Blog Posts

Ready, Set....Rising Tide

12/1/2017

With the rise in popularity of street art in Christchurch a mural seemed the obvious way to launch Rising Tide/He Tai Pari and remind children, teachers and parents that the books are now available and ready to use. More than 20 000 copies of Rising Tide are in Canterbury schools ready for Term 1 2017. (List of participating schools)

Ari sits on the corner of Gloucester and Manchester. The original illustration is from the cover of Rising Tide and is by Jenny Cooper. Richard 'Pops' Baker completed the mural over several very hot days in December. We are very grateful to Pops for his fantastic collaboration and creativity.

After the success of 'Maia and the Worry Bug' and 'Wishes and Worries' families and schools asked for something for older children. 'Rising Tide', and 'He Tai Pari' were written and developed for Year 5-8 children with the generous support of New Zealand Red Cross. For teachers and parents outside of Canterbury 'Rising Tide' and 'He Tai Pari' are available for purchase here. In the back of the book parents and teachers will find teaching plans and family exercises to increase resilience and emotional intelligence and support positive classroom culture. An online version of both books with full audio in english and te reo Maori will be availble in February www.theworrybug.co.nz

Our heartfelt thanks to:
Jenny Cooper for the original design
Denis Harwood for his generosity in allowing us to use his wall
Cyrus from Wilson Parking who went above and beyond on several occassions to help us
Kim, Dana and the team at Smartwork Creative for the original cover design
Jo and Donovan at Great Scott! Communications
Simon, Nellie, Lia, Rosetta, Aaron, Maia, Lox and Oli for their continued support

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Collaboration Opportunity For Canterbury Schools and Families

6/12/2016

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We need you to be a collaborator with us on the Rising Tide project.
As the book’s intention is to increase emotional resilience, Massey is going to research whether this actually happens. As a teacher or a parent collaborator, all you would need to do is go online and fill out a ‘baseline’ questionnaire about your class or child's behaviour now, and then after using the resource with your family or class, go back online and complete the survey again. We would hope to show a difference in behaviour due to the use of the resource.

This is a way for Cantabrians to contribute to disaster recovery research.With the many natural disasters that seem to be occurring in our nation, this research may inform how agencies and the government work with families and schools in future situations. Please sign up by emailing the research team (Benita Stiles-Smith) at B.Stiles-smith@massey.ac.nz or going to our website www.theworrybug.co.nz

Best Use Learnings From The Worry Bug Project
Massey's research from evaluating the Worry Bug books showed that using the books in the following ways added to their efficacy and positive pro-social change. We've included them here to help inform planning for using the books in the first term of 2017. The lesson plans were designed to be used in the last 20 minutes of the school day in the beginning of the term however they could easily be mixed and matched, or done in a series of longer sessions.
Here are some specific ways that the books were used;
* Initially used in school assembly on screen with a reading, with continuing follow-up in classrooms;
* Used in reading group;
* Used in circle time discussion;
* Used in classroom story time as follow-up to disaster drills;
* Used in writing poetry;
* Used in art class;
* Used in social science/health class;
* Posted photocopies of illustrations in classrooms as part of continuing awareness;
* Brief display of classroom poster with children’s worries on classroom wall;
* Planned repeat use in coming year;
* Sent home story book with youngest rather than eldest of a family’s children;
* Set up of a letter box for posting worries as an ongoing follow-up for children to receive school support following school story book use;
* Placed Worry Bug updates in the school newsletter;
* Placed both school and home story in school library for ready access to children;
* Discussion with parents who viewed Worry Bug art productions by their children.

We'll be in touch with schools in the new year with info for your school newsletters and websites about the resource and the research and with everything you need to know about accessing the web based version which will have full audio in english and te reo and other support resources.

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Rising Tide Review- Mental Health Foundation

2/12/2016

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We're really grateful to Anna Mowat who reviewed Rising Tide on behalf of The Mental Health Foundation. See their blog for reviews of apps, books and other mental wellbeing resources.
30 November 2016Rising TideDickson, S. (2016). Kōtuku Creative
Sarina Dickson and Julie Burgess-Manning are the pair responsible for the very popular Worry Bug resources (Maia and the Worry Bug and Wishes and Worries) brought about as support for children after the Christchurch earthquakes. However, don’t be put off if your child or students haven’t experienced, or don’t remember the earthquakes. This book appeals to any child with worries, and includes excellent strategies to help.
Rising Tide is Dickson’s new book, but for older aged children (Year 5–8). Cleverly however, Rising Tide is not Maia and The Worry Bug for older children. It’s a fresh, new story fully created on its own accord. Everything about it screams 8–12 year olds – the physical size of the book, the cover page illustration, and the use of minimal illustrations throughout.
The book centres on nearly ten-year-old Ari who lives with his parents and two sisters. The hooks come quickly – Ari has secrets. While these hold our interest in the story, it’s reassuring for us with our own, and there’s a subtle focus on Ari believing he’s the only one that suffers from his secret which keeps him feeling isolated and ashamed.
Creative lesson plans included
What captured me were the skills and strategies both Ari and his Dad use to manage and cope with things. The back of the book is filled with creative lesson plans for school use. I was impressed by the immediate connection Dickson makes between home and school and the extension of activities from interpersonal relationships to communities and environments.
A part of this focus is brought to self-fulfilling prophecies – our beliefs that we are the way we think we are, and how this relates to worry. This is of course challenged, and looks to embed a growth (rather than fixed) mind-set understanding. Because I’m not a teacher, my thoughts come from a parent perspective – do I want my children exposed to, and learning about this? Absolutely.
Useful strategies embedded
This is unmistakably a New Zealand/Aotearoa story – the use of Māori and the descriptions of what Ari notices in his rural township are so familiar. At no stage did I consider the themes in the book as having to relate to the Christchurch earthquakes. The strategies embedded in the story are useful for any young person whether they worry a lot or a little.
My daughter gave Rising Tide a solid eight out of 10. She told me it was “relatable” and that, “If I have secrets that feel really big and kinda out of control, I’d talk to someone… [like] you, nan or maybe dad.” Perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything more.
Reviewed by Anna Mowat, Family Advisor at All Right?

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Rising Tide and He Tai Pari head off into schools

20/11/2016

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Over the next couple of weeks all the Canterbury schools that have opted in to get the books will have them couriered to them. We worked really hard to connect with the schools, keeping them informed of the aim and use of the books and we're really pleased with the uptake. Below you'll find a list of schools that have chosen to receive the books, for use in Term 1 2017.

