BOUNCE Approach®Play-BasedCPD CertifiedOn-DemandND-Affirming
The Lego Feelings Intervention
A creative, process-driven intervention that uses Lego to help children explore emotions, navigate social situations, and express what words alone can’t reach.
Lego Feelings is a structured, trauma-informed intervention that uses the engaging medium of Lego to help children articulate feelings and navigate social dynamics — particularly for those who find verbal expression difficult. Grounded in neuroscience and the therapeutic power of play, it gives children a creative, low-demand route into emotional understanding and communication.
This training explores the research behind the approach, the neuroscience of Lego play, and the potential of metaphorical storytelling when guided by a trauma-informed facilitator. Designed for educators and therapists, you’ll leave with the practical skills and insights needed to implement Lego Feelings as a powerful alternative to traditional talking-based interventions — particularly effective for children who are drawn to Lego or who struggle to engage with direct emotional conversation.
Also included
Three bonus resources to deepen your practice.
💜 Wellbeing Snapshot Access
A structured snapshot to identify where a child may be struggling on the inside while appearing fine on the outside — so you can see beneath the surface and respond to what is actually there.
📈 Progress Overview Access
Track entry to exit progress and evidence what has changed across the review period — giving you a clear picture of impact over time.
🧠 Introduction to the BOUNCE Approach® Webinar
Understand the nervous system foundations behind regulation, emotional expression, and connection — so you can apply them with confidence in your sessions.
Objectives
Learning Objectives
By the end of this training, you will be able to:
1
Explain what a Lego Feelings session is
Describe the structure, purpose, and intent of a Lego Feelings session — and how it differs from other play-based and talk-based approaches to supporting children.
2
Understand why Lego — the research base
Explore the evidence behind using Lego as a therapeutic medium — and what the research tells us about its effectiveness with children who find traditional approaches hard to access.
3
Explain the neuroscience of Lego play
Understand what happens in the brain and nervous system during Lego play — and why hands-on, sensory engagement creates the conditions for emotional processing and connection.
4
Identify the barriers in talk-based therapies
Recognise why talk-based approaches are inaccessible for many children — and understand the specific cognitive, sensory, and relational barriers that Lego play is designed to work around.
5
Explain how Lego play goes beyond words
Understand how building, creating, and manipulating Lego opens pathways to emotional expression that verbal communication alone cannot reach — particularly for children with alexithymia, trauma, or communication differences.
6
Use Lego Feelings for metaphorical storytelling
Explore how children use Lego builds and narrative to externalise and explore their inner world through metaphor — and how this creates safe distance from difficult experiences while keeping the child in contact with their own story.
7
Understand the role of the facilitator
Identify what effective facilitation looks like in a Lego Feelings session — including how to hold the space, follow the child’s lead, and use prompts and presence without directing the process.
8
Apply learning through case study examples
Review real-world case study examples to see how Lego Feelings sessions work in practice — and deepen your understanding of how to apply the approach with different children and presenting needs.
Resources
What’s Included
Five resources to support you in running Lego Feelings sessions with confidence.
1
Metaphors of Emotion
A resource to support children in connecting feelings to images and metaphors — opening up emotional language for children who struggle to name or describe what they experience directly.
2
Emotion Images and Words
Visual and verbal emotion resources to use directly in sessions — supporting children in identifying, naming, and communicating their emotional states in a low-demand, accessible way.
3
Visualisation, Breathing, and Meditation Cards
Ready-to-use regulation cards to open or close sessions — supporting nervous system settling and helping children arrive in a calm, receptive state before the work begins.
4
BOUNCE Scale
A simple before-and-after session tracking tool to help children notice their own regulation shift — and help you build a visible record of change over time.
5
Session Outline and 8 Lesson Plans
A complete delivery framework — a structured session outline plus eight ready-to-use lesson plans so you can run a full Lego Feelings programme without starting from scratch.
