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Maureen Healy      

2021 Teacher of the Year; Author of "The Emotionally Healthy Child"

Maureen Healy is an award-winning author, sought-after speaker, and expert in the world of children’s emotional health and education (K-8). Tal Ben-Shahar said, “Maureen has provided an important antidote to the difficult times that so many of our kids are going through these days” while describing Healy’s new book: "The Happiness Workbook for Kids" (PESI, 2022). Prior books include: "The Emotionally Healthy Child" (New World Library, 2018) with a preface from the Dalai Lama, and "Growing Happy Kids" (HCI Books, 2012), along with a popular blog on Psychology Today’s website.

Unique to Healy is her global experience working with parents and their children from the rural mountains of Mexico to upper Manhattan. Her work has been seen across all media platforms including The New York Times, Fortune, PBS, Scholastic magazine, and AOL’s streaming services, as well as NBC, ABC, and the CW. Her ability to distill complex ideas into simple, proven strategies to create more harmony and emotional health at home, as well as the classroom has been noticed. The Dalai Lama said, “I hope Healy’s book, "The Emotionally Healthy Child", can contribute to more wholesome education for future generations.”

With two decades of experience, Healy has helped countless parents and children through teaching and school development. She’s taught from kindergarten to the college level, volunteered in Asia and worked with Tibetan refugee children in 2007. Her traditional educational credentials include a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Clark University and a PhD program in Clinical Psychology at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California. Healy has also studied with scholars and scientists globally on the science of childhood happiness, which has bolstered her joy immensely.

Invite Healy to your school, organization, or conference to reinvigorate your community, empower and inspire them to bounce back better with more resilience, clarity, and intelligence, no matter what life presents them with! (Virtual or in-person).

Speech Topics

The Emotionally Healthy Child

Understanding children’s emotional health and how to help children build emotional regulation, and intelligence is the focus of this program. Participants gain a completely fresh perspective, and tools to nurture emotional health in themselves, as well as their students and families.

Audience takeaways: 

  • Clear definition of children’s emotional health.
  • Receive the “7 Essential Lessons” of how emotions work.
  • Science-based strategies that build emotional awareness and self-regulation. Different emotions like anger and sadness are considered, as well as strategies for effectively handling them specifically. Different types of children are discussed, too (the perfectionist, stubborn child, intense and/or creative child, and so forth).
  • Scripts (things to say) that help children slow down, stop, and make better choices.
  • An understanding of the “big picture” of emotional health and resilience development.

Elementary to Middle School with Success

Helping students successfully transition from elementary to middle school takes skill, insight, and savvy SEL strategies. The “mean girl” syndrome, bullying, and peer pressure are real. Being able to connect and center tweens while they have tricky and tough decisions aren’t easy – but with a proven approach, middle school can be a bridge to students’ best selves.

Audience takeaways: 

  • Emotional and social development stages in middle school.
  • Scripts (things to say) when common and tricky middle school scenarios arise (online or in-person). Guiding students to their own “ah-ha” experiences.
  • The role of Identity Formation and what that means today.
  • Skills of resilience, character, and connection are for every tween, but especially the highly sensitive and creative child.
  • Helping tweens make smart choices with their digital footprint is covered (all social media included).

The Resilient Child

Resilience is a skill that children can learn to develop regardless of their circumstances. Being able to understand the science of childhood resilience, as well as the ideas and skills that help students get unstuck from problems and form a resilient mindset, can be game-changing for the home or classroom.

Audience takeaways: 

  • Resilience and emotional health are learnable skills.
  • Understanding the resilience equation (three elements of resilience) can help every child, parent, and teacher build resilience and restore it after it's broken.
  • Framework for incorporating resilience-building ideas and strategies for elementary and middle school. Strategies by grade are shared.
  • A clear understanding of the science of childhood resilience, as well as how to help children bounce back after experiencing a small to epic situation.

Character Education in the Real-World

Preparing students to become successful after school requires that they develop a strong character, build skills of emotional regulation, and make responsible decisions. Learning how to develop a strong character in today’s world is essential education.

Audience Takeaways:

  • Understand how students' character is built for today and the long term, as well as how to repair a damaged reputation (or character).
  • Access a “Character Toolkit” by grade, which provides teachers with ideas and activities to joyfully engage students in making strong character choices. (Searchable by grade and character trait).
  • Walk away with clear ideas on how to strengthen your character, as well as students.
  • Become clear about the connection between character and happier life experiences.

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