Emotional Wellbeing

Gillian Shotton is an Educational Psychologist and writer with a passion for supporting the emotional wellbeing of children. In the 2000s, she worked with Sheila Burton to create the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme. In addition to her work on ELSA, Gillian has authored several influential texts aimed at assisting those working with emotionally vulnerable children. She is the author of A Session-by-Session Guide to Life Story Work and The Feelings Diary, both of which provide practical guidance for supporting children emotionally. Her writing offers valuable strategies for helping children process their experiences and build resilience. She is currently working with bMindful Psychology, supporting both schools and children’s homes to enhance the emotional wellbeing of the young people in their care. Beyond her professional achievements, Gillian is passionate about enjoying nature and mindfulness to enhance wellbeing.Sheila Burton is the founder of the ELSA initiative and worked as an Area Principal Educational Psychologist in Hampshire prior to retirement. Her special interest as an educational psychologist has always been emotional wellbeing, and during her career she has had experience of running many therapeutic groups for children and young people. Sheila is the author of the ELSA Trainers’ Manual and Excellent ELSAs. She set up the ELSA Network to support ELSAs and the educational psychologists who train them, remaining actively involved as its Chair. In her retirement she continues to provide ELSA training and supervision for an educational psychology service in her locality. Sheila is also Chair of Trustees for an educational charity in Uganda. Her other main interests are sailing and enjoying time with her husband, children and their seven grandchildren.

• CONTENTS1. Introduction 1ELSA 4Psychological theory 5Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 5Emotional literacy 8Research around ELSA 10Building relationships and modelling appropriate skills 12About this third edition 142. Keys to good communication 21Introduction 23Connecting with children and young people who have experienced trauma 26Elements of communication 28Non-verbal communication 28Some useful verbal strategies 28Use of pauses and silence 29Barriers to communication 30Working with parents and carers 31Let’s get practical 32Case studies 343. Recognising and managing feelings 37Introduction 39The impact of feelings 40Brain physiology 42Let’s get practical 45Ideas for helping children become more aware of their brain physiology 45Activities for developing emotional awareness 47Case studies 50Working with parents and carers 524. Self-esteem 55Introduction 571. Security (trusting, warm relationships) 582. Selfhood 603. Affiliation/belonging 624. Mission/motivation 635. Competence 66Case study 70Working with parents and carers 725. Working with angry feelings 77Introduction 79Understanding and managing anger 80The assault cycle 81Normalising anger 83The firework model 84The trigger 84The fuse 85Physiological changes 85Calming strategies 87Expressing angry feelings effectively 89Working with puppets 90Working with parents and carers 946. Anxiety 97Introduction 99Common triggers 101Identifying children and young people who may be experiencing anxiety 102Let’s get practical 105Case studies 115Working with parents and carers 1187. Friendship skills 121Introduction 123Let’s get practical 125Setting up a friendship group and clarifying the aims of the group 125Selecting pupils 127The group meetings 127Content of the sessions 128Tricky behaviour 130Case studies 133Working with parents and carers 1358. Therapeutic stories 139Introduction 141Denial 143Stages of change 144Case study 145Hearing about new strategies 148A consistent approach 149Let’s get practical – writing a therapeutic story 150Case study 151The use of ready-made stories 155Case studies 156Working with parents and carers 1589. Social skills and writing social stories 161Introduction 163The nature of communication 165Basic social communication skills 166A staged approach to teaching social skills 167Let’s get practical 168Eye contact 168Facial expression 169Gesture 169Posture 170Proximity 170Touch 171Social skills groups 173Lego® therapy 174Child-friendly principles of attunement 175Social stories 176Case study 179Working with parents and carers 18010. Supporting children through loss and bereavement 183Introduction 185The process of grieving 188Developmental responses to death 190Death of a close relative 192Case studies 194Death in a school (and case study) 196Complex grief 198Family break-up 199Let’s get practical 202Case study (family break-up) 204Looking after yourself 205Working with parents and carers 20611. Resilience 209Introduction 211Factors underlying resilience 212Risk factors 214External protective factors 215Internal protective factors 217Let’s get practical 219Case study 223Working with parents and carers 22412. Supporting children who have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences (ACE) 227Introduction 229Understanding trauma 230Types of adverse childhood experiences 230The impact of trauma on development 231Let’s get practical 233Trauma-informed care 233Developing a positive relationship 233The tree of life 234Teach emotional literacy / self-regulation skills 236Professional development for staff 239Case study 240Working with parents and carers 242Appendix 1: Target-setting in intervention programmes 245Appendix 2: A therapeutic story created by an ELSA within a friendship skills group 249