Parents, you wont see the books until the beginning of next year. The schools have given us the numbers required based on projected rolls for 2017. In January we'll launch the web based version of the book, which will include full audio in english and te reo and will have supplementary support notes for parents, teachers and therapists.

Families, therapists and schools outside our funded area will be able to purchase unfunded copies from our website shop from the beginning of December.

We're fortunate to have Massey University on board to conduct research into the efficacy of the resources and also to better understand ways in which projects like ours are accepted by, and used by, the community. All schools received postcards, emails and phone calls about the project. Over 130 schools will be receiving the books in the coming fortnight.

The books have had quite a journey. They were initially created from needs arising after the Canterbury earthquakes. On the first day of the print run the factory in Taiwan was hit by a typhoon and then their landing was delayed due to consequences of the Kaikoura earthquake.

Schools Who have OPTED IN to receive the books.

Addington
Aidenfield Christian
Akaroa
Allenvsale Special School
Ao Tawhiti
Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery
Aranui
Bamford
Banks Avenue
Beckenham
Belfast
Bishopdale
Breens Intermediate
Bromley
Burnside
Casebrook Intermediate
Cashmere Primary
Chisnallwood Intermediate
CHCH Adventist
CHCH East
CHCH South Intermediate
Cobham Intermediate
Cotswold
Diamond Harbour
Duvauchelle
Elmwood Normal
Emmanuel Christian
Fendalton
Governers Bay
Halswell Residential
Harewood
Heathcote Valley
Heaton Intermediate
Hoon Hay
Hornby Primary
Ilam
Isleworth
Jean Seabrook Memorial
Kingslea
Kirkwood Intermediate
Linwood College
Linwood Ave
Linwood North
Little River
Lyttelton
Mairehau
Marshland
Medbury
Merrin
Middleton Grange - Primary
Middleton Grange - Intermediate
Mt Pleasant
New Brighton Catholic
Northcote
Nova Montessori
Oaklands
Okains bay
Opawa
Our Lady of Assumption
Ouruhia
PaproaStreet
Parkview
Rawhiti
Redcliffs
Redwood
Riccarton
Rowley Ave
Roydvale
Rudolf Steiner(CHCH)
Russley
Sacred Heart
Selwyn House
Seven Oaks
Shirley Intermediate
Shirley School
Sockburn
Southern Health School
Spreydon
St Albans Catholic
St Andrews
St Annes
St Bernadettes
St Francis of Assisi
St Mary's
St Patricks
St Peters
St Teresas
Tamariki
Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Te Whanau tahi
Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Waitaha
Templeton
Te Pa o Rakaihautu
Te Waka Unua
Van asch deaf education Centre
Villa Maria
Wairakei
Waltham
West Spreydon
Yaldhurst
Broadfield
Burnham
Clearview
Darfield
Greendale
Kirwee Model
Leeston
Prebbleton
Rolleston
Southbridge
Springfield
Weedons
West Melton
West Rolleston Primary
Ashgrove
Cust
Kaiapoi Borough
Kaiapoi North
Loburn
Ohoka
Oxford Area
Pegasus Bay
Rangiora New Life
Sefton School
St Patricks Kaiapoi
Tuahiwi
View Hill
Woodend

For more information please see our site, or contact Sarina sarina@kotukucreative.co.nz

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Dear Scared Mama...

20/11/2016

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Like all writers I'm also a reader and one particular writer that I love to read is Emily Writes' work. She blogs here, and is the editor of The Spinoff Parents. Following the earthquake on Sunday night she put on a blog post that had me both in tears and stitches, my favourite kind of writing.

The post brought back many memories for me, particularly around mothering through aftershocks and so I wrote to her. I wrote quickly, and from the heart and send it quickly, and also from the heart. And then I shared it on The Worry Bug facebook page because I felt sure she wouldn't be the only Scared Mama. I've been so touched by the responses to the post. One reader wrote 'Finally something I've read since Monday that is actually warm hearted' and it got me thinking about how fundamental human connection is, and how much we desire to be seen, heard and listened to.

There is a fantastic opinion by Kyle McDonald in The Herald this morning that reiterates those feelings. He writes 'So let's not preach about resilience, it's tantamount to declaring people need to "get over it". Instead, let's expect vulnerability, and the need to talk about and express the fear and uncertainty.' (Full piece here)

We need to remember to take care of ourselves, in order for us to be able to support others, particularly those in our care. And to take it easy on ourselves.

Dear Scared Mama

So this week isn’t what you had planned is it? You probably already had the grocery list half formed, the nagging feeling you’d forgotten someone’s birthday and had just remembered you hadn’t got around to removing whatever had died under the passenger seat as you drifted off on Sunday night.

But now some days have passed, that thing is still mouldering in the car, it’s too late to send a card and there’s no way you’re going to the supermarket today, it’s too far from home right now. There’s no space in your head for any of that trivia now anyway. Now your focus lies elsewhere. Your mind, and with it your body, is far more concerned with any unfamiliar sound, keeping your children in arm’s reach and obsessively checking geonet.
If you thought you were tired before you’re shocked at the new level of weariness that has settled into your bones. Your teeth begin to hurt, you unclench your jaw and it passes. Sometimes you forget a word, especially one often used, you wonder if this time you really are losing it.

You suddenly have a deep understanding of what the expression ‘waiting for the other shoe to drop’ means, except it’s not falling shoes you’re worried about, it’s the bedroom mirror, or the wardrobe…or the roof.
‘They take their cue from you’ people will say, helpfully. While you’re using everything you’ve got to hold it together no-one will let you forget, as if you could, that you have to hold them together too. You’ll cry some hard, hot tears in the bottom of the shower and feel homesick for last week.

‘They take their cue from you’? Well, tomorrow they might get something better than that, tomorrow they might get to see their strong Mama lose her shit in the middle of the supermarket, and in the chaos find her feet again and move through her fear to a few moments of something more familiar.

You’ll need more cups of sweet strong tea, more naps and a lot more Alexander Skarsgard. More sticky-warm, chubby-armed hugs, more talking about it, more gentleness with yourself. You might need a top up, a lie in and a gingernut.
From one Mama to another, this too shall pass. In his warm sleeping breath on your neck, it will pass. In a topless shot of Ben Affleck, it will pass. At the bottom of a glass of pinot, it will pass. And while you’re waiting, we wait with you. In the collective noun of Motherhood up and down the country we’re all holding our breath. I think we’ve got this, and if it gets worse…we’ll mother our way through that too.

