When adults choose to return to education, it’s rarely a simple academic decision. For many, it’s deeply emotional. It’s about revisiting a place that didn’t feel safe, stepping back into environments that once damaged confidence, or confronting old stories of “not being good enough.” And these stories run deep. Adult learners often carry decades ofContinue reading “Why FlourishEd Approaches Matter for Adults Returning to Learning—Especially After Negative School Experiences”
Tag Archives: mindfulness in childhood
Title: Play as Healing: Harnessing the Prepared Environment to Support Young Children Who Have Experienced Trauma
Introduction In recent years, the field of early childhood education has recognised more fully the prevalence and profound impact of trauma on young children’s development. Children exposed to adverse experiences—such as abuse, neglect, loss, impacts from covid, war or displacement—are at risk of disruptions in regulation, attachment, executive functioning and learning (Maynard 2019). Within thisContinue reading “Title: Play as Healing: Harnessing the Prepared Environment to Support Young Children Who Have Experienced Trauma”
When Life Gets You Down: What it means to be Browned Off, Fed Up, and the Quiet Ripples Through the Family
There comes a point in many people’s lives when they feel emotionally wrung out. Not quite depressed, but certainly not content. A quiet kind of exhaustion seeps in—resentment at daily demands, emotional flatness, the sense of going through the motions. You might mutter, “I’m just browned off,” or “I’m so fed up.” And while theseContinue reading “When Life Gets You Down: What it means to be Browned Off, Fed Up, and the Quiet Ripples Through the Family”
When the Strong Struggle: The Hidden Impact of High-Functioning Depression on Children and Families
High-functioning depression is often silent — but its ripple effects are not. While the person experiencing it may carry on with daily life, fulfilling responsibilities and appearing “together,” the emotional undercurrent can have a profound impact on the people around them, especially children. In therapeutic and educational settings, we often see children struggling with anxiety,Continue reading “When the Strong Struggle: The Hidden Impact of High-Functioning Depression on Children and Families”
High-Functioning Depression: The Invisible Weight So Many Carry
In therapy rooms, classrooms, workplaces, and even among friends, there are countless individuals living with a quiet kind of suffering — high-functioning depression. They are the ones who keep going, who show up, who meet deadlines, care for others, and keep the house in order. On the surface, they seem fine — even successful. ButContinue reading “High-Functioning Depression: The Invisible Weight So Many Carry”
🎵 Music and Emotions: Supporting Preschool Children’s Wellbeing through Sound and Song
In the hum and bustle of early childhood, big emotions often arrive without warning — frustration, joy, fear, sadness, or sheer excitement. For preschool children, who are still developing the language and cognitive tools to express and regulate these feelings, the journey through emotional awareness can be overwhelming. But one powerful, nurturing tool can helpContinue reading “🎵 Music and Emotions: Supporting Preschool Children’s Wellbeing through Sound and Song”
“The Quiet Echoes of Childhood: Understanding and Managing the Long Shadow of Trauma”
I often sit across from adults who are struggling—not just with present stress, but with the lingering echoes of pain that began decades ago. These are echoes from classrooms, hospital corridors, foster homes, playgrounds, and sometimes even battlefields. They come in many forms: the child who lost a parent too soon, the one who feltContinue reading ““The Quiet Echoes of Childhood: Understanding and Managing the Long Shadow of Trauma””
Dr M’s thoughts 