How to Use the Feline Feelings Web App in Therapy Sessions

Getting Started

1. Open the Feline Feelings app during the session.
2. Invite the client to browse the cards by looking along the bottom row. Hovering over a card shows a larger preview.
3. Choose up to five cards by clicking a card or dragging it into one of the card spaces.
4. Add notes beneath each selected card. These can be the client’s own words, therapist reflections, body sensations, situations, or questions to revisit.
5. Use Save / Load if you want to keep a record of the card selection and return to it in a later session.
6. Use Generate Temporary Link if the client needs their own temporary access link from the webpage section below the app.

Tips for Using the App Well

• Let the client lead where possible. The most useful card may not be the one that seems most obvious to the therapist.
• Use the cards as conversation starters, not labels. A client might choose “angry” but describe fear, shame, sadness, or overwhelm underneath it.
• Ask permission before going deeper. For example: “Would it be okay if we stayed with this card for a moment?”
• Keep the pace gentle. If a client becomes overwhelmed, move back to grounding, present-moment safety, or a more manageable card.
• Use the client’s exact words in the notes box. This can help them feel accurately heard and makes the saved session more meaningful.
• Review changes over time. If you save sessions, you can compare which feelings appear repeatedly and which feelings become easier to express.

Therapy Activity Ideas

1. “How I Feel Today” Check-In

Ask the client to choose one to three cards that show how they feel today. This can be a quick opening activity, especially for clients who find direct questions such as “How are you?” too broad or difficult.

Useful prompts:

• Which card feels closest to how you are today?
• Is this feeling big, small, hidden, or changing?
• Where do you notice this feeling in your body?

2. Feelings Before, During, and After an Event

Invite the client to choose cards that represent how they felt before, during, and after a recent event. This can help the client build a clearer emotional timeline and notice how feelings shift.

Example: before school, during an argument, after coming home, or after receiving feedback.

3. The Feelings Underneath

A client may initially choose an obvious card, such as anger or worry. You can then invite them to look again and choose another card that might sit underneath the first feeling.

Useful prompts:

• If this feeling could talk, what would it say?
• Is there another feeling hiding underneath this one?
• What might this feeling be trying to protect?

4. Parts of Me

Ask the client to choose cards for different parts of themselves. For example, “the part that wants to be brave,” “the part that feels left out,” or “the part that needs comfort.” This can support parts work, internal family systems-informed conversations, or general emotional exploration.

5. What I Show and What I Hide

Use two card spaces to explore the difference between outward presentation and inner experience. One card can represent what others see, and another can represent what the client feels inside.

Useful prompts:

• Which card do other people usually see?
• Which card is closer to what is happening inside?
• What makes it hard to show the hidden feeling?

6. Building an Emotional Sequence

Invite the client to arrange several cards in order. This can help them understand a pattern, such as how worry becomes frustration, or how sadness becomes withdrawal.

You can use the notes boxes to capture triggers, thoughts, body sensations, actions, and needs linked to each stage.

7. Choosing a Support Card

After exploring difficult feelings, invite the client to choose a card that represents what they need next. This might be calm, confidence, feeling loved, courage, or connection.

Useful prompts:

• Which feeling would you like more access to?
• What helps you move even one small step toward this feeling?
• Who or what supports this part of you?

8. Parent, Carer, or Family Conversations

The app can be used carefully in family sessions to help different people express how they imagine a child might be feeling, or how each person feels in a shared situation. It can reduce blame by keeping the focus on feelings, needs, and understanding.

It is usually helpful to make clear that nobody is “right” or “wrong” for choosing a card. The card is a starting point for curiosity.

9. End-of-Session Reflection

At the end of a session, ask the client to choose one card for how they arrived and one card for how they are leaving. This can help both therapist and client notice emotional movement, even when the session has been difficult.

Using the App Online

If you are using the app during online therapy, you can share your screen and invite the client to guide your choices verbally. If your video-call system allows remote control, the client may be able to select and move cards themselves.

The temporary link option can be useful when the client needs a more responsive experience on their own device. Click Generate Temporary Link to jump to the link section on the page, then use the temporary-link button there to create access for the client.

Clinical Considerations

The app is a therapeutic aid rather than a fixed assessment tool. Use it alongside your usual clinical judgement, consent process, safeguarding awareness, and knowledge of the client. Some clients may enjoy the visual format immediately; others may need time, choice, or a slower introduction.

If a client becomes distressed, pause the activity and return to regulation, grounding, or relational safety. The aim is not to force emotional disclosure, but to make emotional expression safer, clearer, and more collaborative.

A Simple Closing Prompt

To close the activity, you might ask:

“Of the cards we chose today, which one feels most important to remember before our next session?”

This helps the client leave with one clear emotional focus and gives the therapist a meaningful thread to return to next time.