Best wishes from Christchurch,

You can read Emily's blog post here, I particularly recommend it if you have strong feelings either way for Ben Affleck.

Written by Sarina Dickson get in touch sarina@kotukucreative.co.nz

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Helping Ourselves by Sharing our Expertise

15/11/2016

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Turn those worries to wishes, fight that worry bug!
Cantabrians are earthquake experts. We at the Worry Bug thought that one way we could contribute to the families in Kaikoura and Hurunui needing to manage continuing aftershocks, would be to crowd source some help from you lot that have been through them so many times.
So, in the spirit of the books we brought you;
Ask your children to think about the worries that the Kaikoura and North Canterbury children might have now, and turn these into wishes for them -
Think about the ways that you stomped on the worry bug and stopped it creating more havoc in your lives and remind us how you did it - how you still do it…
Write your ideas here on our feed and we will send them off.
Of course there’s an ulterior motive here. We know that helping out others is one of the five ways to well-being that All Right? has promoted - it enables us to take our mind off our own concerns and feel some empowerment at being able to contribute. And, more simply, it will remind you and your children of the things that you do that help when you are scared.

To start the ball rolling;
We turn the telly off the news and onto a cool movie
We eat yummy and satisfying food that we prepare together
We get outside and get physically active

Please check us out on Facebook and share your ideas on our wall x

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Supporting the Whole Family Through Shaky Times

14/11/2016

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So, another big earthquake, followed by several more. As you look after yourselves and your family today, here’s some tips for minimising the impact on yourselves mentally;

You know your family well, trust your instincts about how you need to respond to them.

When disasters happen we tend to get swept along with the media frenzy, but
repetition of disaster scenes is not good for kid’s (or adults) brains - they can’t rationalise that it’s not happening again and again, so limit access to media.

It’s so easy for life to be disrupted after a shake like this, but it is important that kids experience life keeping on as normal in spite of it, so keep your normal routines as much as you can; get up, get dressed, have breakfast, do your chores! If your kids’ school is open and they are ok, take them.

If you have had to evacuate, try to normalise your situation into your normal routines as much as you can. Let your tamariki know what is happening but make decisions as adults, use distraction to divert kids’ attention from the situation, engage them in activities, lighten the conversation, don’t dwell on panic. Older kids (adolescents) will probably respond well to being included in some planning, it will give them some sense of control. But be the adult in charge, even if you’re feeling wobbly on the inside.

Use a strong, slow and low tone of voice to bring down stressed kids or adults; when we are panicked we tend to use a higher and faster tone.

Eating well is important for managing in stressful times, continue to have the food that you know supports your body and mind.

Use breathing exercises if you are feeling panicky. Focus on your breath, slow it as it goes in and out, become mindful of what is happening around you and how your body feels, look at the sky, the trees, listen to the sound around you, inhale the smells, come into the present, don’t attend to your thoughts for a minute.

Rest when you need to and be mindful that the children might need more downtime than usual. And most importantly take care of yourself. Ask for support if you need it.

Julie Burgess-Manning is a Family Therapist and NZ Registered Psychologist who has studied and practiced in England and throughout New Zealand. She has worked in a variety of child, adolescent and family mental health settings for the past 18 years, with roles such as Senior Clinician, Therapist, Clinical Supervisor and Primary Mental Healthcare Liaison.

julie@kotukucreative.co.nz

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How can Therapists use The Worry Bug books; Maia & the Worry Bug, Wishes and Worries and the soon to be launched Rising Tide.

9/11/2016

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As a family therapist and psychologist, I have seen many children and adolescents struggle withanxiety. My take on treatment comes from a mixture of frameworks and evidence that I have applied, made mistakes with and had some success.

Firstly; anxiety sits within systems of behaviour and relationships. We cannot not communicate, so when a child communicates something they are worried about to a parent, there will inevitably be some kind of response and this response can become part of a relationship pattern. For instance, if my child is worried about monsters under the bed, I cannot help but have a response to that. My response becomes part of the anxiety system around her. That system can determine whether anxiety is maintained or extinguished. So when I see anxiety in a child, I also look at the systems of relationships and behaviour that are around the symptom. How do people in the family respond to anxious behaviours? How is the anxiety maintained? How is it extinguished? Who else in the family exhibits anxiety? Is there an acceptable level of anxiety in this family?

Secondly; young children cannot manage anxiety alone. It is not “their anxiety”. As with any difficulty, parents need to be in charge of how anxiety is managed. Involving parents or caregivers in the management of anxiety is critical in my opinion, and much research would support this. Even if a parent has some anxiety themselves, having them in the room means that the effects that they may have on their child re modelling or through relationships, may be mitigated directly by the therapist. (See Negreiros and Miller 2014 for a thorough discussion of the role of parenting in childhood anxiety.

In Rising Tide, Sarina and I have used a cognitive behavioural therapy framework, paired with ideas from social constructionism, specifically round dominant stories - or schemas. We have stepped up the level from the Worry Bug material, to be more appropriate to this age group. We envisage this resource being used firstly at school and then going home to the family. In this way, the resource is supported by two important systems of relationship for the child. As with any therapy, the relationship is a critical part of success.

The therapist support resources for Rising Tide will be available online for free. Please use it as you see fit - it will obviously be changed by your own context, by the family and children that you see, by cultural and gender factors and many other influences. That is how it is meant to work - clinical judgement is a valid and useful part of our practice - we cannot just apply manualised treatments for example, without thought as to how the family will receive them, and how best to adjust them to suit. So, have fun with it and please, let us know how you have used it, what works and what doesn’t.

Rising Tide and He Tai Pari will be available for purchase via our website from early December for $19.90. The web based version with english and te reo audio and professional development resources will be available in the new year.

