Using the 5 part model to support individuals with emotional self-regulation.

A Primary 2 child was experiencing difficulty expressing and regulating his emotions, especially around transitions in his home life. His mother had reported that his behaviour had become quite loud and aggressive in the period immediately before leaving home and that he was struggling to demonstrate and regulate his behaviour in a way that didn’t directly impact others. The practitioner had noticed he was reluctant to engage in class lessons using Emotion Works and found personal reflection challenging.

The child loved Pokémon and so the practitioner was able to utilise this interest to discuss how Pikachu might manage angry emotions and behaviours. The practitioner offered the trigger (yellow cog) and the emotion (orange cog): “Pikachu had to come home from one of the trainer’s houses to his own house and I think that makes him feel a bit angry”. The child agreed with this emotion. The practitioner and child discussed what Pikachu would do to show this feeling (behaviour, green cog) and how that might feel inside (body sensations, red/pink cog) and recorded their ideas in the 5 part cog worksheet. The child explained that Pikachu was an electric type Pokémon so would feel electric inside and throw thunder bolts everywhere. They discussed whether this made Pikachu feel better (regulation, blue cog) and although the child felt it did, he also said it might damage the house or hurt people inside, like Ash, Pikachu’s trainer. They greed this wasn’t good for Ash. The child then suggested that a better place for Pikachu to throw his thunder bolts would be in the back garden where no one could get hurt.

The practitioner used a dry wipe pocket resource to prompt and record the immediate discussion and later transferred their ideas to a 5 Cog Noteboard Worksheet.