'When I am ready, I need you to talk to me and help me understand my feelings...' This reassuring story helps children aged 5+ with attachment issues to understand their feelings, open up to a caring adult and learn how to choose positive behaviours. Ben is made up of lots of different "parts" - to name a few, his happy, caring, angry, excited, hugging and yelling parts. Ben reassures children that all these parts are okay, and that a caring adult can help you to understand and manage them more easily. Also included are activities to help children talk about their feelings, and a simple introduction to attachment theory for adults. About the Authors: Dorothy Markham is a manager, social worker, counsellor and agency decision maker, with considerable experience in setting up and managing an individual counselling service, and a wide range of social work services for children, families and the elderly. In 2002, she set up Cairn Mhor Childcare Partnership, a therapeutic residential childcare organisation, which has four homes in central Fife, UK. She followed this up in 2004 by setting up the Muirhead Outreach Project, which endeavours to work with young people and their families to prevent the young people being taken into care. Dorothy was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2017 Queens Birthday Honours List for services to children, young people and their families in Fife. Aileen O'Donnell is a registered nurse. She has worked in a variety of services and settings throughout her career, and was involved in the development of a national project promoting healthy living for deaf-blind people in Scotland, UK. Aileen currently works in a school, and uses her gift as an artist to engage with children, through stories and a range of therapeutic interventions. |