"I started seeing Steven when he was just about ready to turn 8 years old. A custody arrangement had been incorporated into the PFA. Stephen's communication with his mom was minimal. He would avoid conversations and had a tendency to lie to his mom often. For the first few months, he would come to the AWP office and would always want to do art projects. We started to incorporate a variety of board games such as chess, Escape from Anger Island, Choose, and Circle of Friends, among others. He actually started opening up pretty quickly regarding his visitations and life at school. Steven also identified with the two books I gave him to read: When Good Isn't Good Enough and Stress Can Really Get on Your Nerves. The first time there was a concern that I wanted his mom to know about, he agreed to tell her. When she came into the room, he changed his mind and told me I would need to tell her. Steven then proceeded to lay on the floor with his head under the bean bag while I told his mom the concern. He started to identify that he was afraid and worried when he wasn't perfect. Over a few more weeks, this process became much easer. It gradually turned into telling his mom while sitting under the table to verbalizing his feelings to her while sitting at the table. At the same time, his mom began participating more in meetings. Specifically, when we were finished playing the board game Circle of Respect, I remember Steven saying to some affect "let me hold that mom... oh... that is like the game.... it feels good to do that." Recently, Steven started asserting himself. He also has agreed to meet with the school counselor regarding a bully at school."