Helping children with lockdown emotions

Former psychiatric nurse Avril Annett, from Cookstown, has been co-hosting online events to help families cope with issues during the pandemic.

Ollie is a therapy model that works on the idea that “emotions are superpowers and that there is no such thing as a bad child”. It helps children work through various emotions and concepts and is designed to easily understand. There are online resources on the website, including ways to help children during lockdown at www.ollieandhissuperpowers.com.

Avril said: “This is the time, in the summer months before children go back to school, that we need to shore up their emotional resilience. This has been an anxious time and some children have found it tougher than others. To just put these children back into school in September will prove difficult for many.”

Avril said her knowledge of psychiatric nursing and her experience as mother of a special needs child had attracted her to the Ollie method.

She added:“I qualified as the first Ollie coach in Ireland last year. The Ollie concept grasped me immediately – it has many core beliefs including all behaviour serves a purpose.” The Ollie model can be used with children, young people and adults and Avril is working with clients on Zoom.

Email [email protected] for details.