Mental Health Resources
Mental Health Resources
About our Mental Health Project
Here at Providence Children’s Museum, we know that play is an essential component of childhood development. When children play, they’re building a foundation of self-esteem and problem-solving skills that will boost their lifelong ability to be resilient in times of stress, conflict, or trauma. We’ve taken that knowledge and used it to address the youth mental health crisis by providing playful programming designed to promote healthy emotional development, connection, and resilience skills.
On this page, you’ll find instructions for at-home activities, book recommendations, information about local resources, and more.
Check our calendar for “Mindful Moments” activities for in-museum Mental Health Project programming.
For more information about the project, or any of the resources found on this page, contact Hannah Lally at [email protected].
Online Mental Health Resources
Try @ Home Activities
Monster Breathing Buddy
Build a Monster Breathing Buddy to help you connect to your breath and calm your body down.
Monster Breathing Buddy Instructions
Future You Comics
Sometimes, thinking about the future can be exciting. Sometimes, it can feel overwhelming or even scary. It’s important to remember that the future isn’t set in stone.
Create a comic strip showing your ideas for the future. These can be serious or silly, it’s up to you!
This activity is inspired by the book There Must Be More Than That! by Shinsuke Yoshitake, which is available in our Mental Health Resource Library.
Future You Blank Comic Strips Printout
Invisible Things
“Invisible Things” are the feelings we recognize but can’t see.
Give your feeling a name and draw a picture of how it might look.
This activity is inspired by the book Invisible Things by Andy J. Pizza and Sophie Miller, which is available in our Mental Health Resource Library.
Invisible Things Activity Printout
Cosas Invisible Impresión de Actividad
We love to see how you play! If you try any of these activities at home, tag PCM on social media to show off your work.
Book Recommendations
Here, you will find books about mental health related topics for both children and the adults in their lives including mindfulness, emotional literacy, flexible thinking, grief and loss, incarceration, foster care, and more. There are individual book lists for each topic, as well as a master list of all topics.
We understand that some of these topics are sensitive, and we encourage you to use these books as a conversation starter about subjects that can feel tricky to introduce to your children. Introducing sensitive topics like grief or life changes, even if they don’t apply to your life in this season, can help prepare children and give them the language to express themselves if they need it in the future. It can also help them develop an understanding for others who may have different life experiences.
All Topics
Mental Health Master Book List PDF
Brain Science
Change
Disablity Advocacy
Disability Advocacy Book List PDF
Emotional Literacy
Emotional Literacy Book List PDF
Family Illness
Flexible Thinking & Resilience
Flexible Thinking & Resilience Book List PDF
Foster Care
Grief & Loss
Housing Insecurity
Housing Insecurity Book List PDF
Incarceration
LGBTQ+ Identities
LGBTQ+ Identities Book List PDF
Military Families
Military Families Book List PDF
Mindfulness
Parent/Child Separation
Parent/Child Separation Book List PDF
Parental Mental Health
Parental Mental Health Book List PDF
Self-Esteem
Sensory Processing
Sensory Processing Book List PDF
Trauma
Local Mental Health Resources
Our Program Partners
Adoption Rhode Island is a private nonprofit organization whose mission is to create safety, belonging and permanency for adopted and foster children, vulnerable youth, and families through compassionate services, advocacy, and education.
FRIENDS WAY is Rhode Island’s only bereavement center dedicated to serving children and teens, ages three to eighteen, and their families. FRIENDS WAY’s programs are conducted by highly qualified professionals and trained volunteers, and are based on proven methods of grief counseling, including peer-to-peer support and expressive arts.
Kids’ Link RI
Kids’ Link RI is a behavioral health triage service and referral network. The program is offered in collaboration with Gateway Healthcare, Brown University Health, Hasbro Children’s and Bradley Hospital. Kids’ Link RI is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help triage children and youth in need of mental health services and refer them to treatment providers.
The free, confidential phone line, 1-855-543-5465, connects parents and caregivers to an experienced clinician that can help them access children’s services in Rhode Island, and determine the best place for treatment and counseling.
Contact Kids’ Link RI if your child is:
- Feeling excessive anger or sadness.
- Lashing out at siblings, friends, and adults.
- Having behavior problems at school.
- Having severe worries.
- Hurting himself/herself or others.
Find more information HERE.
More Local Resources
Here you’ll find a selection of resources that may be helpful to you or your child. Please note that these resources are thoughtfully considered, but PCM does not endorse any specific resource on this list, and we are not able to personally connect you to any resources. If you are interested in any of the services listed, please contact the program or organization directly.
Local resources listed by category, including youth services, housing services, veteran’s services, and more can be found in this document:
YMHFA Resource and Referrals Packet
Online Resources
Sesame Workshop has a variety of videos, conversation guides, and activities designed to help grown ups navigate tough conversations with children with all of the care we’ve come to expect from the Sesame world. Familiar faces like Elmo, Rosita, and the rest of the Sesame crew can help your child understand difficult subjects such as divorce, health challenges, addiction, grief, scary events, and more.
The Eluna Network is an organization whose mission is to support children, teens, and families impacted by grief or addiction. Through a network of in-person and online camps, an online resource library, and personalized advice, the Eluna Network can help you or your child navigate grief, loss, or addiction.
Online Mental Health Discussion Series (Videos)
Watch video recordings of our Mental Health Community Conversation Series, where PCM staff and subject matter experts discuss the current state of youth mental health and the ways that we can support and uplift children and their families.
Watch videos HERE
Great positive, no pressure way to discuss emotions and connect to personal feelings!
Providence Children’s Museum is passionate about the holistic wellbeing of all children. Through our Mental Health Project, we are here to support that wellbeing through resources and activities that promote connection, mindfulness, and emotional literacy. We are not mental healthcare practitioners, and we cannot treat, diagnose, or discuss individual ongoing or acute mental healthcare needs.