Written by Julie Burgess-Manning. Get in touch julie@kotukucreative.co.nz

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Increasing the Usefulness of Rising Tide

17/10/2016

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Feedback from the use of previous books in The Worry Bug series told us that skills will be more embedded if these exercises are used progressively, building on knowledge as it is learned. The classroom exercises have been designed to be done in the last 20-30 minutes of the day, although they build on each other and can be completed over 2-3 longer sessions. The classroom exercises include the key competencies of Managing Self, Thinking, Relating to others, Participating and Contributing, Using language, symbols and text and meet Relationships with other people and Healthy communities and environments objectives.
Rising Tide will also be available on our website with accompanying audio in English and Te Reo. Professional development material will be attached to a series of emails to those schools that have signed up, and also available as a package with the digital version our website in late November.
Reflective practice by teachers and staff groups should be encouraged to embed the ideas and to support teachers to manage children bringing their emotional struggles to teachers. The language introduced should be used across the school by teachers and children, with parents, using instances of difficulty that arise daily to practice the ideas presented.
Research from the Worry Bug Project (via Massey University) and the All Right? Parenting evaluation shows that most teachers and parents found these resources useful and effective. Results trend towards increases in prosocial behaviour (measured by the Strengths Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ), in both classrooms and at home. In Rising Tide, we have used a similar psychological framework, but increased the complexity to match the older age group. The classroom and family exercises have been peer reviewed by teachers, a psychiatrist, and a clinical psychologist.
This resource is more than a set of exercises, it can be used to encourage and develop a climate of compassion and expression of feelings, leading to an increase in pro-social behaviour and a positive classroom culture.
Rising Tide is based on Cognitive behavioural and Narrative principles, again addressing both the home and school context via the principle of home and school scaffolding

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'Rising Tide'-Resilience Resource for Teachers & Parents of yr5-8 Children, Coming Soon!

14/10/2016

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After the success of 'Maia and the Worry Bug' and 'Wishes and Worries' families and schools asked for something for older children. 'Rising Tide' was written and developed for Year 5-8 children. With the generous support of New Zealand Red Cross all children and teachers in Year 5-8 classrooms in Canterbury will receive a free copy. For teachers and parents outside of Canterbury the 'Rising Tide' will be available for purchase via our site and bookshops in November.

'Rising Tide' will launch in late November. It will be available in English and Te Reo Maori, and have an web based version with an audio component, and support videos. In the back of the book parents and teachers will find teaching plans and family exercises to increase resilience and emotional intelligence.

Teachers, by registering below you will receive updates, synopsis, sample lesson plans to prepare your planning for 2017 and an invitation to participate in Massey University's research. Start your year off well by exploring the themes of resilience for confident learners and a positive classroom culture. The books will be available for purchase from late November.

Rising Tide will be delivered free to Canterbury school that have opted in to receive them for use in 2017. We're beginning the process of connecting with schools now to allow syndicates and individuals to add the use of the book to their planning.

Are you a year 5-8 teacher at a Canterbury school? Great news! Thanks to generous support from New Zealand Red Cross all students and teachers in/of year 5-8* attending Canterbury school** can receive a free copy. Sign up to our newsletter so we can contact you about numbers etc. Not in Canterbury? We'd love to keep you in the loop too!

Have a burning question, or just want to connect? Drop us a line theworrybug@kotukucreative.co.nz

* As at Feb 1 2017
** Available to Canterbury Home Schoolers too

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Child Counselors in Primary Schools; Including the Family

11/10/2016

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Recently there has been some media coverage proposing the idea of putting counsellors into primary schools, to help offset problems that might occur prior to teenage-hood. We put an article on our Facebook page and were surprised at the amount of passionate responses we got - in the affirmative - to the question of whether there should be counsellors in primary schools.

Here’s some more thinking on it;
Children who are primary school age have different developmental needs in therapy than teenagers - of course - we know this. But actually, they are fundamentally different. Children under the age of about 10 are not individuated - they don’t really function in their heads as fully autonomous individuals. That’s why they need parents who can tell them what to do, how to behave etc. Children under the age of about 7/8 are quite concrete thinkers, they aren’t really able to reason their way through things - give them something to be afraid of and they will just be afraid of it, they will find it difficult to reflect on their actions or logically think through why they are afraid and what they could do about it. Children will get these skills at different rates, they are skills that grow as they develop and as they have different interactions - they don’t just switch on and off. So counselling children alone is a whole different skill, and often not effective or appropriate.

Sending a child to a counsellor is not like sending an adult. An adult will be able to answer the question (usually) “why am I here?” and they will be able to reflect on their own behaviour and others, and decide upon and practice new ways of behaving. A child usually won’t be able to do that. Some responses on our Facebook post suggested that parents wanted counsellors to ‘teach’ children skills so that they can be resilient - counselling is not usually about teaching, it is about listening and facilitating. If teaching worked in counselling, then surely every person who had been to a counsellor would be making good choices about their lives and practicing value based living all the time. Just like nutrition education, someone telling me sugar is bad doesn’t stop me buying my children ice creams.

If we send a child to a counsellor to ‘get them fixed’, like we would take them to a doctor, then we are laying responsibility for the ‘problem’ on the child’s shoulders. Those are small and immature shoulders to be responsible for such things. I would suggest that if we have counsellors in primary schools, they should be seeing the family around the child as much as the child in an effort to understand the context that the problems live within. We all know that when a child has a tantrum, it is not simply the tantrum that we should pay attention to, it is the whole context before and after. Do Mum and Dad have the same kinds of responses when they are upset? How does the child communicate her needs? What is it in the child or family life that is worthy of such overwhelming feeling? When someone has that kind of feeling, how is it dealt with? Is the tantrum attended to or the actual issue behind it? And on and on. We must, must, must, not lay responsibility for ‘fixing’ our ways of being in our family, on our children. That will mean a lot more therapy when they are adults!!

So if we want counsellors to be available for our primary-aged children, I think we need to be willing to attend with them. There’s evidence based research that shows that counselling for children is more effective when it involves the family. There is good reason for this - children need to have support to implement new ideas, to think new things, and if their family knows what is going on in counselling, this can support any change that they are trying to make. Also, as I have alluded to, problems don’t usually occur in this age group without a multi-relational context. If parents attend too, some of these relationships can be explored and parents can make changes themselves that support the child too. This work isn’t easy though, it will be awkward and embarrassing and probably challenging. That’s what change is like.

I have been talking here about children who have a caring family around them. Of course there are many children who do not have caring adults; children who have been neglected, abused or abandoned. It is especially these children who need long term therapeutic relationships with trustworthy adults to help them develop a sense of worth and belonging. School counsellors in primary schools would be another potential source of this for them. School counsellors would also be another adult looking out for children who are in this kind of situation and who need immediate help.

In conclusion, if we are thinking about counsellors in primary schools, we must consider including the family unit, and looking at the way in which counsellors might work in a different way from those in Secondary education settings.

