The Thinking Traps

This story follows the Thinking Trap characters as they go to school and play with friends, encounter challenging thoughts that all children face, and ultimately create strong coping strategies to help them today and in the future. The workbook allows elementary-aged children to learn about and identify common thinking traps that might cause them difficulty in their lives and to practice ways to handle their feelings. The second half of the book allows clinicians and families to work through these topics together with the child.

All children have their daily worries, but there are times when these concerns are so overwhelming that they impact all aspects of the day. There are six common thinking traps that affect most children throughout adolescence, all of which can be exacerbated depending on what is going on in their lives. While these traps can be difficult for children to work through, they become more manageable once the child can identify them and has the tools to process and cope with their thoughts. The Thinking Traps: A Team of Troublesome Thoughts is a children's book with workbook pages to complete in the clinical setting with a child or family therapist. This book teaches elementary-aged children about the various types of thinking traps in a fun and relatable way. The Thinking Traps characters identify troublesome thoughts, learn coping skills, gather "cool tools" to help process their thoughts, and ultimately learn how to get through the traps. In addition to the storybook, there are pages for clinician, teacher or family reproduction that allows children to practice recognition of thinking traps and how to cope with them, at home and in additional non-clinical settings.

Jessica Cortez, LMSW, is a licensed child and family therapist. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Michigan State University and a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan. Since 2012, Jessica has been in private practice with an exclusive focus on helping children and parents develop life-long skills to cope with adjustment disorders, family disruptions, and many other challenges. She lives in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan with her husband and son.