'HEROIC' Derry woman helping to improve children's mental health
Student teacher releases books to support wellbeing
A young Derry woman is using her lived experience as a student teacher to help children improve their mental health and wellbeing.
Beth McConomy, who is currently studying in Liverpool, has developed two books based around the ‘Be HEROIC' initiative promoted by the ‘International United Miss’ pageant system, in which she is currently competing.
Speaking to The Derry News, Beth said: “We have a huge focus on mental health; our slogan ‘Be HEROIC’ highlights the importance of Honesty, Empathy, Respect, Optimism, Integrity and Community.
“My goal is to raise awareness about children’s mental health and how we as adults can help the little ones in our community when they are going through a difficult time.
“I think mental health is not talked about enough and there are not enough resources devoted to it. As part of my training, I have been in several schools and I have noticed the lack of resource support these children have - some who are going through extreme difficulties in their family life, maybe, or dealing with their friends.
“So, in the last week, I have released my first book, based on the HEROIC template, for children ‘HEROIC Feelings’. It is a wee book they can read or have read to them about mental health and big feelings. I have also created a ‘Mental Health Journal’, which is geared towards older children, maybe eight to 13-year-olds. I am hoping to support children any way I can and raise awareness about their mental health and wellbeing,” said Beth.
Beth, who is graduating next summer, spoke about some of the children who inspired her to produce the HEROIC resources.
“Children face many challenges these days. I had a wee boy in my class who had been dealing with the foster system. He was struggling with regulating his emotions. If he got really upset, he couldn’t calm himself down, like other people in his class could. If he got angry, he got really angry. He couldn’t calm himself down again,” she said.
“So, what I did for him was to do a lesson in the class about how to regulate emotions and mindfulness and he was able to use some of those techniques to help move forward in self-regulation.
“My book centres on being honest about your emotions so you don’t feel guilt. To complement my books, I have also built my own social media platform called ‘Little Minds Wellness’.
“A child’s mental health is so important and even asking simple questions like, ‘How are you feeling today?’, can help parents to understand how their child is feeling,”