The In-Session Playground: Interactive Therapy Games, Music, Art & Sand Tray (Ages 12 to 17)

The In-Session Playground: Interactive Therapy Games, Music, Art & Sand Tray for Ages 12 to 17



Short description: Ten interactive activities for therapist-guided sessions with tweens and teens, plus a Therapist Companion Guide. Works in any browser, no account needed.

Description:

Some teens find it hard to start talking. The In-Session Playground gives you and your client something to do together while the conversation finds its way.

It is a single interactive file with ten activities for therapist-guided sessions with ages 12 to 17. Every question can be passed, changed, or turned into a made-up example, and nothing is scored. Every game with questions has a simple Light / Deep toggle, so you can start gently and go deeper when your client is ready. Therapists can adapt the lighter questions for younger children, and many activities work well for adults too.

Play Games

• Feeling Connections (card matching with reflection)
• Layers of Me (build a house, bridge, or tree with question blocks)
• Perspective Pairs (memory game)
• Connection Quest (board game)
• What’s Beneath It? (clue stories about staying curious)
• Connection Lines (four-in-a-row with questions)

Create & Explore

• Make a Beat (a small rhythm studio, no music experience needed)
• Picture Puzzles
• Art Studio
• Virtual Sand Tray

Pause Space: a quiet place to breathe, look around, or move gently, available from every screen.

What you receive

• The interactive Playground file (opens in Chrome, Edge, Safari, or Firefox, and works offline)
• A 10-page Therapist Companion Guide with session flow, therapist moves, and ideas for deeper work
• A one-page Access Guide

Good to know

• Works for telehealth: share your screen and run the controls while your client chooses.
• No client answers or creations are stored automatically.
• Print / Save as PDF and Reset buttons are built in.
• Over 700 questions and prompts rotate so repeat play stays fresh.

Please note: This is an educational and creative resource for use by licensed professionals. It is not an assessment, diagnostic tool, or stand-alone treatment, and it does not provide crisis support. Licensed for your own professional use. Please do not resell or redistribute.

Created by Shanita Wade, MA, LPC · Empowered Way of Life Therapy, LLC