# Oasis & Imagination > Get empowered by your imagination ! ## Posts - [Emotional self-regulation](https://oasisimagination.com/en/686/):   How to regulate emotions in a playful way An important developmental task in childhood and adolescence is the appropriate handling of emotions and feelings. While growing up, children learn to cope with intense feelings constructively. Emotions and their expression are unique to each individual and depend on the surrounding culture as well. Each child develops its own methods of regulating feelings and emotions through its personality and individual experiences. Parents and other caregivers can give children important tools and support them in creating a diversified repertoire of actions. The method presented here, is one of these multicolored mosaic tiles […] - [Build up self-confidence](https://oasisimagination.com/en/build-up-self-confidence/): A healthy development requires enough self-confidence for a child to explore the world. Self-confidence is a key to academic and social success and for resilience in general. The exercise: « A bunch of flowers »  helps children to visualize their talents and gifts. As a parent you can help your child to list his or her strengths and cut out flower shapes of different sizes. You can put the final collage in your child’s room or to another place where it can be reminded every day of all of his or her ressources. Here you can download for free the workbook  A […] - [Find your totem animal](https://oasisimagination.com/en/fear-anxiety-and-co/): In Native American culture, every child has a totem animal that guides and protects them. Sometimes these are animals have the same strenghts as the child, such as a leopard for a child who can run very fast. Sometimes the totem animals have complementary skills to the child. For example, a very sensitive and gentle child may have a lion as a totem animal. In the second case, this totem animal can support the child in moments of challenge so that it feels safe and dares to face the situation with more courage. In the exercise: « Find your totem animal » […] - [Fear, anxiety & co.](https://oasisimagination.com/en/fear-anxiety-co/): In the work process with feelings, children sometimes do not want to observe unpleasant emotions or feelings. Especially painful or fearful emotions are difficult to describe for children and in some cases expressing fear verbally seems even impossible for them. The exercise « Monster world » provides a relaxed and humorous framework for approaching negative feelings without having to talk about them. Instead of speaking, children will simply translate unpleasant feelings into monsters and draw them. After the initial apprehension of seeing their fears so real and closely on a piece of paper, children usually engage enthusiastically in the game and invent […] - [Explosive feelings](https://oasisimagination.com/en/explosive-feelings/): In order to avoid massive emotional outbursts such as temper tantrums, children can learn to recognize early physical signs of such outbursts, and to act actively at this stage. The « volcano exercise » serves this purpose. Thanks to this exercise, children experience that they can expand their freedom of action and that good self-observation and proactive reactions can prevent harmful behavior (to themselves or to others). Besides determining the foregoing symptoms, it is useful to brainstorm appropriate forms of expressing anger that they can use, if an outburst of anger will occur nevertheless. (e.g. drawing a picture of anger, punching the sofa, running […] - [Achieving your goals](https://oasisimagination.com/en/achieving-your-goals/): Mental images can also motivate children to set and achieve new goals. The “Lighthouse” exercise helps children to visualize their goals by defining appropriate intermediate steps and supports them in implementing their goals. Instead of focusing on a problem, it is sometimes rewarding to focus more on a target state. At the beginning of the exercise, children have to imagine that they’ve already achieved their goal. In a second step, they have to observe what would change inside themselves (physical feeling, posture, thoughts, voice, feelings, etc.). A child who, for example is afraid to walk the route to school all alone, […] - [My Life in Colours](https://oasisimagination.com/en/my-life-in-colour-2/): The short story: « My life in colours » is an introduction to the exercises in the workbooks. It is meant to inspire children to better sense and explore their feelings. Like the girl in the story, children can start translating their feelings into colours, sounds and other sensory perceptions in order to better regulate them in a further step (see Topics & Workbooks). Children benefit when their imagination is nurtured at an early age, because our imagination offers us countless resources. When children understand how mental images influence