Written by Julie Burgess-Manning. Get in touch julie@kotukucreative.co.nz

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NZ Psychological Society Annual Conference 2016

2/10/2016

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The Worry Bug Project for Christchurch Children:
The child at the Centre of Recovery.

This September saw Sarina and I presenting at the annual conference of the NZ Psychological Society. We were part of the Professional Practice and Applied Research cluster symposium examining the professional issues that we have grappled with over the time of managing the Worry Bug Project.

We were focusing in on the idea of bringing our personal worlds into professional practice. As a psychologist, this has been a challenge over the years - how do I separate these two worlds, and should they even be separated? Many psychologists have been taught to clearly separate these two worlds, but my time living and working in Thames, Coromandel, put an end to that possibility. In such a small community turning down a family as a client because I might know them through my child or because they run the only bookshop, means that family might not be able to access specific services. I became used to interacting with client families whilst picking up my child from school, buying groceries or when going to the library. That meant that clients also saw my personal life happening round me - from me being frustrated with my children, to what I chose to read or have for dinner.

When Sarina and I began the Worry bug Project, we intentionally merged these two worlds. The personal experience that Sarina had had with being in the centre of the big quakes, and my experience of coming to a broken city with an intent to help professionally, we thought might work quite well together. Also, we were at the mercy of having many children to manage whilst we worked, and not much childcare. That meant that we often took our children to meetings, with funders, with PR people, with distributors, book designers and accountants. Often we got our boobs out at these meetings, to breastfeed irritable babies who would rather have been at home. Breastfeeding in front of people does tend to remove barriers to building relationships (though sometimes it has the opposite affect!) and we have made many friends over the course of the project because of this. We often reflect on the many people that we have worked with and how almost every single one of them has recounted a story to us of a child or friend or family member who is troubled with anxiety issues. Many of them have discounted their bills for this connection, and we are grateful for that.

The other issue we were discussing at conference is that of collaboration between disciplines. So often collaborations between teachers and psychologists are fraught with problems because we are wed to our own knowledges. Sarina and I thought a lot about what had helped us to work together as professionals from different disciplines and we think it comes down to two things - being authentic in our relationship with each other (bringing in the personal), and being able to listen past what we individually think about something. Just as when my children try to tell me about something they have just learned; if I say something like “yes, yes, I know all about that, no, you’ve got that wrong, it’s like this” then I shut down the possibility of learning something for myself about their perspective (as well as irritating them immensely). So, when I work with another discipline I have to put aside my own knowledge and try to hear their knowledge, and then we have to merge it somehow for the benefit of the child. By looking at the child’s needs, instead of our own knowledge or ego, I think that we can be clearly focused on what they need, rather than what we need in terms of recognition as a professional, or a parent. Hence, our title - the child at the centre of recovery.

Anyway, we were a bit nervous presenting - I was aiming at a Ted-style presentation, and trying to incorporate some humour, but our efforts at perfection were threatened by exactly the things we were talking about - the personal impacting on the professional. The week we left for conference Sarina had a tummy bug, and I had a small child with threatening pneumonia. Both of us thought the other wouldn’t make it and were preparing for presenting alone. As it turned out, we did make it, even if Sarina got locked in the toilet and I got a hair in my muffin! The day was topped off by Jetstar delaying our flights so we could explore wellington airport a bit more, and a bit more.

Overall we were pleased to have been included in the presentation line up for the conference and would love to repeat it next year especially as it will happen in our stamping ground of Christchurch.

Written by Julie Burgess-Manning. Get in touch julie@kotukucreative.co.nz

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October 01st, 2016

1/10/2016

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Storylines NZ were the lucky hosts of this year's IBBY congress in Auckland, New Zealand. Book lovers and experts attended from all over the world. The Worry Bug Project has been researched during 2015 and 2016 by Dr Benita Stiles-Smith of Massey University and she presented a poster of the findings of her work.

Our book design company, Smartwork Creative, was also represented by it's Director Kim Dovey. You can read Kim's transcript about the future of book design here.

We were heartened by the feedback from Dr Stiles-Smith regarding the positive feedback from delegates in response to our books and project and look forward to discussing them further with the many agencies and companies that requested copies of the books and shared their own narratives with Dr Stiles-Smith.

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Is there a mental health crisis in Canterbury?

16/8/2016

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The outward signs of a natural disaster are beginning to disappear from Christchurch’s environment. As the last damaged buildings of the business district are demolished, empty lots are replaced by tilt-slab offices and enormous sheets of glass and nearly all but the most complex insurance claims have been settled with repairs and rebuilds complete.

However, experts like Dr Alistair Humphrey, Canterbury District Health Board’s medical officer of health,say the psycho-social recovery of the city is in desperate need of attention. As the initial trauma and stress of the quakes fade from memory, many expected the mental health of the population to have recovered. Instead, mental illness statistics are continuing to climb in almost every measurable area.

Meanwhile, Humphrey claims Canterbury District Health Board is one of only two in the country which has had its funding decrease in the past two years. Figures provided by Dr Humphrey comparing the 2015/16 year to 2016/17 show Canterbury’s mental health funding has been cut by 4.5 percent. This makes the funding here $44 less than the national average of $251 per person.

This three minute introductory clip paints a bleak picture of mental health in Canterbury. There are, however, many community driven initiatives supporting residents, and government funded programs such as All Right? and The Worry Bug Project, and many more as outlined in this Lincoln University inventory.

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Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori

3/7/2016

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July 4-10 2016 marks Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori. To celebrate we're giving copies of our books in te reo away over on our Facebook page, join us over there to enter. www.facebook.com/TheWorryBug

Māori Language Week is an annual campaign, led by the Māori Language Commission, to promote the language to New Zealand. The campaign is about raising awareness that New Zealand has its very own language and encouraging the use of it, with simple phrases every day, week and month of the year.

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BOOK REVIEW: Kiwi's Intrepid Journey by Anna Dalzell

10/6/2016

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Kiwi's Intrepid Journey is a story that has been written to help primary school aged children deal with anxiety, loneliness, courage and confidence. It incorporates ideas such as mindfulness, perspectives, strengths, self-awareness, thoughts and feelings.

The author, Anna Dalzell, has many years working with children. She has gained qualifications as an NLP Master Practitioner, NLP Coach, Ericksonian Hypnotherapist and Time Line Therapist™. She is a practising member of the New Zealand Association of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and holds a Diploma of Teaching, Certificate in Cognitive Enrichment Counselling and is currently studying a Diploma in Child and Adolescent Psychology.

