Strategies to Improve Body Awareness & Mental Health

Intervention strategies promoting body awareness can improve learning and behavior in children and adolescents with sensory processing, trauma history, sensory processing, developmental, and mental health challenges.  Improving youngster’s body awareness is particularly important for children and adolescents because it provides the foundation for self-control and learning.  Many children with internalizing behavioral challenges including depression and repeated complaints of pain can be helped through enhancing their body and emotional awareness skills.

Although body and emotional awareness difficulties are commonly described in children and adolescents with trauma histories and psychiatric disorders, limited attention is given to body scheme and emotional awareness by mental health therapists. However, the evidence-based sensory processing, massage (Beider & Moyer, 2007), mindfulness (Flook et al., 2010; Koester, 2012) and yoga frames of reference offer effective body awareness intervention strategies. Light touch to reduce somatic pain and improve body awareness can be provided using the FAB Back X and Spine crawl strategies in the Back X strategy.

FAB Sensory Modulation Strategies that promote body awareness include: Touch vibration on the Back and Arms, FAB Pressure Touch, arm compression,

arm traction, Wall pushups, Tense & relax muscles, Focus on feet, Focus on palms, Body scan, Mindful Clock sitting, and Mindful Clock Standing, and hand breathing.

References:

  Beider, S., & Moyer, C. (2007).  Randomized controlled trials of pediatric massage: A review.  Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 4(1), 23-34.

  Flook, L., Smalley, S., Kitil, M., Galla, B., Kaiser-Greenland, S., Locke, J., Ishijima, E., Kasari, C. (2010).  Effects of mindful awareness practices on executive functions in elementary school children.  Journal of Applied School Psychology, 26, 70-95.

  Koester, C. (2012).  Movement based learning for children of all abilities.  Reno, NV: Movement Based Learning Inc.