This Saturday, the ‘Mindfully Me’ series of books by Kiltoom native and children’s therapist, Louise Shanagher and Rose Finnerty, a visual artist from Westmeath, will be launched at the Academy Plaza in Dublin. Louise and Rose make up the creative partnership Lou Lou Rose and their aim is to promote positive mental health and mindfulness among young children and teenagers.
Louise Shanagher is a children’s therapist, mindfulness teacher and psychology lecturer and holds a BA and MSc in Psychology and further qualifications in Psychotherapy and Play Therapy and runs weekly creative mindfulness classes in ‘Sensory Me’ in Roscommon town for both children and adults.
Rose Finnerty studied Visual Communication in Graphic Design in Athlone I.T. and graduated in 2009.
Together, Louise and Rose have produced the series aimed at helping young children to learn more about their mental well-being.
Louise Shanagher says the books promote mindfulness and positive mental health.
“There are three books in the ‘Mindfully Me’ series which is Ireland’s first series promoting positive mental health for children and particularly mindfulness.
“The first book is called ‘It’s Always There’ and that’s introducing mindful breathing. The second one is ‘Where’s Happy?’ and that’s about children accepting themselves for who they are and finding peace and happiness from inside. The third book is called ‘Look Who’s Here’ and that’s about managing difficult emotions while being kind to yourself”.
Louise said that the books were inspired by her own experiences and studies.
“It came from my own experiences really and from working with teenagers and seeing that some of their problems were fairly ingrained and thinking that children should be learning skills to manage their emotions and understand their own mental health and well-being. I didn’t see that being done so I started teaching mindfulness and meditation classes. It was hard to find good books around these issues so I decided to try and write them myself.
“I see the books as a tool really for parents and teachers to approach these topics with children and teenagers.
“For kids themselves, I hope they will be able to use the books to help them be happier and help them deal with issues that happen in their lives.
The books will come with workbook pages which will be available online so that parents and teachers can print off their own lesson plans and guided meditations. A series of videos, which Louise produced with two of her brothers, will also be available.
The books are published by The Lilliput Press and will be available individually and as a set in Newsround and Cormican’s in Roscommon town as well as outlets nationwide following this Saturday’s launch.
