Chapter 12
Keep Calm and ‘Expecto Patronum’
Key Learning Points
Review the concept of Stress Busters and introduce the idea of a Patronus: In Chapters 3-4, we first learned about Stress Busters or things that can make us feel better in a difficult situation. In Chapter 12, we are introduced to a Patronus, the ultimate Stress Buster, which can be deployed against dementors (i.e. in the most distressing circumstances). Just as we can have a hierarchy of fears, we can also have a hierarchy of Stress Busters including our most potent ones at the top of the list.
Introduce CBT Core Principle #6 – It is often important to do things even if they don’t immediately result in benefits: In Chapter 12, Harry struggles to produce a Patronus and Lupin even tells him he would not blame Harry for giving up. During this lesson, Harry does produce a primitive Patronus and, later in the book, he is much more successful but not without practice and hard work. This illustrates a key point which is that CBT strategies for depression and anxiety as well as the use of Stress Busters often may not result in sudden and dramatic improvement. But it is important not to give up and to try these strategies because eventually they will have an impact.
CBT Foundations
This chapter revisits the notion of coping strategies in the face of depression or Stress Busters. As mentioned, these include people, places, activities, hopes, dreams, and values. CBT often suggests deploying these strategies in an escalating sequence when a person is in distress:
1. Distraction strategies that can be done alone. These may include:
a. listening to music
b. playing a game on a phone
c. watching TV/movies (preferably happy ones)
d. going for a run/exercising
e. looking at pictures of happy times
f. reading letters from loved ones
3. Distraction strategies that require others. For example, friends could be called to:
a. go to the movies
b. go to the mall
c. play sports
d. play video games
e. go for a walk
5. Disclosure of distress to professionals. The following people can be called upon:
a. school counsellor
b. social worker
c. family doctor/pediatrician
d. psychiatrist/psychologist
2. Emotional regulation strategies that can be done alone. These may include:
a. writing down your thoughts and evaluating the evidence for them
b. breathing exercises
c. mindfulness meditation
d. taking a hot or cold shower
e. squeezing ice cubes
4. Disclosure of distress to non-professionals. The following people can be called upon:
a. close/best friend
b. siblings
c. parents/grandparents
d. teachers
e. community/spiritual leaders
6. Emergency resources:
a. calling a crisis line
b. going to an emergency department
CBT Core Principle #6
It is often important to do things even if they don’t immediately result in benefits
Like conjuring a Patronus, these skills take a lot of practice and may not always fully address the distress in the moment. CBT skills are proven to work but, in many cases, they need time to have their full effect. Hopefully though, with practice, the first few strategies will help and the higher-level interventions such as emergency visits can be avoided.
How is Chapter 12 Related to CBT?
In this chapter, Harry starts formal “anti-dementor” lessons with Professor Lupin. Here readers are introduced to the concept of a “Patronus”: “a positive force…hope, happiness, [and] the desire to survive”. Like boggarts, one’s Patronus is unique and individualized. Lupin explains to Harry that conjuring a Patronus is a unique challenge: “Many qualified wizards have difficulty…[and] it only works if you are concentrating with all your might”. The Patronus is a metaphor for resilience in the face of depression and can be thought of as a person’s most potent Stress Buster (or alternatively, the collective effects of all of one’s Stress Busters).
Harry is ready to approach the daunting task of warding off a dementor because he has already had some success with basic CBT techniques. Early in Chapter 12, there is a brief mention of Professor Trelawney telling Harry that he has the shortest “life line” on his palm that she has ever seen. Notice that this doesn’t seem to have any significant effect on his mood and does not provoke worry thoughts. Harry is already starting to do a better job of spotting and dismissing thinking errors.
Lupin still uses a boggart as a dementor stand-in when training Harry, which reinforces the CBT concept of starting by practicing skills in low-stakes situations (think of the first few steps in a fear ladder/hierarchy). This is relevant because we want students to practice using their Stress Busters when they are in little to no distress so that when high distress levels strike (i.e. the real dementors), they can have the confidence to use these strategies effectively.
Producing a Patronus is very difficult for Harry and even though he achieves some success, he feels “drained and strangely empty” following the first lesson. After several lessons his Patronus is still “too feeble to drive the dementor away”. This is a common experience for people working to master psychological distress. Lupin does a good job of reassuring Harry that he is making good progress which helps him continue. In CBT, we similarly reassure people to press on because eventually they will see the results (just like Harry later in the book).
Core Lesson Plan - Keep Calm and “Expecto Patronum”
Finding your “Quidditch”
Duration: 1 to 2 50 min periods
LESSON OBJECTIVES
Identify positive activities / influences
Share and reflect upon these as a class
Introduce crisis planning
SUMMARY OF TASKS/ACTIONS
Lesson Planning:
Put the following quote on the board/white board:
“The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementors feed upon – hope, happiness, the desire to survive – but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors cannot hurt it”
Open up a discussion of what this quote means, guiding them towards what might fuel their Patronus.
Provide handout “What is your Patronus”
See assignment sheets below for more detailed information
Student identify a positive activity/influence in their lives and create a small poster with that activity represented in an eye-catching and symbolic way
They surround the activity with words that try to capture why that activity is so positive for them
They write an explanation of why they chose particular colours and symbols to represent the activity
Once the posters are completed, students complete a Gallery Walk to learn more about their peers’ interests. They then answer a few reflective questions (see below) that guide them to see what these activities have in common (a chance to be ourselves, freedom, relaxing, etc.)
At the completion of the activity, a collage or poster can be made to serve as an anchor chart of a variety of positive activities
Following this activity, as a homework exercise, ask students to review their list of Stress Busters and consider how they would use them in sequence if they were experiencing distress/in a crisis. Encourage them to practice using these strategies even before a crisis happens.
References:
Linked to Expecto Patronum and conjuring a positive memory. A way of guiding students to brainstorm positive ways to reduce stress.
Entire Lesson Plan
Teacher Answer Key
1: No Answer Key
2: No Answer Key
3: No Answer Key
4: No Answer Key
Guiding Questions
Optional Lesson Plans and Activities
The following lessons and activities are optional. You may download the full set of optional lesson plans, activities, and chapter questions. Alternatively, you can download each activity or worksheet separately.
Entire Set of Optional Activities
Optional Activities (Separated)
Chapter Questions