Wheel Of Emotion

Written By Eliza Seither

About the Wheel of Emotion:

There are SO many games that can be played with this interactive emotion wheel. Share your screen and have the kiddo tell you when to stop. Be creative or let the child come up with a game to play! Here are some examples of activities that you can use; feel free to modify any of them to suit the client's age and personality.

Additional Elements:

  • Include timer challenges ("Tell me about this emotion in 30 seconds")

  • Use as a check-in in to start sessions

  • Create "wheel combos" where clients spin multiple wheels for complex scenarios

Video notes

  • Click the settings on the video to change the speed faster or slower

  • Make the screen bigger by clicking the button in the bottom corner

Ways To Play!

1. Speed Drawing Challenge

Setup: Each player has paper and drawing materials ready

How to Play:

  • Spin wheel, set 2-3 minute timer

  • Both clinician and client draw the emotion that lands

  • No talking during drawing time!

  • After timer ends, share drawings and ask each other questions

  • Play 3-4 rounds, then discuss which emotions were easier/harder to draw

Therapeutic Value: Non-verbal expression, creativity, reduces performance anxiety

2. Emotion Story

Setup: Client closes eyes or looks away from screen

How to Play:

  • Spin wheel 4-5 times, write down the emotions in the order

  • Create a character that will be feeling these emotions

  • Recall emotions: "First we got Happy, then Anger, then..."

  • Add storytelling: create a story connecting all the emotions in order and how the character went from happy to sad to worried

  • Feel free to draw an element of the story or the character

Therapeutic Value: Emotional sequencing, narrative building

3. One-Word Lightning Round

Setup: Fast-paced, no thinking allowed!

How to Play:

  • Spin wheel, both players immediately shout the first word that comes to mind

  • No "wrong" answers, no judgment

  • Play 10 quick rounds

  • Afterward, discuss any surprising words that came up

  • Optional: create poems using the words generated

Therapeutic Value: Accessing unconscious associations, reducing overthinking

4. Emotion Charades

Setup: Both players visible on camera

How to Play:

  • Spin wheel, person whose turn it is acts out the emotion (no words!)

  • Clinician can close their eyes to spin for the client, or send the wheel directly to the client to use on their own

  • The other person guesses, gets 3 tries.

  • Add difficulty: act out the emotion in different scenarios (at school, at home, with friends)

  • Bonus round: act out the OPPOSITE of the emotion that landed

Therapeutic Value: Body awareness, emotional expression, perspective-taking

5. Emotion Weather Report

Setup: Pretend to be TV weather reporters

How to Play:

  • Spin wheel for today's "emotional weather"

  • Give a weather report: "Today we have scattered Worry clouds with a chance of Happy sunshine this afternoon"

  • Include emotional "forecast" for the week

  • Add weather sound effects and dramatic reporting style

  • Client and clinician alternate being meteorologists

  • Bonus: Draw the weather that is associated with the emotions that come up

Therapeutic Value: Emotional regulation, future planning, playful expression

6. Backwards Story Detective

Setup: Start with the emotion, work backwards

How to Play:

  • Spin wheel for the ending emotion of a story

  • Both players work backwards: "If someone feels Excited at the end, what happened before that?"

  • Keep going back in time: "And before that..." "And before that..."

  • Create branching stories - different paths to the same emotional ending

  • Draw the story timeline if helpful

Therapeutic Value: Cause-and-effect thinking, problem-solving, multiple perspectives

7. Superpower Emotions

Setup: Turn emotions into superpowers

How to Play:

  • Spin wheel, then discuss: "If this emotion was a superpower, what could you do?"

  • Examples: "Fear helps you sense danger," "Anger gives you strength to fight injustice"

  • Create superhero names: "Captain Worry" or "The Incredible Happy"

  • Design costumes and special abilities

  • Write comic book scenes using these emotional superpowers

  • Draw superhero

Therapeutic Value: Reframing emotions positively, strengths-based thinking, empowerment

Discussion/Questions

For each emotion landed on:

  • When was the last time you felt [emotion]?

  • What does [emotion] feel like in your body?

  • What situations usually make you feel [emotion]?

  • How do you cope when you feel [emotion]?

  • What would you tell a friend who was feeling [emotion]?

  • Can you think of a time when feeling [emotion] actually helped you?

  • What are some healthy ways to express [emotion]?

Eliza Seither
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