Mental health games, worksheets, and activities to help you and those you serve
Classic therapy tools, reimagined for telehealth
That's the idea behind Teletherapy Studio, created by The Counseling Palette. It takes classic activities like expressive therapies, analytical sand tray, and counseling games and makes them possible in the virtual space in a genuinely meaningful way. All the while, the engagement stays between the therapist and client(s), allowing for quality, evidence-based therapeutic work, as it should be.
Online counseling gets a bit lonely for the therapist. Is your teenager watching a video while you're asking them about boundaries? Is your 8-year-old bored to tears, giving looks to his mom? Maybe you suspect your adult client is responding to texts during her sessions. On top of that, you may be working in isolation, feeling ungrounded yourself. Whether you provide therapy online with kids, teens, or grownups, you might yearn for a more innocent time.
In a face-to-face therapy session, you could play a game of cards with a teen while you talk about relationships, witness a child create a powerful sand tray world, or engage a group in a lively game of Jeopardy as you teach CBT skills. A sense of the magic was lost when we all moved to, or added on, the virtual therapy setting. Through virtual connection, a piece of the human connection has been lost. Teletherapy Studio brings that feeling back, with fun and engaging online therapy activities, designed from the ground up for telehealth. Plus, it's made to be affordable so it's accessible to counseling students, therapists, teachers, churches, and non-profit professionals alike.
"Through virtual connection, a piece of the human connection has been lost. Teletherapy Studio brings that feeling back, with fun and engaging online therapy activities, designed from the ground up for telehealth."
How does it work?
Imagine a client walking into your office. Maybe they're drawn to the Zen tray or marker board. Younger clients might like to play a game while they get to know you. There's a good chance you'll find such an activity in Teletherapy Studio. You can guide the session with an activity you choose, such as a mindfulness exercise, virtual sand tray session, or Pictionary-style icebreaker. Or, allow your client to browse one of our studios and choose the activity that speaks to them. You'll just share your screen, or share a secure link, and get on with your session. No more long stretches of silence or awkward struggles to pull up PDFs or PowerPoint files. It's all together in one fun, safe, and professional setting created specifically for your telehealth sessions.
Built to be intuitive, simple, and fun
Teletherapy Studio is built to be easy, especially for those who aren't particularly tech savvy. At the beginning of your session, choose a themed studio where your client can browse related activities, or select an activity yourself. Send a secure link to your client and share your screen(s) via your usual telehealth platform. It's that simple. There's no need for your clients to join, log in, or share any personal information.
1. Choose an activity or themed studio and send a secure link
2. Share your screen(s) via your usual telehealth platform
3. Participate in the activity together or observe and discuss
What does it cost?
You and your clients need support. Therapy Studio is made to be an effective and affordable online platform, flexible enough to include everyone. Our Early Access cost will be around $8.99 a month, including a free 7-day trial. Test the activities yourself and introduce them to your clients. During this Early Access time period, we'll be adding more features and integrating your feedback so we can serve you and your clients even better. For now just sign up for updates and you'll be the first to know!
Familiar Games with Discussion Prompts
Competitive and cooperative games are a fun and engaging part of the online therapy activity platform. Games have a way of increasing engagement in a safe, non-threatening way. It's much more fun to name a feeling word or describe a challenging moment when you get points for doing it! Just pick a game and subject category, and share your screen (or have your client share theirs). All of the games are created so one player can easily host while everyone plays. You could even play in person in an office or classroom setting.
Discussion Flashcards and Games
Flashcards with discussion prompts are a simple yet engaging way to work with online clients, particularly in therapy for teens or kids. We've redesigned our popular Humans Against Stress cards and Magical Coping Skills Cards with realistic animations for online therapy. Flip through the cards and discuss the coping skills. Or if you're feeling adventurous, play the game version of Humans Against Stress. Get ready for a lively online group therapy game!
Expressive Arts
Are you more of a hands-on therapist, often including expressive activities in your healing practice? Or perhaps you're working with students who engage more with tactile exercises. That's where our art activities come in, complete with drawing, miniature trays, and meaningful prompts.
For example, Teletherapy Studio includes a unique virtual sand mandala tool. Follow a prompt to create a mandala that reflects your current mood or psyche. Or, invite your child and teen clients to play a game of "Draw and Guess" so you can get to know each other better. If your client isn't the artistic type, they can still express visually through the sand tray or Zen garden settings.
What if you could capture the "feel" of a real, tactile sand tray, just like the one you might have in your physical therapy office? We're particularly proud of our virtual sand tray. Teletherapy Studio's sand tray is designed to capture the traditional style this modality was meant to be in. It's based on the guidelines of an official sand tray box and includes over 100 miniatures to allow for individual expression. Bells and whistles are limited so the experience remains less "video game" and more therapeutic.
State of the Art Sand Tray
Mindfulness Tools
What if visualization and cognitive defusion techniques could take physical form? With our Thoughts on a Stream activity clients can type in their thoughts and watch them float away. Or, they can draw on Ripple Paper and let their words and drawings fade into the background. Practice staying in the moment at the Marble Labyrinth, sliding the marble along a guided path. These are great exercises to teach mindfulness and release. You can also assign them as homework between sessions so your online clients can continue to practice mindfulness skills.
Try a Themed Studio
To offer a warmer and more engaging environment, you can optionally choose a virtual studio to share with your client. They can explore the rooms through our Zen Studio, Game Room Studio, or Play Therapy Room Studio. This can be a home base for your client's sessions, or they can mix it up and choose different studios each time. You can still add on with individual activities that might reach a bit beyond the theme. The idea is to take a virtual environment and make it a more grounded and personal place. We believe our studios are the perfect way for you to do this!
Can I use the therapy activities in person?
Do you work mainly as an in-person therapist, but find our interactives speak to you and your clients too? That's perfect, because while our exercises are created for telehealth, that means they work great anywhere there's a screen. Use them in classrooms through projection, or welcome your client to your desk. Our expressive activities are great for therapies like trauma-focused CBT, emotions-focused therapy, and any client who is having trouble engaging in a traditional talk-therapy session. Play to your client's interest and strengths! Plus, if you provide both in-person and online therapy you'll have the perfect versatile tool with our Studio!
How to get started
Teletherapy Studio will soon launch in the Early Access stage. That gives you an opportunity to be among the first to try it out. By getting on our list now you'll get extra perks as a founding member, if and when you decide to join. We hope you'll be a part of our Teletherapy Studio family, joining us in reimagining classic therapy activities for telehealth.