Feelings Intensity
Feelings Intensity Scale
Some children cannot find the words. But they can always point. That one gesture — quiet, honest, no pressure — changes everything about how a session begins.
The most important question in the session — answered without a word
Before a practitioner can help a child, they need to know one thing: where is this child right now? Not what happened. Not what they think. Just — where are they, in their body, in this moment.
The Feelings Intensity Scale answers that question with ten cards. From "Still and Settled" at level one, to "Completely Overwhelmed" at level ten. The child looks at the cards and points. That is all. No explanation required. No vocabulary needed. No performance, no pressure, no wrong answer.
In that single point, the session finds its footing.
What this means for your child
Your child does not need to explain how they feel before they have the words for it. They only need to point. That single, private gesture tells the practitioner where to begin — and it tells your child something too: that they have already been understood, before they have said a thing.
Why practitioners use it first
Naming a feeling requires executive function — the part of the brain that goes offline under stress. By asking a child to point rather than speak, the practitioner meets them where their brain actually is. The scale activates interoception — the child's sense of their own internal state — without triggering the performance anxiety that verbal questioning can create. From level one to ten, the practitioner now knows whether to move slowly or to pause entirely.
"Now that we know where they are — it is time to find the words that belong to them."
Discover the Anchor Cards — the emotional heart of every session →