Maureen Healy

Educator & Best-Selling Author of The Emotionally Healthy Child

Maureen Healy

Educator & Best-Selling Author of The Emotionally Healthy Child

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Biography

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 Maureen’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 Maureen 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 Maureen’s book, The Emotionally Healthy Child, can contribute to more wholesome education for future generations.”

With two decades of experience, Maureen 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. Maureen has also studied with scholars and scientists globally on the science of childhood happiness, which has bolstered her joy immensely.

Invite Maureen 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).

Speaker Videos

Dealing with Anger

The Emotionally Healthy Child

Emotional Development

How to Raise Happier Children

Raising an Emotionally Healthy Children

See Fewer Videos

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 in effectively handling them specifically. Different types of children 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 isn’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, as well as 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 (3 elements of resilience) can help every child, parent, and teacher build resilience, as well as restore it after its 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, 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 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.

Testimonials

"Maureen was knowledgeable and able to connect with our audience. She did a great job with managing the adjustments prior to and during the event in order to make it a success. Would definitely look to schedule her again!"

- Senior Manager, Deloitte

"Maureen was FABULOUS! Our parents really enjoyed her and were very engaged! ….thank you so much for your assistance throughout this process!"

- Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area

"Thank you for presenting. We appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge, experience, and expertise with our extensive network of behavioral health professionals. Participants overwhelmingly reported that your presentation was relevant to their work and that they are likely to implement what they learned during your training. Thanks again for your partnership and your contributions to the field."

- Community Mental Health Board of Oak Park Township

"As part of our on-going efforts to help teens, we brought Maureen in to share about the teenage brain and our educators loved her! She provided real-life strategies and facilitated a meaningful discussion for our organization about how to help our teenagers. We are better for having her come visit."

- Diane Solomon, Baltimore, MD

"We are so happy. I'm getting lots of emails from parents and people in the community that loved your talk! You really did a great job and I'm so glad we brought you to speak at our Early Childhood Education Symposium."

- The Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio

"The event was a success! We had over 400 parents attend, we gave away 300 books and Maureen stayed to sign them. The audience feedback that I received was really positive. Our parents loved her."

- Walnut Valley

"Maureen Healy is an engaging and exceptional speaker. She made us laugh and learn about how to help a child develop self-control, and the ability to make better choices with their emotions. Many of our teachers and parents thanked me profusely afterwards as this is what they needed."

- Dean of Garden Street Academy

"Maureen's talk was very well received. Our parents are required to attend professional development, and even reluctant parents said they got really useful ideas from her talk. Thank you!"

- The Parents Oak Workshop

- Jewish Teen Educators

"I have heard her on the stage and in the classroom. She is an inspiration to listen to."

- Former Director of Gross National Happiness for Bhutan

“Maureen shared her thoughtful perspective and practical tools for parents and kids to use. Through a combination of presenting and answering questions, parents walked away with resources, information and hope! Her style was both respectful and light so that folks felt comfortable asking about sensitive issues their kids were dealing with. I would highly recommend her as a speaker.”

- Kim Crail, Senior Technician

"I was delighted to have Maureen speak at the World Happiness Summit in Miami, Florida, where she delighted the audience of 5,000+ people."

- Luis Gallardo

“This was great. I appreciate you talking to our parents, and helping them raise 'media healthy' children!”

- Parent Enrichment Coordinator, NYC

“Maureen was a hit! She was able to share new ideas and strategies with our parents, which really helped them. They asked a variety of questions and got immediate answers.”

- Principal, Elementary School in Atlanta

“We are still getting positive feedback about Maureen's keynote, and teachers using the tools she taught. It was truly life-changing to have her come visit our school system.”

- Superintendent, Mexico