Ready, Set, Go on Your (Psychological) Summer Bucket List
By Jordan Kurtz (she/her), MA, LPCC, Denver Trauma Therapist
Though most of us no longer have the luxury of a prolonged summer vacation, the urge to travel, explore, be leisurely, and seek the sun remains innate at all stages of life.
As daylight increases and perhaps our horizons for possibility, here are some addendums for your bucket list that attune to social, emotional, and mental health.
With Kids:
Lead a family history scavenger hunt. Design clues that direct kids to photo albums or other memorabilia within the home and with each “discovery”, discuss the family member or historical significance associated with it.
Interweave crafts with emotional check ins. Use craft time as an opportunity to bond and check “emotional temperatures” (i.e. “I notice the butterfly you drew is smiling- does their mood match your mood today?”)
Give the spotlight to books with social justice-oriented themes to promote awareness and inclusivity
On Family Structure: Going Down Home With Daddy by Kelly Starling Lyons
On Immigration: Mama’s Nightingale by Edwidge Danticat
On Gender Diversity: Being You by Megan Madison
On LGBTQIA Topics: When Aidan Became a Brother by Kyle Lukoff
On Disability: Keep Your Ear on the Ball by Genevieve Petrillo
On Gratitude: I’m In Charge of Celebrations by Byrd Baylor
On Mindfulness: A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu
More: Social Justice Books
With A Partner:
Try participating in a hobby of your partner’s that is not mutually shared (i.e. your partner plays poker and you do not). Showing and sharing curiosity about their interests fosters connectivity and demonstrates the desire to understand their inner world.
Try an activity neither of you have participated in before. Play, spontaneity, and permission to fail encourage acceptance and warmth within the relationship.
Become reading partners. Below are several books that explore intimacy, attachment styles, and communication tools that nurture personal insight and catalyze discussions about relationship dynamics. Books with an asterisk (*) include a workbook component too.
Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson
Eight Dates: Essential Conversations For a Lifetime of Love by John Gottman
Attached: How the Science of Adult Attachment Can Help You Find- and Keep – Love by Dr. Amir Levine and Rachel S.F. Heller
An Emotionally Focused Workbook for Couples: The Two of Us* by Veronica Kallos-Lilly and Jennifer Fitzgerald
With Friends:
Play some rounds of We’re Not Really Strangers- a card game with three “tiers” of questions with varying depth that foster insight about first impressions of one another, childhood experiences, heartbreak, family connections, goals, dreams, and individual quirks. It can be played between two people, though the more to contribute the merrier.
Create a ritual to celebrate your friendship. Designate a day in the summer as a commemoration for your friendship, and craft a ritual to pair it with. Picnicking, a long drive, seeing a sporting event, or going to a museum are examples of activities to do together that can be paired with intentional reflection on the friendship’s value. Try to remember the day you selected for the celebration so it can be memorialized in years to come too.
Support a passion project of theirs. Is your friend running a half marathon? Spearheading a large presentation at work? Completing their dissertation? Whatever it may be, attend the event if possible or acknowledge and celebrate their efforts with something that extends beyond a text: a handwritten note, dinner or drinks, etc.
With Yourself:
Begin a journaling series. Determine the number of days or weeks for the duration of the exercise and a number of times to write within that framework. Journal series could follow a theme, be a daily gratitude entry, track observations about the physical world, or encapsulate your day. See this former blog for potential journal prompts
Connect with the Earth or your physical body. Ideas include:
Initiating a new routine of physical activity (i.e. trying a kickboxing class) to promote self-efficacy and confidence
Create a mantra to attach to the beginning and end of your physical activity that sets an intention (i.e. “I will celebrate my strength” and “I will carry this peace into the rest of my day”)
Noting 5 things you see, smell, taste, hear and touch while on a walk.
Call a loved one or friend you have not connected with in a long time.
Forgive yourself or someone else and pair it with a symbolic act of release (i.e. burning a letter, sending a letter in the mail, throwing a stone in the pond, releasing a lantern into the sky)
About the Writer - Denver Trauma Therapist
Jordan Kurtz (she/her) is a trauma and relationship therapist at CZTG who focuses on therapy for grief, trauma, adolescence, and couples. Jordan is authentic, warm, and affirming of her clients’ identities and experiences.
If you’d like to connect with Jordan to learn more about what it would be like to work together, feel free to reach out for a free consultation.