Bubbles Meditation: Watch Your Thoughts Rise and Float Away

A calm mindfulness game for children: type a worry or thought (or have a grown-up type it), watch it rise in a bubble, and let it float away. For older teens and adults, Leaves on a Stream is the main version.

KidsTeensCalm & regulateACT
2–10 minutesIn person and on video
Free interactive tool
Designed by Michael Thompson, MSc

Link copied – paste it to your client

If someone is hurting you or you don’t feel safe, tell a teacher, a doctor or another grown-up you trust. Childhelp (US and Canada): call or text 1-800-422-4453. In danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Outside the US and Canada, a grown-up can help you find a helpline in your country. Teens and adults in crisis: call or text 988 (US and Canada) or your local crisis line.
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No sign-upNothing you type is storedIn a Play together room, moves pass through our server only while the room is open.
Use with care

Defusion is for noticing thoughts, not for ignoring real problems or danger.

More

If the thoughts are about suicide or self-harm, follow the safety plan and contact your therapist or a crisis line rather than only watching them pass. With trauma memories, go slowly and stop if it becomes overwhelming.

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How to play

  1. Rate how stuck on your worries you feel, choose 2, 5 or 10 minutes, and tap Begin.
  2. When a thought shows up, type it (or tap an example) and put it in a bubble.
  3. Watch it rise and float away. You don't have to do anything.
  4. Tap a bubble to try “I'm having the thought that…”, name the story, or thank your mind.
  5. At the end, pick your biggest worry bubble and rate again.

About the technique

Bubbles is a child-friendly version of the mindfulness-of-thoughts exercises used in acceptance and commitment therapy, best known for adults as leaves on a stream. ACT was developed by Steven Hayes, Kirk Strosahl and Kelly Wilson, and treats cognitive defusion, noticing a thought as a thought rather than as a fact or an order, as one of its core processes (Hayes et al., 2011). Russ Harris describes the imagery exercises for practitioners (Harris, 2009), and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy teaches a similar stance toward thoughts for relapse prevention in depression (Segal et al., 2013).

The point is not to make worries disappear. Placing a thought in a bubble and watching it drift gives the child some distance from it, so it can be noticed without being obeyed or fought. In laboratory work, a simple defusion technique reduced both the discomfort and the believability of negative self-relevant thoughts (Masuda et al., 2004). ACT as a whole outperformed waitlist, placebo and usual care in a meta-analysis of adult trials, while doing about as well as established treatments (A-Tjak et al., 2015). Studies with children are fewer and smaller, and the results are promising but preliminary (Swain et al., 2015). The bubbles exercise itself has not been tested.

Keep the language concrete for young children and let an adult type if needed. If a child uses it to push worries away, gently return to noticing. Thoughts about suicide, self-harm or being hurt are not for floating off: follow the safety plan. With trauma-related thoughts, go slowly and stop if the child becomes overwhelmed.

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For therapists: how to run it

Goal

Notice thoughts as passing events that rise and go, rather than facts to obey or fight.

In session

  1. Share your screen (or send the client link). Ask the child how stuck on their worries they feel, then tap Begin.
  2. Ask them to say each thought aloud as it shows up; they or you type it into a bubble. Turn on Sound for a quiet background if they like it.
  3. When one thought keeps coming back, tap its bubble and try “I'm having the thought that…” or name the story together.
  4. At the end, ask: which worry bubble felt biggest, and what was it like to watch it float off? Copy the clinical-notes line if useful.

As homework

  1. Use it for 2 to 5 minutes when your mind is busy, for example before sleep.
  2. Put each thought in a bubble and watch it go. Tap one if it keeps hooking you.
  3. Tap Copy for my therapist on the result card, then paste it into your therapist's secure messaging (client portal) or bring it to your next session. Nothing you type is saved, so copy before closing.

With a group

  1. Host with Play together and share the code; everyone joins on their own device.
  2. Before starting, tell children that if they type something about being hurt or unsafe, only you will be alerted, and you will check in with everyone after.
  3. Each person types thoughts privately; they rise on everyone's screen without names. Agree first that only thoughts people are comfortable sharing go in.
  4. After 5 minutes, each person picks their own hooking thought and rating on their own screen; invite (never require) a few to say what it was like.
Mandated reporting

Exercises like this can lead to disclosures of abuse, neglect or risk. Know your reporting duties before you start, and pause if one comes up.