This is a tender story that lends itself well to being read aloud and I'm sure it would be a much requested story in any home or classroom. The illustrations are simply beautiful and were done by artist Jane McIntosh and I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot ore of her work in children's books.

Leave a comment below telling us your favourite New Zealand bird to win a copy of Kiwi's Intrepid Journey. (Open to NZ residents only) We'll draw a winner 16/06/2016

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Talking about worry in Under 5's at the Migrant and Refugee Services Parenting Expo

10/6/2016

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We were so pleased to be invited to run workshops at the recent Refugee and Migrant Services Under 5's and Parent Expo. We ran 4 45 minute workshops to parents from many different ethnicities. It was a wonderful experience and one that we learnt so much from. In each workshop there were several interpreters supporting the participants, and us. We spoke about anxiety and behaviour in under 5s and shared some simply tips, techniques and ideas for supporting little ones. It was really useful for us to be able to share our own experiences of parenting and our memories of being parenting from around the world.

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Nearly 10 000 Worry Bug Resources Went into Canterbury ECEs this week

9/5/2016

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With thanks again to New Zealand Red Cross nearly 10 000 Worry Bug books went into Canterbury Early Childhood Centres this week and to celebrate we had a bug stomping at Kidsfirst Sunbeam Kindy in St Albans, Christchurch this morning.

The children patiently watched the sand sculpture of the Worry Bug take shape in their sand pit. Julie Burgess-Manning read the children 'Maia and the Worry Bug' and then the children leaped at the chance to stomp the Worry Bug.

The Worry Bug Project was initially designed for junior primary children but due to demand NZ Red Cross funded the books for all Canterbury four year olds, as well as the translation of 'Maia and the Worry Bug' into Te Reo Maori.

For ECE and parents outside of the Canterbury region books are available for sale via our website.

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7 Tips for Supporting Anxious Kids in Unusual Circumstances

6/5/2016

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This week our street has been filled with police cars, officers and forensic teams as a few houses away from ours is a crime scene. This certainly falls into the unforeseen category of life events! The children are understandably concerned and confused. They’re also intrigued and a little bit excited. As adults we know life can be unpredictable. When the unforeseen happens we call on our life experience and support networks to find a way through our trauma. It’s also our job to provide support and share our wisdom and experience with the children in our care.

When a crime happens in When a crime happens in your neighbourhood there are inevitably going to be questions and worries from children. Some children are open about their concerns, their distress is clear and parents can be available with hugs, chats and lingering bedtimes. Other children aren’t so obvious in their need for extra support. Their behaviour may change subtly, but it isn’t always easy to spot. You may notice the following behaviours:

* Confrontational behaviour towards you or siblings
* Reluctance to go to bed, leave the house or be apart from you
* Refusal to follow requests that would normally not be an issue
* A drop or rise in energy and or noise levels
* Inability to concentrate

Parents are experts on their own children and will usually know what works well to calm them but here are some tips from family therapist and registered psychologist Julie Burgess-Manning to help in unusual circumstances:

7 Tips to Help Kids with Anxiety in Unusual Circumstances

1 It’s important to retain routines; get up at the same time, go to bed at the same time, keep mealtimes, school routines, after school activities the same.

2 Turn media off, repetition of disturbing scenes adds to anxiety.

3 Provide a calm and loving response; keep your adult worries away from children. If you are particularly upset: don’t talk about it with your children, get support from other adults you trust.

4 Keep normal disciplinary boundaries. If kids are pushing these, it is important that they know their parents are still in charge - the world is unpredictable enough without these changing.

5 Give reassurance but don’t overdo it. Too much reassurance means there is something to be worried about!

6 Creating narratives to explain what happened can be useful for younger children.

7 Let them talk about it, but don’t let it take over, use play to get their minds off it. Do the things that you and your children enjoy – distraction is a wonderful thing!

Photo Credit: Iain McGregor 'The Press'

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Teachers are the unsung heroes of the Christchurch rebuild

5/5/2016

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Some days when I was teaching full-time with my own class it felt like the academic side of schooling was a bonus when the real work lay in the emotional and social well-being of these young humans I was entrusted with for 6 hours a day. I had an inspiring lecturer at Teacher’s College that pressed upon us the importance of making sure we connected with each member of our class, every day. This sounds like a small and easy thing to do but when you multiply those small moments by 30 it requires a committed and conscious effort.

Some days I didn’t want to. Some days I forgot an important piece of work, or missed my bus or had a disagreement with my flatmate, and because this was London in the early 2000s, sometimes I was simply hung over. I do wonder how hard it must be to make these little daily connections in the modern learning environments. To be honest, I wonder how easy it is to even remember 120 children’s names.

An article today on Stuff states that even more teachers are expected to also be social workers. I don’t think this is a new thing. Many teachers are called to their vocation of teaching because they are people that care very deeply about the welfare of children. However, what we are seeing in Christchurch is unexpected behaviour from children, behaviour that looks a lot like anxiety and post-traumatic stress.

The situation in Christchurch is unique for several reasons. Generally, when you are teaching children who are anxious or stressed your own life isn’t reflected in the struggles of the child, however teachers in Christchurch are able to empathise acutely with many of the aspects of living in a post-disaster city that the children are. This adds further weight to the argument that further funding and help is necessary to support our hard working school staff.

Further to this many school staff are also managing mergers, new builds, hugely changed rolls and dramatically different teaching expectations and environments. Yet every day, they return to their classrooms, and make every effort to connect with the children, reinvesting their time, energy, knowledge and hearts. Teachers are the overlooked heroes of the rebuild of Christchurch city, and should be honoured as such.

‘Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops.’
Henry Brooks Adams

_Read the full Stuff article here

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Māia rāua ko te Ngārara Pāwera

3/5/2016

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Hot off the press and fresh off the boat!!

Māia rāua ko te Ngārara Pāwera; the Te reo version of Maia and the Worry Bug. Written by Julie Burgess-Manning, illustrated by Jenny Cooper and translated by Kaharau Keogh.

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The Importance of Evidence Based Research

20/4/2016

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When we first began this project we were unaware of how little research is available for the books and resources used in schools today that support our children with social and emotional intelligence. As the project took shape we became aware of this shortfall and so we were thrilled when Benita Stiles-Smith and her team at Massey University began a rewarding and useful collaboration with us and The Worry Bug project.

