Free Virtual Counseling Games and Tools for Children

Virtual counseling can make it tricky to find activities that keep children engaged while still supporting your counseling goals. Whether you’re meeting with students online, providing telehealth services, or simply looking for digital tools to add to your sessions, these free virtual counseling games and activities can help. Below you’ll find interactive games, art tools, virtual manipulatives, sand tray activities, and other resources you can use with children during online counseling sessions.

Why Use Games and Tools in Virtual Counseling?

Providing virtual counseling services can be as simple as empathic listening and helping children build upon their skills. However, research shows that children learn best through hands-on activities and play. You can create extra engagement by incorporating virtual games and tools into your counseling sessions. In addition, counseling sessions that involve play also help build a trusting relationship between the child and the counselor. 

Free Interactive Games

The following interactive games can be played live during virtual counseling or telehealth sessions. Although the steps for each website vary, you can follow these general directions to get started:

1. Click the link below to open the game website.
2. Follow the directions to start a new game.
3. Click "Invite a friend" or "Play with a friend" to create a shared game link.
4. Share the direct link to your game through the chat function in your Google Meet, Zoom, or another virtual counseling platform.
5. Play the game live with your student or client as you chat.

Virtual Game Options

• Battleship
• Uno
• Checkers
• Connect 4
• Concentration

Free Interactive Art Tools

Interactive art tools can be used in virtual counseling sessions in various ways. Explore the sites below to use art as a tool for expression, coping skills, and more.

Witeboard: Witeboard is a simple digital drawing tool that enhances virtual counseling sessions. Click "share" to share the direct link to your whiteboard, which allows your client to access the same whiteboard as you. Ideas to get you started:

• Draw three things that make you feel (insert feeling here).
• Create a picture of your family.
• Play a game of hangman to highlight a counseling-related word (pro tip: build a snowman versus drawing a picture of a traditional hangman).
• Play Pictionary using coping skills or feelings.
• Draw your favorite place to be.

Quick Draw: Use this drawing tool from Google as a fun way to interact with your client during virtual counseling. Share your screen to introduce the tool. You get 20 seconds to draw the prompt that is on the screen. Best for ages eight and up.

Color Your Own Mandala: Share your screen to teach your client how to color a virtual mandala. Click "color" and then choose a mandala to color with virtual ink. Introduce this site as a relaxation tool for your client.

Inspirograph: Inspirograph is a digital version of the traditional Spirograph tool. Share your screen to teach your client how to use this relaxing tool.

Free Virtual Sandtray

A sand tray is one of the best expressive tools for counseling children. Now, you can use a virtual sand tray to accomplish some of the same benefits as using sand in real life. Your client can share their screen with you while you provide sand tray building prompts. Ideas to get you started:

• Build a relaxing place
• Create the best school day ever
• Create a world that shows your thoughts about (topic)
• Build a scene of your family doing something together
• Design a scene about feeling (emotion)
• Create a memory from your past
• Build a world that shows your future

Free Virtual Manipulatives

Many counselors may use their webcam or a document camera to show their favorite games from their office during sessions. For instance, you may use counseling game cards, a Thumball, or a favorite board game like Don't Break the Ice. Play your favorite games remotely with virtual manipulatives to help you out. Ideas to get you started:

• Marble Jar: Share your screen and use the virtual marble jar to represent the number of coping skills, random acts of kindness, or feelings a client can name. If you run a virtual small group, use the marble jar to visually represent participation. At the beginning of the session, set a goal as a group. For example, if the group can reach 10 marbles by the end of the session, you can end the session with a game.
• Timer or Stopwatch: Share your screen and use the virtual timer or stopwatch to track the time remaining for an activity.
• Dice or Spinner: Use a virtual die or spinner as an interactive tool to engage your client while you play a game virtually.

Free Virtual Spinner

Use the Wheel of Names virtual spinner to create your custom spinner. Ideas to get you started:

• Add student names as a student selector during classroom lessons or small groups.
• List names of feelings. Have your client act out the selected feeling or describe a time they felt that way.
• Here is an example of a custom spinner set up for a virtual scavenger hunt. Share your screen, spin the spinner, and your client can search for the selected item from the wheel. Virtual scavenger hunts are a great way to engage students during virtual small groups and classroom lessons.

Check Out This Virtual Counseling Platform

Another great tool for virtual and in-person sessions is Hopscotch Play, which child mental health experts created as an all-in-one computer tool that transforms therapy sessions into engaging, educational, and interactive experiences for children.

The platform offers a range of therapeutic activities, including games, social stories, psychoeducation, interactive printables, mindfulness activities, and much more! It is constantly adding new resources to keep your therapy sessions fresh and exciting for your clients.

You can sign up for a free 14-day trial, and then use code "KATE20" for 20% off your first month! 

More Resources for Virtual Counseling

Check out this post about 7 Tips to Make Distance Learning Easier for Counselors.

Are you looking to create a Virtual Counseling Office for your students to use at home? Click here for a list of helpful tools for virtual counseling and telehealth!

Check out these resources for your virtual counseling sessions. 

• Color Your Feelings: Feelings Exploration for TeleHealth or Virtual Counseling
• Social Emotional Learning Games For In Person & Virtual Counseling