Amina’s father died suddenly in an accident, and Amina was “the jewel in her father’s crown,” her mother often said. As Amina’s grades slipped and her behavior changed, her school counselor gave her a copy of Ink About It. As they worked through the pages together, it became clear that Amina needed more intervention than a school counselor could offer. Unfortunately, Amina’s cultural background made that possibility a slim one. It wasn’t until Amina’s counselor brought Amina’s completed copy of Ink About It to her mother that Amina got the help she needed to get back to being herself. Amina’s counselor says, “When you know yourself, you’re healthier. And these books help you know yourself.”
After the nation’s deadliest landslide in 2014, the Red Cross installed Megan Lucas as the school counselor at nearby Darrington Elementary. In order to quickly build rapport with a school and community that was reeling, Megan employed Magnificent Marvelous Me with every single kid. Although some kids were experiencing complex trauma or were more personally affected by the landslide, Megan helped create classroom communities and a school environment where sharing emotions was the norm and hard feelings were okay. As school has returned to normal, Megan has continued to use Art with Heart books to help kids continue to work through difficult feelings as they arise.
When three year old Brian shut the door just as his older brother Luke’s head collided with the knob, he didn’t realize what the result would be. Shortly thereafter, Luke was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It wasn’t until after he died, three years later, that Brian told anyone what had caused the tumor. When child life specialist Paige Fennessey met Brian, he wouldn’t use Luke’s name or play any games in Draw It Out with his siblings. When he finally told Paige that he felt guilty about Luke’s death, Paige helped him understand that it was simply a terrible coincidence. She watched Brian relax his body and start to say Luke’s name, and knew that his understanding of his brother’s life and death had been transformed.
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