Black Isle occupational therapist publishes second children’s book to help youngsters manage "difficult emotions"
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A new picture book aims to help change children's lives for the better.
Mother-of-two Den Keanie, who is a qualified occupational therapist, works for NHS Highland helping patients with mental health issues.
Her first two books are part of a series of six – The Resilient Ratties Series – and feature rat characters which are aimed at youngsters aged between four and eight.
Mrs Keanie has incorporated Decider skills, which help people cope with the challenges life throws at them, into her fun stories.
She said: “My hope for the series is to use the books to help get these skills to primary school pupils. I have worked in mental health for over 12 years and have met many adults who now have difficulties with their mental health due to not being taught these coping skills earlier in their lives.
“My hope is that these books normalise the need to learn skills for helping to understand and manage difficult emotions starting in the early years so that they just become a way of life – not separating out children who are described as ‘more vulnerable’ or ‘disadvantaged’ – these skills are useful for anyone and all ages.
“I have seen the evidence that they can help to change the lives of people for the better, boosting resilience and increasing people’s abilities to cope with adversity. Wouldn’t it be amazing if kids could automatically put these skills into action without having to think about it – just like riding a bike?”
In 2019, she entered a become-an-author competition, which she won and resulted in her first book, STOP Max!, which was published in March last year, just before the first lockdown. It has since received
support from parents, teachers, caregivers and mental health professionals and a Go Fund Me campaign helped to pay for the publication of her second book, GO Lucy Go!, in December.
Mrs Keanie said: “I had hoped to visit schools and community groups to reach out to children by sharing my stories and engaging them with new skills, but Covid-19 put a stop to that last year. I have had to rely on word of mouth and social media to help promote the books.”
For more, visit www.resilientrattiesbooks.com
