SEND Tutoring chats to Hayley Graham author of Shadow Monsters and Courageous Hearts

Today on SEND Tutoring’s Podcast we have Hayley Graham who is a dual-trained adult and child and adolescent psychotherapist working in private practice. She is also the author of Shadow Monsters and Courageous Hearts a book about commonly occurring mental health challenges, including trauma, anxiety/OCD, shame, and loss.

She is currently working on a book for children, parents, educators, and therapists about autism.

She is the founder and director of a mental health charity called BOUNCE! Brighter Futures provides mental health support to CYPs, parents, and educators.

And lastly, she is a late-diagnosed autistic and mother of two neurodivergent sons. Welcome Hayley

The questions that I sent ahead earlier were:

1. Why is it so important to talk to children and young people about their mental health?

2. Why is it important to use emotionally meaningful storytelling, specifically in your book Shadow Monsters and Courageous Hearts?

3. What is your charity ‘BOUNCE? Brighter Futures Foundation

Hayley talked about how we should be able to talk about trauma and have the language to talk about things.

The importance of talking to adults, young people, and children is a simple act that can help solve someone’s life and also solve problems.

The themes in her book Shadow Monsters and Courageous Hearts bring up questions that help open up discussions. There is no such thing as a right or wrong answer, hearing dialogue centered around validation of someone’s feelings lessons feelings around shame and isolation. It’s so important to name something and to normalise our flaws and failures that inevitably happen in everyday life.

Her book is for everyone – I loved Shadow Monsters and Courageous Hearts and I’ve used it to open up discussions with the children I’ve taught, it’s rich in language as well as themes and it’s beautifully illustrated, a must-read.

I skipped ahead to the last question and slightly threw Hayley who wasn’t expecting to answer that.

It was such a pleasure Hayley having you on the podcast, I mean it when I say it was one of my best ones so far. Very natural, filled with laughter and it had a great pace. I hope you can come on again in the future!

CYPs stands for Children and Young People’s Mental Health.

Hayley’s book Shadow Monsters and Courageous Hearts can be found on Amazon.

If you have any questions on the topics discussed in this podcast, or are looking for help finding a specialist one-to-one tutor for your child, book a free consultation with us today, we’ll be happy to help.