Good to know

The children's version of Leaves on a Stream (same exercise, same scenes; the examples here are kid worries). For teens and adults, use Leaves on a Stream. For younger children, the therapist or parent types. If a thought is very distressing, pause (Settings) and ground before continuing. With children, any activity can lead to a disclosure of abuse or neglect. Know your mandated-reporting duty before you start, and pause the activity if one comes up.

Worksheets that pair with this tool

Thought Defusion Cognitive Distancing Techniques Worksheet PDF Download for Free

Thought Defusion Cognitive Distancing Techniques Worksheet PDF Download for Free

Six cognitive distancing techniques to try on one thought, and the Leaves on a Stream script.Adults and teensUniversal skillsACTCBTMindfulness+22 worksheets 4 pages in totalDeep Breathing Worksheet

Deep Breathing Worksheet

One page with a paced inhale, hold and exhale cycle, plus guidance on when to practice it.Adults and teensChildrenAnxietyStress and burnoutCBTMindfulnessPsychoeducational+4Free PDF 1 pageProgressive Muscle Relaxation Script

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script

A two-page reading script tensing ten muscle groups, plus ten calming phrases to read aloud.Adults and teensChildrenStress and burnoutCBTMindfulnessPsychoeducationalSomatic+4Free PDF 2 pages

Sources & credibility

Method
Mindfulness of thoughts and cognitive defusion: leaves on a stream, clouds in the sky, thought train, bubbles, waves and hands as thoughts
Developed by
Steven C. Hayes, Kirk Strosahl and Kelly Wilson (ACT); exercise popularized by Russ Harris. Mindfulness of thoughts in MBCT: Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale
First described
1999–2009
Approach
ACT, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
Evidence
Practice-based (limited trials)ACT has meta-analytic support in adults, and lab studies show defusion makes upsetting thoughts less believable. Studies with children are few and small, and this exercise has not been tested on its own.

References

  1. Hayes S. C., Strosahl K. D. & Wilson K. G. (2011). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: The Process and Practice of Mindful Change (2nd ed.). Guilford. (First edition 1999.)
  2. A-Tjak J. G. L. et al. (2015). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for clinically relevant mental and physical health problems. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 84(1), 30–36. Source
  3. Masuda A., Hayes S. C., Sackett C. F. & Twohig M. P. (2004). Cognitive defusion and self-relevant negative thoughts: examining the impact of a ninety year old technique. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42(4), 477–485. Source
  4. Harris R. (2009). ACT Made Simple. New Harbinger.
  5. Segal Z. V., Williams J. M. G. & Teasdale J. D. (2002; 2nd ed. 2013). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. Guilford.
  6. Swain, J., Hancock, K., Dixon, A., & Bowman, J. (2015). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for children: A systematic review of intervention studies. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 4(2), 73-85. Source

How it was made

Built by the Mentalyc team from the original method and the published sources listed here. Nothing you enter is stored.

Questions people ask

What is the bubble technique in meditation?

In a bubbles meditation, you picture each thought inside a bubble and watch it rise and drift away. It is a mindfulness exercise for noticing thoughts without holding on to them.

Is a bubbles meditation good for kids?

Yes, bubbles are a simple, playful image for children learning to notice thoughts and feelings. Keep it short and let them choose what goes in each bubble.

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Your game designer
Michael Thompson

Michael Thompson, MSc

Michael's background combines doctoral training in clinical psychology with research on motivation, learning, and emotional regulation.

More about Michael Thompson, MSc →

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Table Of Contents
  1. About the technique
  2. For therapists: how to run it
  3. Worksheets that pair with this tool
  4. Sources & credibility
  5. Questions people ask
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Made for use in therapy: a licensed mental health professional decides whether a tool suits their client and guides its use.

Children should use this with a parent, therapist or teacher, not on their own.

Educational practice aid, not a medical device. Not a substitute for therapy, diagnosis or emergency care.