Breaking down therapeutic barriers
Why did we make the Canvas?
Before joining Mable Therapy I’d always worked in schools and colleges, counselling children face-to-face. I loved the idea of working online but I assumed that I’d lose some of the magic of being in the room with them.
Would it take longer for them to open up? In fact, talking online made them feel more relaxed and without the intimidation of sitting in a stranger’s office we connected more quickly. Would the children get bored without the games from my counselling room? I found that Mable’s in-built games actually held their novelty way longer than Jenga ever did.
The only thing I ended up missing was how easy it was to work collaboratively. We’d sprawl some paper across a desk and map ideas out together: how the child sees themselves, what their goals are, what the barriers are. Weeks later we could look back at that bit of paper – by now probably ripped and crumpled – and celebrate how far they’d come.
I can’t remember whose idea Mable Canvas was, but if it wasn’t mine it should’ve been. It doesn’t just match what I was missing with those old scraps of paper and marker pens, it’s completely blown them out of the water. Could me and the children add youtube videos to our worksheet? No. Could we add counselling resources and adapt them to their individual needs? No. Could we create cartoons, add sound effects and keep the ideas from all our sessions on one infinite, ever-expanding canvas? No, no and no again.
I’m thrilled to be using Mable Canvas, I’ve never used anything which enables children and their counsellors to record their therapeutic work in such a creative way. In fact I’m so excited, the only thing I need to remember is to let the children have a turn…
