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HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOU COULD MAKE THESE MAGICAL CHANGES IN YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING?

"Magical Change is ahead of its time. Positive Psychology is on the rise and it is becoming more visible in the mainstream media. Magical Change is an excellent way to bring these opportunities and this research forward for children too.” So said Annabelle Crosby-Stewart who has recently gained a Master's degree in Psychology. She brings her own experience of using the Magical Change methods in her appraisal of the training below :-

My name is Annabelle Crosby Stewart, and I'm currently training to be a Positive Psychologist. I trained in Magical Change, a number of years ago now. It was pre-COVID. I trained in Magical Change originally because I was a manager at a children's theatre performing arts school and I realized that there were a lot of children that were facing emotional based issues and challenges that just simply didn't get the support they needed, through the performing arts programme. It was not a training that was given to us. We weren't told how to deal with children that were facing specific problems. For example, there were children who found it very difficult to come to class; children with separation anxiety, that were worried about leaving their parents; stage fright issues and anxiety that had to do with performing, and that kind of thing. I realized there was a lot of this going on - in the classroom - and outside of the classroom. And I also recognized a huge increase in Neurodiversity - some of which was diagnosed, some of which was not. Some of these children were on a CAMHS waiting list, and I wanted to better support those children in our environment. That's how I originally started training in Magical Change but it kind of snowballed from there.

I would say the main thing for me, in terms of the importance of the training that was provided, is the mentorship that you have from Trudy. She is an outstanding mentor - and she is almost always available. In fact, she's ALWAYS available to give advice and resources and content and I feel that the Magical Change process and the training is continual. You do the course and you sit down for a couple of days, or a couple of weeks, or whatever, but you always have Trudy's experience and guidance carrying you along. So if you have a child that you're a little bit nervous about approaching, or you have a specific issue with parents - or anything really, Trudy's there to offer advice and guidance. She also has a wealth of experience herself with children that have been through the Magical Change method. She knows what works, she knows what doesn't, and she has a plethora of practitioners that are also trained who feed back their experience. We have a fantastic community Facebook group, in which people share their experiences and their wins and ask questions, and you find the best methods of support together - and Trudy really pioneers that as well. And the course itself is really really very useful. It's really great because, in case you haven't approached somebody in a while, or you haven't been regularly practising the method, Trudy's always there and you always have the materials to refer back to.

The experiences that I have seen in a child or a young person through the Magical Change method I can answer from two different perspectives. This is because not only am I a Magical Change practitioner, but I also was a recipient of the Magical Change method myself. When I was about 18 or 19, I went through the Magical Change process, with Trudy as my practitioner, because I was a very picky eater. I was in a lot of really quite poor eating habits. I was very frightened of food, the textures of food and that kind of thing. Because I had been told that I was a picky eater from a very young age, I just ran with that narrative continuously, and it kind of followed me into adulthood. And I'm not saying I'm a brilliant eater now. I will hold my hands up. I do not have a fantastic diet by any means, but all of my food-associated anxiety is long gone. For some context on how severe my situation was I can tell you that I didn't try a strawberry until I was about 19 years old. And I also would not eat any chicken that wasn't breaded. So anything other than a chicken nugget, I would not eat. And I now have much more confidence surrounding food and I don't have any of those anxieties anymore.

In terms of children that I have seen as a practitioner, I have had absolutely outstanding results. One girl, in particular, I remember. Afterwards, I was receiving comments from her teachers asking what I had possibly done because it was like having a different child in the classroom. This is a child who they could not physically get to go to school - with serious EBSA, and she also could not put socks on because she did not like the sensation of socks on her feet. She is really excelling, academically - and also in everyday life. That was a really rewarding one for me, as now I'm a really close friend of the family - so that one's just been really amazing and has stuck with me for a long time.

I've worked with children with really quite severe sensory processing disorders. I have had children who were performing quite poorly academically. I have had a plethora of things really and I have seen an immense difference. The other thing that I find very useful about the Magical Change method, in my current situation at the moment is that I've also noticed a marked difference when you use only parts of the process with children. So, for example, If you do not have the time, resources, or perhaps the opportunity to see a child on a weekly basis, and cannot do the whole Magical Change method, sometimes little snippets of the method are also rewarding and bring about some sort of success. So, for instance, I, just happened to be a visitor at a rehearsal for a gymnastics competition and I was asked to speak to a child who was exceptionally anxious about doing her routine. We shared a 10 minute conversation and I implemented some of the conversations that we have in the Magical Change method and we got an all-round good result from that. And now she's feeling much more confident in performing and she's got some strategies to manage her emotions - which is kind of invaluable really.

