Exploding Balloons

Adolescents and teenagers can benefit from learning how to identify how holding onto
anger and other emotions inside of them can lead to problems. In therapy, these clients
might work on learning appropriate strategies for expressing anger and emotions and
practice using these strategies.

In the exploding balloons activity, the client and the therapist each get a balloon. The
therapist asks the client to think of a time or a situation that made them feel angry, but
do not talk about it. Then the therapist blows some air into a balloon. Then, the client is
asked to think of another situation in which they felt anger, and the therapist blows more
air into the balloon. This continues until eventually, the balloon pops.

The talking point for this one is that if we continue to hold onto anger, it can lead to
other problems.

Next, repeat the above exercise and the client gets a balloon. But this time, after the
client thinks of something that made him or her angry, he talks about it. As he or she
discusses it, ask the client to let a little air out of the balloon. At the end of the exercise,
reinforce to the client that the balloon did not pop!

Explain that by letting some of those feelings out (by talking about them, which was
represented by letting air out of the balloon), an extreme consequence was avoided.

This is an engaging, hands-on activity that helps young adults understand how holding
in feelings like anger can lead to damaging consequences.