How to Use Bibliotherapy and Emotional Scales in Counseling Sessions to Help Kids with Big Worries

Whole Child Counseling
Apr 23, 2020
3 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Books can be powerful tools in children’s counseling. When a child sees their own thoughts and feelings reflected in a story, something clicks. It’s comforting. Validating. Healing. This therapeutic approach is called bibliotherapy, and I’ve found it to be one of the most engaging and effective strategies when working with children.

Whether you’re a school counselor, therapist, educator, or parent supporting a child through big emotions, incorporating the right books can create meaningful breakthroughs. A carefully chosen book can help a child feel less alone, build emotional vocabulary, and model coping strategies in an age-appropriate way.

In this post, I’ll share why bibliotherapy works, one of my favorite go-to books for helping kids manage anxiety and worries, and how I pair it with number scales and visual tools like feelings thermometers to promote self-regulation.

What Is Bibliotherapy?

Bibliotherapy is the intentional use of books as a therapeutic tool to help children process emotions, understand challenges, and practice new coping skills. Books can serve as a mirror by reflecting a child’s experience, a window by giving insight into others’ experiences, or a roadmap by showing a path forward.

Why bibliotherapy works:

Books allow kids to externalize big emotions without feeling pressured.
Characters model helpful thinking, problem-solving, and emotional responses.
Visuals support children with language or processing difficulties.
Children feel seen and validated, especially when they recognize themselves in a character’s struggle.

Because of all this, I keep a wide range of children’s books in my counseling office, each carefully chosen for themes like anxiety, anger, self-esteem, grief, friendship, and more.

When My Worries Get Too Big by Kari Dunn Buron

One of my favorite bibliotherapy tools for working with anxious children is the book When My Worries Get Too Big. Written by Kari Dunn Buron, the author of The Incredible 5-Point Scale, this book teaches children how to recognize, rate, and manage their anxiety using a visual scale and calming techniques.

What makes it a great counseling tool:

It uses a five-point worry scale to help children label their emotional intensity.
The book includes a calming sequence children can follow step by step.
It encourages positive, helpful thoughts in alignment with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques.
There are interactive pages where kids can color and reflect, making the book feel more personal.

I love that this book blends visuals, numbers, and CBT principles into one approachable story. It’s especially effective for neurodivergent students or those who benefit from structure and concrete strategies.

Why Number Scales Help Children Self-Regulate

One strategy I often pair with bibliotherapy is using number-based emotional scales. These help bring children out of the reactive, emotional brain and into a calmer, more reflective space.

Using Number Scales in Counseling:

By assigning a number to a feeling (like “I’m at a 4 out of 5 with my worry”), kids can externalize and evaluate their emotions instead of being overwhelmed by them.
This engages their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps with decision-making, planning, and logical thinking.
It gives kids a visual language to communicate when words are hard.

You can use number scales to measure:

The size of a feeling (worry, anger, sadness)
The size of a problem vs. the size of a reaction
How calm or regulated a child feels in the moment

Free Resources to Help Kids Cope with Worry

In my Free Resource Library, I offer several downloadable tools that pair beautifully with bibliotherapy sessions. These include:

Coping Skills Dice: A fun, fillable activity to help kids practice calming strategies
1-5 Feelings Scale Worksheet: Helps children rate and reflect on their emotional intensity
Worry Worksheets: Printable prompts to support kids when anxious thoughts arise

These tools are great for small groups, individual counseling, or even at home. You can use them alongside your favorite books or as stand-alone activities.

👉 To access these free resources, simply subscribe here. You’ll receive instant access to the library, plus weekly SEL freebies and updates.

Whether you're working in a school counseling office, therapy setting, or at home with your own children, books are a bridge. They connect, comfort, and teach. When paired with concrete tools like number scales or visual calm-down strategies, bibliotherapy becomes even more impactful.

If you're looking for more book recommendations on specific emotions like anxiety, I’ve also shared my favorite books for kids about anxiety here.

You can support my work by following me on Instagram and Facebook and checking back to this page. I will continue to blog about my journey and share more resources as we all learn to navigate counseling together.