Clay is more than a mere arts and craft material when incorporated into a therapeutic session.
This simple grey block of clay is a powerful emotional regulation and communication tool that supports children who are facing big changes, stress, or anxiety and who do not have the words to describe what they are feeling.
Clay supports in many ways:
- Clay requires lots of physical manipulation with hands. Children can pound it, squash it, smash it, throw it, flatten it, and even tear it allowing for built up and pent-up tension, and big or intense feelings of anger or frustration to be released in a safe way.
- The tactile nature of feeling and moulding the clay engages the senses, helping to calm an anxious or dysregulated nervous system.
- Clay can help tell a story without any words. Children can sculpt and create their worries, their fears, their feelings; creating their inner thoughts and worlds and share this within the session.
Clay provides safety. There is no right or wrong way to use it. It can be smoothed out, remade and changed completely, allowing for the child to experience total control.
Clay is an essential item in any session bag, and for those children who dislike the feeling of clay on their hands Play-Doh is a good alternative 😊