Teachers and parents were invited to participate in a 3 part online survey, of which the results are currently being collated. What became clear from the beginning was that the participants completing the surveys had a lot to say, about using the books, but also about what else they had done to protect their own, and their family's mental health in the years since the largest Canterbury earthquakes. The research team told us that the amount of comments participants were making, and the length of them was unusual in this type of research.

Based on this the research team went back to the Ethics Committee, and sought and gained approval to facilitate small group research forums. Participants are invited to attend and discuss how they used The Worry Bug Project resources, but also the other things they tried and used, and in particular the way they have used stories in their parenting and teaching.

To participate please contact Benita Stiles-Smith for more details b.stiles-smith@massey.ac.nz
The groups will take place in May in Christchurch.

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Everything is Going to be Alright at Canterbury Shorts

24/3/2016

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We're so excited to share with you that our 5 minute film 'Everything is Going to be Alright' is going to be shown on the big screen at the outdoor theatre as part of Canterbury Shorts Short Film Festival. Its thrilling to imagine seeing it, and sharing it but for us one of the most exciting parts is being able to watch the beautiful children that shared their wisdom on the film see themselves in such an awesomely positive way.

This autumn bring a blanket, chair or cushion and a friend for the first ever Canterbury Shorts — bringing the best and most upbeat of Canterbury filmmaking to an outdoor cinema in Christchurch. This showcase by emerging and established filmmakers is spirited, uplifting, unexpected and engaging. While the films do turn serious, each will leave you smiling. So prepare to get happy.

Pre-show entertainment begins at 7pm with live music, before the kick-off of short films at 7.30pm.

We’ll provide the food trucks (including the Diversity Food Market) and the free popcorn. So come hungry!

Entry is free but koha will be gratefully accepted and passed on to CHCH SOUP to support individuals with grassroots projects that will benefit our beautiful Christchurch. Donate on the nite or through Eventbrite (link above).

See you there!

RAIN DATE: Sunday, 3 April 2016

Selected films include:

THE ROAD HOME
15 minutes – Indie – 2016
An eighteen-year-old American travels to New Zealand to reconnect with his Kiwi roots and discovers the father he does not remember.
Director: Mikaela Rüegg

LETTER FOR HOPE
18 minutes – Drama – 2013
A pragmatic and awkward old man discovers wisdom and compassion he didn’t know he had and his extraordinary actions bring peace and new purpose to a devastated young woman and himself.
Director: Raquel Roderick

TITINIUM MAN
9 minutes – Documentary – 2015
After an unexpected brain tumour threatened to cut artist Tony Cribb’s (Tim Man) life short, his positive attitude defined his recovery and inspired those around him.
Director: Hamish Manning

TRADING STORIES WITH THE PRINTERS
4 minutes – Vignette – 2015
In the age of digital, a handmade impression is a rarity. Lou and Bud devote their lives to the art and science of traditional printing techniques and technologies.
Director: Simon Waterhouse

THESE WATERS (Special edit)
3 minutes – Vignette – 2015
Exploring one man’s journey to bring wellbeing to young people in Sumner through his passion for surfing and his love of the community.
Director: Jono Smit

Everything Is Going to Be Alright
5 minutes - Vignette - 2016
Children, parents and teachers share how they support good mental health in their families and classes, and the lessons they've taken about managing anxiety through the the last 5 years in Canterbury.
Director: Simon Waterhouse with Kōtuku Creative

With support from Gap Filler.

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Aren't We Supposed To Be Over this By Now?

19/3/2016

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"...begin to have some empathy for yourself. It has been a hard few years. There is much to come to terms with, and perhaps in your role as nurturer, provider, protector, you did not look after yourself much..."

With the latest series of aftershocks have come more anxiety for families and as parents, for our children. I have had many conversations in the last couple of weeks about children back in their parents beds, not wanting to separate at school, about parents not able to leave their children for fear of another shake, sometimes even not wanting to shower or be in the toilet in case it happened. I have talked to strong women about their feelings of broken-ness, of how they have held up their families through all those big quakes, only to feel that they have collapsed with these relatively smaller ones, five years later. I’ve talked to strong men about their feelings of not being able to protect their families. After the 14 Feb shake, only half my child’s class were present at school. Many people feel we are ‘back to square one’.

After any big shock we can expect to feel an acute reaction. You will recognise those feelings of numbness, dislocation, even the feeling of looking in on yourself as life happens around you. I remember the day my father was killed in an accident, driving down the street wondering at how life was continuing - people were going about their everyday affairs, and yet the world had changed so dramatically for me. I felt I would never look at life the same way again. Those are normal feelings after any disaster. They last generally at the most, a few days.

With these latest quakes though have come experiences most of us did not expect. The aftershocks are acting as a trigger back to the trauma experienced with the first shakes. Not just the shakes though. In fact for many people the trauma was not the actual shaking, it was the chaotic and scary aftermath. The sudden lack of normal services such as power and phone meant that people felt alone and unsupported in a world that was unpredictable. Normally we can pick up the phone and access emergency services for physical help, friends or family for emotional support and we can turn on the tap for water. Suddenly, without any warning or preparation, these basic life support needs were not available. And, we were threatened on each of these levels at the same time. People were hurt and dying, we didn’t know where partners or children were and we were unsure whether our homes were safe. Food and water were limited and in some places unavailable. And over the top of all this was the question of how long the quakes would continue and whether help would come. It was like an end of the world movie, but it was happening in our backyard.

The trauma, as you know, continued. People dealt with moving homes, schools, jobs, lives, whilst managing aftershocks, injuries and mental health concerns, as well as the myriad of issues that were present prior to the quakes. Families had to develop a relationship with EQC, with their insurers and to manage property matters which many had never had any knowledge of. In the midst of this came school mergers and closures. The city was dead, people’s neighbourhoods had changed and life was completely on its head.

My apologies for taking you back there. I have gone through this scenario in detail to cement the point that the trauma that you feel when there is an aftershock, is more than a fear of shaking. When you feel those aftershocks, you are being triggered back to all those horribly memorable experiences and fears that you bore during that drawn-out time.

The good news is, that those things are not happening again - your body is reacting as though they are. And, those things that you bore during that time do not happen in a moment, as your reactions do. Our bodies just send us back to those memories and respond as though they are all occurring again right now in this very moment when the shake is occurring. Our frontal lobes shut down reasoning and our brain stem activates to respond to the threat it perceives. Our heart rates rise, our muscles tense, adrenalin courses through our bodies and we feel ready to leap into action. We can rely on our bodies to help, but we can’t rely on our brains to reason well at this time. Overload of adrenalin and cortisol (the stress hormone) is also exhausting.

