loved Guilty

Jealous Sad Relieved

© 1999 Liana Lowenslein. All rights reserved. 35



Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth

Feelings Tic Tac Toe Score Sheet

On the score sheet below, write the name of each player in the space provided.
Put a check mark {/) when a player wins a point.

Name: Name:

ffl 1999 Liana Lowenslein, 411 r