Rainbow Brain: Mindset Matters

Rainbow Brain: Mindset Matters takes today’s youth and young adults on a whimsical journey to unlock the ultimate superpower – a growth mindset. With 42-pages of illustrations and text art, while still being an under 10 minute read, Rainbow Brain: Mindset Matters is a versatile tool for any classroom or private practice. The message fosters resilience, coping skills, and self-love. The outcome? Youth and teenagers who are healthier, happier, and action oriented to maximize their social-emotional wellbeing. Developmentally appropriate, with adult support, for upper elementary, yet complex enough for tweens and teens to enjoy, this book is the perfect compliment to every family, school, and counselor’s library. Written by a master’s level social worker and certified K-12 school counselor with 10-years experience in both community-based mental health and public education, Rainbow Brain: Mindset Matters offers a versatile road map for readers to reach their limitless potential. Rainbow Brain takes an often hard topic and makes it easy to explore. Words matter, therefore Rainbow Brain: Mindset Matters ensures every reader receives the message of unconditional positive regard as they pursue their dreams. What youth are saying: “ The book feels like a hug from my counselor, but I can reach for it anytime I need it, like the night before a test or after fights with friends. ” -15 yr old, female, overcoming depression; reads one on one with a school counselor or at home “ I like that it’s short so it reads like a Tik-Tok or Instagram account instead of the mental health workbook. The fact I can read it on my phone means no one is going to ask me about it. ” -18 yr old, male, struggling with adverse coping; reads independently “ The book makes me happy and less scared about bad things happening. ” -10 yr old, male, overcoming anxiety brought on by COVID; reads in a classroom setting with a group Counselors, teachers, and social workers can will find the following themes illustrated in the books pages: Growth Mindset vs. Fixed/Stuck Mindset: Asking “how?”, avoiding “I can’t”. Solution focused thinking – add “yet”, I-can statements, thought replacement, ditching perfectionism, progress over perfection, identifying and replacing cognitive distortions such as ‘always’ and ‘never’. Stress Management: Meditation, grounding techniques, deep breathing, 5 4 3 2 1, anxiety reduction techniques, affirmation statements in the mirror, supporting common mental health needs like anxiety, depression, ADHD/ADD, neurodivergent tendencies, trauma impact on the brain. Addressing learned helplessness through the Five Stages of Change Psychoeducation & cognitive behavioral techniques (CBT), connection between thought-feeling-behavior, goal setting and navigating setbacks, self-reflection, reducing shame through self compassion, learning from failure, reducing shame. Suicide prevention: evidenced based techniques including the use of a ‘safety line’ in safety-planning, the role of hope in emotional stability, outcomes of unlimited positive regard from a care team, learning to sit with discomfort, emotional grounding to manage over active fight or flight response, in the moment emotional dysregulation and reducing catastrophic thinking, normalizing strong feelings, practicing asking for help, unlearning and replacing unhelpful coping skills. Trauma-informed approach to build Resilience: Illustrating concepts such as neuroplasticity, importance of celebrating wins, fostering self-awareness, circle of control, normalizing, you don’t know what you don’t know, validation, decreasing self-criticism & building self-worth through small wins over time, relationships, boundaries, establishing emotional safety. —- ISBN: 9781737488910 | ISBN10: 1737488914 | ISBN-13: 978-1737488910