Engaging children: Naming and framing the problem

When talking with children in a therapeutic setting, how do you lessen their likelihood of feeling shame or blame for the problems they’re dealing with? Naming and framing the problem in their own terms can not only lessen children’s sense of shame and blame; it can also create space for their creativity, imagination and agency in responding to the issues they’re facing. In this episode (the third in our Engaging children series), hosts Jen Ly and Chris Dolman are joined by practitioners Annette Flanagan, Kate Headley, Melinda Vardanega, Lisa Johnson, Aerinn Morgan, Jamie Lee and Liz Lodge. Together, they share their ideas, reflections and strategies for enabling children to describe problems in their own terms and in ways that are meaningful and useful for them.     In this episode you will learn:

• the importance of helping children to describe problems in their own terms and in ways that are meaningful for them [02:02]
• some practice ideas for engaging with children that focus on naming and framing the problem [05:43]
• what other professionals have found helpful in this work [11:33]

  Further information and resources: Engaging children: Shrinking problems (online course) Practical strategies for engaging children in a practice setting (practice paper) An overview of child participation: Key issues for organisations and practitioners (practice paper) Shrinking problems with children and families (webinar)