How to use ‘The Hand Model of the Brain’ to Explain our Reaction to Stress: Dr. Daniel Siegel’s hand model of the brain helps children imagine what’s happening inside their brain when they get upset so that they can identify and deal with the emotions more effectively. 1/10
First, let’s see what the hand model of the brain looks like: As its name suggests, you need to use your hand for this. Your wrist is the spinal cord upon which the brain sits, your palm is the inner brainstem, and your thumb is your amygdala (or guard dog). 2/10
If you place your thumb in the palm, you’ll form the limbic system. Your other fingers are your cerebral cortex, and the tips of your fingers are your prefrontal cortex (or wise owl). 3/10
Close them on top of your palm and thumb, and there you have it – the hand model of the brain, divided into the upstairs brain (cerebral cortex) and downstairs brain (brainstem and limbic system). 4/10
Explaining the hand model of the brain to a child: Start with the palm that controls their basic body functions. The thumb represents big feelings, like anger or stress, and lives with the palm in the downstairs brain. 5/10
The other fingers are the thinking brain, the upstairs brain. Show them how when they lift their fingers (“flip their lid”), their thinking brain is no longer connected to their feelings. That’s when they are angry, throw a tantrum or cry uncontrollably. 6/10
Which is nothing unusual or to be ashamed of, but what if there was another way? Children can use the hand model of the brain to help them recognise when they’ve “flipped their lid” and then curl their fingers back over their thumb. 7/10
Now their upstairs and downstairs brain are connected! This is how we build healthier, more emotionally intelligent brains! They are embracing their feelings and listening to what their brain has to say about them. 8/10
Dr. Daniel Siegel’s hand model of the brain is a great first step to helping children get in touch with their emotions and explore healthy ways to release and regulate them. 9/10
Source: ‘How to use ‘The Hand Model of the Brain’ to Explain our Reaction to Stress’. (2019). Building Better Brains. To watch a video of this click here: 10/10
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