I find that Magical Change is exceptionally different from other mental health providers for children - for a number of reasons. The main one for me, and my area of expertise, is the fact that Magical Change is rooted in Positive Psychology - which is a kind of new wave of psychology, which is moving away from a deficit focus and it's looking towards a strengths focus - and obviously positivity - in the name. The aim is for solutions-focused opportunities for children. So as opposed to labels and diagnosis and a deficit mentality, we're moving more towards empowering individuals to manage their emotions; find their own strengths; overcome their challenges and problems; and develop resilience. And this is why Magical Change is ahead of its time. And I really think there is a place for it in the field. It's a very useful technique in terms of empowering children to find their own solutions - which is not something that I have seen in any other mental health support for children. The other thing is, positive psychology, in general, at the moment, is very adult focused. There's very little research in terms of children, and I really think that Magical Change is the new way to break into Positive Psychology for children. Keep an eye out because Positive Psychology is on the rise and it's becoming more seen in mainstream media, and Magical Change is an excellent way to bring these opportunities and this research forward for children as well.

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT TO SEE IF A MAGICAL CHANGE PRACTITIONER WORKS WITH YOUR CHILD?

“What changes did I see? Well, I'll channel a Trudy and say "It's been magical". Watching her working with my kiddo has been ABSOLUTELY magical.” So said Marcella from California, who came to train in Magical Change in the hope of helping her own autistic son, I worked with her boy myself alongside the training course, so Marcella and other trainees could see the results in real time.

I'm Marcella, and I am the mom of an eight year old child on the autism spectrum. Why did I choose Magical Change? Well, I think when you have a kiddo on the autism spectrum, you're always looking for ways that will help them. And you've got to find ways that will stretch them, but we work with them where they are. And I think Trudy does that really, really well. I trained in Magical Change because of Trudy. She is a teacher, an educator, a business owner, and a mom herself, and more importantly I think, out of the goodness of her heart, she found this process that worked for any kids who take the challenge. And in the autism world that is unheard of - that type of success rate - and so I just had to try it.

The training was exceptional. I think from day one, Trudy really just tried to make it work for everybody, from logistics and trying to work out what time suited everybody best, to the length of the sessions, to providing recordings. And so she just made it very, very, very accommodating, working around us, as opposed to working around her, which you don't always get. The content of the training sessions themselves was very good. It was very informative. She had case studies on different kids, to really go deep into the Magical Change process itself. There were practice sessions available, for those who wanted them, with volunteer young people, so I feel like she really compacted everything into as short a time as possible, with as much information as possible, to really kind of put it into our heads and make sure we got it. And then I think the last thing that she did, which was really helpful, was to have a Facebook group. She not only posted her own successes, but she encouraged others to do the same and to ask their questions as well. She would give her feedback and she'd ask others for their feedback too, which I think just helped the conversation to be continued outside of the sessions themselves. After the training, she'd always post more resources as she found them, so she really just tried to build a community of support for so many of us who were trying to learn the Magical Change process.

The training was exceptional. I think from day one, Trudy really just tried to make it work for everybody, from logistics and trying to work out what time suited everybody best, to the length of the sessions, to providing recordings. And so she just made it very, very, very accommodating, working around us, as opposed to working around her, which you don't always get. The content of the training sessions themselves was very good. It was very informative. She had case studies on different kids, to really go deep into the Magical Change process itself. There were practice sessions available, for those who wanted them, with volunteer young people, so I feel like she really compacted everything into as short a time as possible, with as much information as possible, to really kind of put it into our heads and make sure we got it. And then I think the last thing that she did, which was really helpful, was to have a Facebook group. She not only posted her own successes, but she encouraged others to do the same and to ask their questions as well. She would give her feedback and she'd ask others for their feedback too, which I think just helped the conversation to be continued outside of the sessions themselves. After the training, she'd always post more resources as she found them, so she really just tried to build a community of support for so many of us who were trying to learn the Magical Change process.

Watching Trudy working with my kiddo has been absolutely magical. I think it starts from even just framing how to get him on the screen - because as I mentioned before, he never would talk to any other adult outside of 4 of us, and he wouldn't go on Zoom. And so even the way that Trudy had me frame it for him - that it was a challenge, made it something that he was interested in and he would be willing to go for. And so even her knowledge of how to frame it for him was better than 99% of people out there. I feel that is something that most people don't understand, and most people in the mental health industry for autism don't even understand. So that was huge. And then the progress he's made !! I can take you from what you would have seen in the beginning, as opposed to what he is now. In the first meeting with Trudy, he agreed to meet with her but he wanted to be in his bedroom - which is a safe space. And he wanted to be underneath the sheets and in his bed. And so, he was hiding actually underneath the bedclothes the whole entire time, with the sheets over his head. And he refused to actually come out and even see her on the screen. But when Trudy would ask him a question, I would then repeat her question to him and he would whisper a response to me, and then I would translate it back to Trudy. And so that was the first meeting, where he wouldn't even see her. He wouldn't even talk to her directly and everything had to go via me. But at least that happened. And then 2 or 3 sessions later, he was actually on the screen in front of her - which is huge, and it had never been seen before. So that progress - in just 2 or 3 sessions -was incredible! And then 18 months later, he is directly talking with Trudy. He's dancing; he's joking with her; he high fives with her on the screen; he's half naked. So he is absolutely comfortable with Trudy. And it's so beautiful to see that trust, that he had developed with somebody who he's never met before. And given his past - of not being able to even talk to adults or be on Zoom – it is incredible, incredible change! So that's just from an outside perspective. And then there was what he got from the sessions,. The weekly Trudy check-ins that we had, became a way for him to become comfortable with, and celebrate overcoming challenges. And those kind of challenges could be anything from trying a new food, to working through an emotional challenge, with somebody else in the family, to accepting praise, or to going out to a new place. And each of these for him is monumental. And with Trudy we were tracking it all, and celebrating it all, and writing it all down. And so, he really learned a way to celebrate his challenges - and to get through them, and to be able to talk about them and receive them. Trudy's also been helping us. I think because of how she's worked with us, through this process, she helped us bridge his world, into a larger one. So, as I mentioned before, he'd only talked to 4 adults. Trudy became the 5th adult and now, as he's started working through challenges, being more open to challenges, he talks to at least 15 adults - if not more. He's very open to talk to new adults, and so it's just been a beautiful, beautiful expansion and growth that he has been able to receive through Magical Change.

