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Evaluation Video ViewAttendees 14

Mini Workshop

Child / Adolescent - Anxiety

Mini Workshop 17 - Superheroes, Powerups, Origin Stories, and Sidekicks: Introducing an Interactive Comic Book to Teach CBT Skills to Medically Ill Youth

Saturday, November 18, 2023
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM PST
Location: Columbia D, Level 3
Earn 1.5 Credit
Recorded Session
Keywords: Child, Coping, CBT
Level of Familiarity: All
Recommended Readings: Scarlet, J. & Alves, W. (2017). Superhero therapy: mindfulness skills to help teens & young adults deal with anxiety, depression & trauma. Oakland, CA, Instant Help Books.,   Fradkin, C., Weschenfelder, G. V., & Yunes, M. A. (2016). Shared adversities of children and comic superheroes as resources for promoting resilience: Comic superheroes are an untapped resource for empowering vulnerable children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 51, 407–415.,   Branscum, P. & Sharma, M. (2009). Comic books an untapped medium for health promotion. American Journal of Health Studies, 24 (4), 430-439.,   ,  
Youth hospitalized with medical illness may benefit from evidence-based interventions that assist with coping with pain and associated psychological distress. Inpatient medical stays often require creative methods for delivery of psychosocial interventions. Moreover, with rates of childhood psychiatric illness on the rise amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, creative, far-reaching therapeutic interventions are needed to respond effectively and efficiently to the current mental health crisis. One innovative format is comic books, which are receiving increasing attention for their potential as a medium for disseminating evidence-based care to children and adolescents.

SuperKids: Change the World (SK) takes the concept of comic books one step further by integrating cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-based strategies into an interactive, youth-friendly, activity book. SK content is based on real Bronx families, was developed collaboratively with the Montefiore Medical Center Psychiatry and Pediatrics teams and the team at PopCulture Hero Coalition, illustrated by Wellington Alves, and authored by psychologist Dr. Janina Scarlet. SK features four diverse child characters experiencing pain, fears, and sadness in relation to their illnesses. Initial research findings indicate that youth believe SK is easy to read, teaches useful skills, and in general helps kids when they are in the hospital. In this experiential mini-workshop, facilitators will demonstrate how to use a fun, superhero framework to guide youth through practicing CBT skills (e.g., problem-solving, mindful breathing, coping self-talk) using superhero language and narratives (e.g., superpowers, origin stories, powerups). Participants will engage in exercises and receive sample materials.

Outline:
• Very briefly review current literature on comic book interventions to deliver psychosocial interventions
• Orient participants to SK, including SK creation, structure, and research so far at Montefiore Medical Center
• Lead participants in an experiential SK group, modeling the introduction and practice of various CBT coping skills
• Accept questions, encourage participant case-based applications, ask for reflection on experience

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
  • Demonstrate at least three strategies for incorporating a superhero narrative into teaching youth about CBT.
  • Teach at least two cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-based skills to youth.
  • Explain the benefits of using a superhero framework to deliver evidence-based skills that assist with coping.
  • Long Term Goal: Attendees will build clinical skills to deliver an interactive comic book intervention that teaches CBT skills to youth facing medical illness.