Once you realise that your brain is reacting to this trigger in this way, you can reflect on whether this is helpful or not. Clearly it is helpful for our brains to activate emergency responses, but it is not helpful to continue to respond in this way when the emergency is over.

One of the main ways to deal with ongoing traumatic responses is to avoid the triggers. Although we can have no impact on aftershocks, we can limit our exposure to disaster media.
Avoid watching or reading articles, videos, press etc about the earthquakes. Limit your discussions about aftershocks, eqc, repairs, begin to discuss hopeful and everyday topics on purpose.

Learn to breathe through the aftershocks, use thought management techniques - recognise the thoughts that you have at the time that are not helpful and begin to counter them as they happen. Acknowledge your feelings and then move on from them. These are all tried and tested techniques that will teach your brain to come out of emergency mode.

Get some help. Just because you have always been a DIYer in these things, doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help. Use good friends or family, therapists, helplines, writing or other forms of artistic expression. Keep these times limited and keep your children out of the conversation or activity. Plan something nice to do straight afterwards so that your mind and feelings can recover.

And finally, begin to have some empathy for yourself. It has been a hard few years. There is much to come to terms with, and perhaps in your role as nurturer, provider, protector, you did not look after yourself much. It was more important to you that you kept your children and loved ones safe and well. You listened and you empathised, but you didn’t do that for yourself. As Kiwis with roots in European and Maori cultures, we often don’t know how to look after ourselves, we are encouraged to look after others first.

Now, your brain is reminding you that you need to “put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.” It is our responsibility to make sure we are fit, well and competent. And what a great role-model for our children.

For more ideas about coping after trauma or disaster from Christchurch families see this 5 minute film; Everything is Going to be Alright or check out the resources at www.theworrybug.co.nz

Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed. . . .
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
(William Henley)

Julie Burgess-Manning PGDip PP, MSc (FamTher), PG CertED, BA Hons (Psych

Julie Burgess-Manning is a Family Therapist and NZ Registered Psychologist currently employed by the University of Otago as a Clinical Lecturer and also working in private practice. She has worked in a variety of child, adolescent and family mental health settings for the past 18 years, with roles such as Senior Clinician, Therapist, Clinical Supervisor and Primary Mental Healthcare Liaison. She is the Chair of the Training Subcommittee of the Family and Systemic Therapies Association of Aotearoa New Zealand, (FSTAANZ) and serves on the Executive Committee of the same and Co-creator at Kōtuku Creative .

Kōtuku Creative thrives on working with other organisations to create and produce story based resources for the mental health and education sector. The resources utilise the Home and School Scaffolding approach, developed by Kōtuku Creative, to build on the established trust-based relationships already existing in children's lives.

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Are bedtime Stories Alive and Well?

8/3/2016

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I was lucky enough to attend a Lis’n Tell workshop last night. Lis’n Tell is a story telling approach designed by British Speech Pathologist, Louise Coigley. Louise developed this interactive storytelling technique to support children and adults with communication and learning difficulties. She spun wonderful yarns and after the initial nervousness of having to join in we were all in fits of laughter, at her, ourselves and each other.

Louise shared some research findings with us to emphasise the importance of storytelling to children. Stories, she reminded us, serve to give children a sense of time, a sense of the rhythm of life, and a view into other people’s worlds and perspectives.

And it got me thinking, I keep reading new research findings and anecdotal observations of teachers and parents that children entering school in the last 5 years in Christchurch have seemingly new struggles with behavioural expectations for school. I wondered, have they simply not heard enough stories? Did we stop reading bedtime stories after the earthquakes? Did bedtime become a time so fraught with anxiety and exhaustion (from both the children and the parents) that we started to do it less often, or maybe we stopped doing it altogether?

Where ever we live in the world, storytelling remains the most heartfelt and important form of communication. All of us tell stories. The story of your day, the story of your life, workplace gossip, the horrors on the news. Our brains are hard-wired to think and express in terms of a beginning, middle and end. It's how we understand the world.

Sharing stories is the oldest form of teaching. It held early human communities together, giving children the answers to the biggest questions of the way the world works. Stories define us, shape us, control us, and make us. Not every human culture in the world is literate, but every single culture uses stories to connect and share.

What are the stories that our children are hearing? Since the earthquake on Valentine’s Day in Christchurch they’ve been hearing some familiar ones, as I’m sure you have too. They’re also bombarded with stories in the media. These stories are most often unpleasant and they rarely have happy endings. Perhaps the anecdote to this is a bedtime story, the few minutes of connection that calms the worried mind in preparation for rest.

Louise will be offering more trainings and story telling in Wellington during March.

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Ready, Set....Rising Tide

Collaboration Opportunity For Canterbury Schools and Families

Rising Tide Review- Mental Health Foundation

Rising Tide and He Tai Pari head off into schools

Dear Scared Mama...

Helping Ourselves by Sharing our Expertise

Supporting the Whole Family Through Shaky Times

How can Therapists use The Worry Bug books; Maia & the Worry Bug, Wishes and Worries and the soon to be launched Rising Tide.

Increasing the Usefulness of Rising Tide

'Rising Tide'-Resilience Resource for Teachers & Parents of yr5-8 Children, Coming Soon!

Child Counselors in Primary Schools; Including the Family

NZ Psychological Society Annual Conference 2016

The Worry Bug Project for Christchurch Children:
The child at the Centre of Recovery.

October 01st, 2016

Is there a mental health crisis in Canterbury?

Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori

BOOK REVIEW: Kiwi's Intrepid Journey by Anna Dalzell

Talking about worry in Under 5's at the Migrant and Refugee Services Parenting Expo

Nearly 10 000 Worry Bug Resources Went into Canterbury ECEs this week

7 Tips for Supporting Anxious Kids in Unusual Circumstances

Teachers are the unsung heroes of the Christchurch rebuild

Māia rāua ko te Ngārara Pāwera

The Importance of Evidence Based Research

Everything is Going to be Alright at Canterbury Shorts

Aren't We Supposed To Be Over this By Now?

Are bedtime Stories Alive and Well?

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The Worry Bug Project for Christchurch Children: The child at the Centre of Recovery.

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The Worry Bug Project for Christchurch Children:
The child at the Centre of Recovery.