I think Magical Change is different from other services for supporting the mental health of young people. Where I am, there's no one around us who specifically works on emotional support and mental health for kiddos like mine. And so it's different from other therapies and support systems, in that it's not trying to achieve a particular goal. Rather, it's acknowledging where he is, meeting him where he is in his life, and it's a way where he defines what good progress is. And so it's very much about him learning internally who he is; how he faces challenges; how he overcomes challenges; what tool sets and skills he has, to overcome his own challenges; and so it's really about him learning how to be himself - and more himself – and being more accepting of himself. There's really nothing like it where I am. And it's so much a "meeting him where he is" programme - that's built by him - that again there's really nothing like it. I"m a huge fan.

“They're owning their own problem; and they're solving it themselves and this is huge. I think that just gives them a massive confidence boost and improves their resilience and their ability to deal with things in the future.” So said Helen, a child therapist from the Tees Valley. Helen is qualified in a number of different therapies that she can offer to her clients. Read what she says about her evaluation of Magical Change techniques and the training that she received.

Hi, I'm Helen and I'm a therapist working with children and also with adults. I specialise in anxiety. I first met Trudy, who was the founder of Magical Change, about 7 or 8 years ago. We were doing a training course with NLP4Kids, and during the training she told us about this technique that she developed to help children, mainly with anxiety, but with other issues as well, and told us that she'd had a lot of success with it and it just sounded quite intriguing. So when she approached me a few years later to train in Magical Change, I was very keen to get involved and find out more and to start using it.

I really enjoyed the training for Magical Change. I found that it was very comprehensive. Trudy went through step by step all the different parts of the process, and it was easy to ask questions and to get support when you needed it. There were also handouts and little crib sheets that you could use to help you when you were first using the technique, so that you didn't forget anything. I think the best thing about it was just Trudy's passion for helping children and also the years of experience and knowledge that she's got, that she's happy to share with everyone. It was nice to learn from other people on the course as well, because there were people from all walks of life and just to hear about their experience and their. advice on different things was valuable. The support was great, so afterwards, if you have any questions, then Trudy or other people in the group are happy to help you. So overall, I thought it was a really good training course.

I've been using Magical Change for quite a few years now, so I've worked with lots of children of lots of different ages. Just as one example, I worked with a girl. She was 9, 10 years old, and she had been a confident little girl and then things happened at school. There was a bit of bullying and friendship issues, and she just really lost her confidence and was reluctant to go to social events and just didn't even want to go to school. So we worked together and we used Magical Change and it just made such a huge difference to her confidence. Within a few weeks, she was more or less back to her old self and her mum said to me afterwards, “Thank you for giving me my little girl back!” So that was one success story just as an example.

So one of the changes that I've seen in the children that I've worked with - indeed I think all of them, is that there's been increased confidence. Just the fact that they're using this method; they're owning their own problem; and they're solving it themselves is huge. I think that just gives them a massive confidence boost and improves their resilience and their ability to deal with things in the future. So, it's really setting them up for life with the tools that they need to solve any problems that come along. Other changes that I've seen? …..so …..improvements in sleep, improvements in the ability to control emotions, ability to discuss emotions, reduction in things like meltdowns; some children who haven't wanted to go to school, and we've managed to address that, or where sometimes children don't want to do something new, so that relates quite a lot to confidence. And they're now keen to try lots of new things. So there has been a whole range of changes that I've seen, but I would say mainly increased confidence.

Magical Change is different because it provides a very simple and straightforward framework. And it's very visual. So for the child, it's a great way for them to be able to see exactly where they're heading and how far they've come. Each week they can assess how well they've done and how many stickers they're going to have, and it keeps them engaged throughout the whole process. So, it's not just one week having a session and then the next week another session. They've got something in between, that can motivate them to continue and to really feel like they're making progress. I think the fact that it's visual and it's fun is really important. In the first session - the talk – has a lot of things which are addressed that are really useful for the child. And what the therapist can then do is address those things again and sort of reinforce them throughout the process, in the coming weeks. But the fact that it involves the parents as well, so the parents can see what's happening and what the goals are, I think is also a very important part of it.