If you are interested in or have a part in promoting mental health with youth and adults, you will want to look at my friend Chrissy’s new book, I Am Safe: Trauma-Responsive Practices in Crisis Mental Health. Chrissy Mignogna is the Lead Trainer and Director of Education at movemindfully®, an organization in St. Paul, MN, that fosters physical, emotional, and mental health for youth, adults, and families by using simple and accessible trauma-responsive mind body practices. They offer these strategies in schools, hospitals, and in other crises mental health settings.

Who doesn’t want to feel safe, seen, respected, acknowledged, and validated? While reading I Am Safe, I was reminded that we all want the same things, and yet, too often people in mental health crises get seen as “other” or as their diagnoses instead of another human being needing love. Through her superb storytelling skill, Chrissy gives you a glimpse into the transformational trauma-responsive approaches that can help you support someone with mental health challenges.

She teaches you how to reconnect with your own heart so that you can connect with the heart of all the people you serve. The scientifically proven mind-body strategies she offers will help you take care of yourself during times of crises (or just amid your everyday stress) and prepare you to be a skilled practitioner with lots of easy-to-use tools when working with those in need.

I have the utmost respect and admiration for Chrissy, the work that she does, and the book that she is offering to the world of mental health which so badly needs it. I Am Safe is written as a guide for creating your own toolkit of scientifically proven mind-body strategies for use in mental health and educational settings to affect positive change.

In her own blog, she said, “I wrote I Am Safe because sharing mind-body strategies in hospitals, juvenile services, and special education districts for over a decade has been so impactful, personally and professionally. I know first-hand that sharing mind-body practices can be challenging. The trauma-responsive teaching tips in I Am Safe are based on real experiences to help bridge the gap between understanding the importance of mind-body skills and being able to share them in a practical, accessible, and inclusive way.”

Through compelling stories, practice, and reflection, you will learn seven science-backed trauma-responsive teaching tips:

Tip #1: Seeing and Accepting Participants Just as They Are
Tip #2: Being Our Own Best Teachers
Tip #3: The Importance of Connection
Tip #4: Alternative/Introductory Mindfulness Strategies (AIMS)
Tip #5: Messages for Trauma Healing
Tip #6: Predictability Creates Safety
Tip #7: Strengthening the Mind-Body Connection Through Reflection

Here is your sneak peek into Tip 1: Seeing and Accepting Participants Just as They Are, that illustrates how you might skillfully welcome (and affirm!) even the most reluctant participants:

“A young boy, Carter, was really struggling and expressing a lot of frustration about not getting to play video games. Carter was the only participant in our session that day, and he really did not want to be in our group. I pulled out my Inner Resources (both literally and figuratively!) and started arranging cards on the floor. I explained that I was organizing them for the next group and wondered if he might want to pick one to look at. He immediately said, “NO!” to which I replied, “Oh, here you go,” handing him the NO! Card. He then said, “No! I don’t want one!” I replied, “But you are using this one right now! See, you are using NO! It says [reading the front of the card], ‘Stop! No more! Not now!’ That’s such an important skill to be able to be clear about what you want and need right now.” This simple affirmation of Carter’s ability to communicate his wants and needs to me completely shifted our dynamic. He slowly started to look at the other cards, and we tried some different activities together.”

To order your copy of I Am Safe: Trauma-Responsive Practices in Crisis Mental Health, visit their website. If you are interested in more information about their new training offering based on this book, please contact them at info@move-mindfully.com. Check out their other resources while you’re there. They are doing amazing things!!