Denisha Seals, author of Butterflies In Me, is an original children’s picture book written and created for multicultural children who have been diagnosed with mental illness. The children’s book is designed to create open discussion and critical thinking to bring awareness to the mental health challenges minority children face which are often ignored.
What motivated you to write this book?
I was diagnosed with PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety at 23 years old. I was sexually assaulted throughout my childhood from the time I was 5 to 10 years old, and again at 14. When I was diagnosed I had realized that I always struggled with mental health challenges i.e PTSD. I always chose to go to therapy because I didn’t feel “good” which was a side effect of the PTSD and Depression.
Throughout the years of therapy no professional diagnosed me. They knew about my childhood and they didn’t diagnose me. My mental health challenges were obviously causing a lot of issues in my life into my teenage years. I wondered if I had both parents in my life that communicated with the counselors or if I was a different color/race would they have taken the time to diagnose me?
When I came up with the idea to write this book it was to encourage teachers, social workers, and counselors to have a platform to recognize these multicultural children with mental health challenges. The common theme in the book is “You’re special and strong and you did nothing wrong.”
Is there a curriculum possibly created to accompany it?
Yes, I have created a curriculum for the book for the workshops I plan to have with OPS counselors and teachers. Community social workers and counselors.
Where can readers learn more about this project?
Visit Denisha Seal’s project website to learn more.