emotions, sensations and bodily functions, they can start using them to improve self-regulation, […] ## Pages - [Practice Oasis](https://oasisimagination.com/en/practice-oasis/): Our practice Oasis is located in an overgrown courtyard in the Gundeli district of Basel, where I offer psychological counselling for children, adolescents and adults in individual or family settings. I have a resource-oriented hypnosystemic focus and also incorporate many creative and mindfulness-based elements as well as methods from cognitive behavioural therapy and positive psychology into my consultations. If you would like to make an appointment, you can send an e-mail to the following address: ina.blanc@psychologie.ch For psychotherapy and diagnostics, you are welcome to contact my practice colleague Brian Cardini: brian.cardini@psychologie.ch - [Postcards](https://oasisimagination.com/en/postcards/):  The postcards Jardins enchantés can be ordered at Fidea Design The postcards Animaux magiques can be ordered at Fidea Design The postcards  Automne flamboyant can be ordered at Fidea Design - [Topics & Workbooks](https://oasisimagination.com/en/topicss-workbooks-2/): The following exercises and craft ideas are a playful way to sharpen children’s self-awareness and teach them how to use their imagination to regulate emotions and achieve their goals. Imagination has an incredible impact on various levels when used purposefully. In recent years, research has shown that mental imagery has a strong influence on bodily functions, emotions and learning processes¹²³. When children learn to activate self-control processes with their imagination, they also gain self-efficacy and self-confidence. They no longer feel overwhelmed by their emotions and feelings, but rather perceive themselves as self-determined actors in their own lives.  When children understand how […] - [Further Reading](https://oasisimagination.com/en/publications-en/): Publications If you feel like deepen some of the subjects you can find below some interviews and articles.   Parenting in Crisis. Interview with a child and youth psychologist. NZZ.https://oasisimagination.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Blanc-Interview.pdf Overcoming fear: https://www.unibas.ch/en/News-Events/Uni-Nova/Uni-Nova-139/Uni-Nova-139-Overcoming-anxiety-with-broccoli-monsters.html Imaginary friends: https://oasisimagination.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/23-1-Freundschaft.pdf Hypnosis with children: https://www.familienleben.ch/fr/sante/comment-lhypnose-resout-les-peurs-et-les-problemes-des-enfants-6860 Children’s Drawings in the Family Setting or What Happens When the Dragon Starts Breathing Bubbles instead of Fire? https://oasisimagination.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/652203_Blanc_Cardini.pdf Speaking about feelings with children: https://www.familienleben.ch/kind/erziehung/mit-kindern-ueber-gefuehle-sprechen-und-richtig-auf-ihre-wutausbrueche-reagieren-5913 Childhood fears:  https://www.familienleben.ch/kind/erziehung/kinderaengste-wie-eltern-damit-umgehen-koennen-3943 My child feels anxious: https://www.familienleben.ch/kind/erziehung/mein-kind-hat-starke-aengste-was-soll-ich-tun-5821 Patchwork families: https://www.familienleben.ch/fr/enfant/des-problemes-avec-la-belle-fille-conseils-pratiques-pour-les-belles-meres-et-beaux-peres-6777 Imaginary friends: https://www.familienleben.ch/kind/erziehung/wie-imaginaere-freunde-kinder-staerken-koennen-5971 What to think about imaginary friends: https://www.srf.ch/radio-srf-3/input/fantasiefreunde-bei-kindern-kein-grund-zur-sorge My child rubs money from me: https://www.familienleben.ch/fr/enfant/lorsque-votre-propre-enfant-vole-largent-de-vos-parents-6770 My child steals:  https://www.migros.ch/de/Magazin/2021/07/wenn-kinder-klauen.html 1,2,3…: https://www.familienleben.ch/kind/erziehung/die-vorteile-der-1-2-3-zaehlmethode-in-der-erziehung-6021 when children criticize their parents: https://www.familienleben.ch/leben/konflikte/vorwuerfe-an-die-eltern-6173 How to speak to children: https://www.familienleben.ch/kind/erziehung/weshalb-man-mit-kindern-anders-sprechen-sollte-als-mit-erwachsenen-6086 Social […] - [About me](https://oasisimagination.com/en/me-en-anglais/): My name is Ina Blanc and I work as head of the study programme in Child and Adolescent Psychology of the University of Basel and in my own practice. After my studies in Clinical Psychology I trained in Systemic Approach and Family Phase Therapy with Carole Gammer in Paris, in Clinical Hypnosis at GHyps (Swiss Society for Clinical Hypnosis) and MEG (Milton Erickson Gesellschaft) and in mindfulness meditation (DU Médecine, Méditation et Neurosciences at the University of Strasbourg (F)). I also specialised in Child and Adolescent Psychology at the SKJP (Swiss Association of Child and Adolescent Psychologists).  I am very […] [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)