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Brain in my hand webinar

"Even though we've been on the JIA journey for many years this still taught me a lot so I highly recommend it." Parent of a child with JIA

"Brain in my hand" is a way to understand our reactions and behaviours, and is particularly useful for children and young people with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) to help cope with some of the challenges they face, such as injections and blood tests. In this video Chloe Haines, a child psychotherapist, explains "Brain in my hand" and how it can be used by children with JIA and their families.

Chloe has had JIA since she was a baby, so has personal experience of the many challenges that those with JIA and their families face. Chloe uses her understanding of JIA to bring to life the "Brain in my Hand" model, making this video uniquely relevant.

Printables and resources mentioned in the video

"Brain in my hand" worksheet

Print out our "Brain in my hand" worksheet (PDF file) as many times as you need to, for different family members and different situations that you can use this model for. Use the prompts on the worksheet, along with information in the video to create your own personalised strategies.

The worksheet is also available as a JPG file here.

The Stress Bucket worksheet

The stress bucket is a way to help manage your worries. It can help with injections and blood tests, other hospital visits and procedures, and anything else that causes you or your child worry.

You can use it to help develop your micro coping strategies mentioned in the video. These are the little things that we can do each day to help prevent our 'lid from flipping' in the context of the brain in hand model.

Using the idea of a bucket filling up with our worries can help us manage our stress. The raindrops filling the bucket represent the things that can make us feel worried. If the bucket gets too full, it can cause problems and we can feel overwhelmed. To help prevent the bucket getting too full, we can put good habits in place to help us relax. These are things that we enjoy doing and are represented by the holes in the bucket that release the stress.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the printable worksheet.

Books recommended by Chloe Haines

In the video, Chloe mentions the four books below as useful resources. If ordering from Amazon, please remember to use Amazon Smile or EasyFundraising to raise a free donation for Juvenile Arthritis Research when you shop.