LSU Health Clinical Rehabilitation and Counseling Colleagues Create Free Resource for Children to Cope with Corona Fears
Leslie Capo, Director of Information Services
Editor's Note: The following information was originally published in two separate press releases.
This represents information from both releases.
A trio of LSU Health New Orleans clinical rehabilitation and counseling colleagues
who are counselors and registered play therapists have developed a creative and innovative
resource for parents and caregivers to help children cope with the stress and anxiety
of the COVID-19 pandemic. And it is helping children not only in New Orleans, but
all over the world while garnering attention and acclaim from far and wide.
Caroline Conquers Her Corona Fears allows kids to discover ways to cope with the many evolving changes through playful,
alleviating techniques,” says Erin Dugan, Ph.D., CRC, NCC, LPC-S, Registered Play
Therapist Supervisor, Professor and Interim Head of the Department of Clinical Rehabilitation
and Counseling at LSU Health New Orleans School of Allied Health Professions.
“When cases began appearing in New Orleans and our university was making plans to
implement remote learning, we knew we needed to create a resource, a bibliotherapy
resource, to help support the children during the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Associate
Professor Krystal Vaughn, Ph.D., CRC, NCC, LPC-S, registered play therapist supervisor.
Bibliotherapy is a technique where therapists use books as a tool to treat mental
or psychological disorders. “It has gained much recognition over the years and especially
helps connect kids to current events, thoughts and feelings,” adds Dr. Dugan.
“We knew it would be important to find ways to connect with our patients as this pandemic
has increased the stress levels and worry levels of not only our clients, but their
family members as well,” notes Assistant Professor Kellie Camelford, Ph.D., LPC-S,
NCC, an assistant professor in the department.
They started brainstorming. What would the children be thinking about? What would
concern them the most? What questions would they have? What information would be the
most helpful? And what was the best format to reach the children?
“Dr. Camelford started doodling and drawing, and that's when we collectively thought
it might be fun to have it as a coloring book since that is a great activity for kids to
utilize as a coping technique,” says Dr. Vaughn.
“Coloring is often a coping technique I share with clients of all ages as a way to
reduce stress or anxiety,” Dr. Camelford says. “There's something freeing for someone
to have only one task to focus on that is mindless and mindful all at the same time.”
Camelford also illustrated the book. “Drawing, doodling, and coloring are techniques
that I use as a personal coping technique and probably why I enjoyed working on this
project so much.”
What began as an idea in a meeting in a conference room quickly began to take shape,
and as much more than a simple coloring book.
“We would pass the book off to one another to make edits and share ideas,” recalls
Vaughn. “It became a passion project that we would work on at night during the first
hectic week of working remotely and training to provide for telehealth services.”
And Caroline Conquers her Corona Fears was born. It is a coping skills book that children can enjoy while learning to navigate
the strange new world of the COVID-19 pandemic. They travel along with Caroline, a
New Orleans girl who is the main character. Her journey takes her through her school
closing, staying at home with her family while her parents work, and she goes to school
on her computer. They see her question why her friends can't come over and why she
can't hug her grandmother. It explains terminology like “social distancing” and “flattening
the curve.”
The book offers numerous coping skills, the development of a coping bag, and a visual
schedule to organize their days.
“What started out as a way to help our clients in our clinic has really taken off
nationally,” Vaughn says.
“Since we posted this booklet on our website, it is accessible to many and we made
it free because we know many are in need of resources,” Dugan says. “We've had extreme
outreach from schools in Oregon to hospitals in Chicago looking to use the book and
thanking us for making the book available so that they can give it to members of their
community,” reports Dugan. Caroline Conquers her Corona Fears is free and available for download at https://alliedhealth.lsuhsc.edu/clinics/docs/CarolineConquersherCoronoaFears31820.pdf.
Louisiana First Lady Donna Edwards chose Caroline Conquers her Corona Fears to read
during her virtual story time.
“We have been surprised at the impact this small project has made throughout the nation
and humbled that we have created a resource that people connect with,” adds Camelford.
“The project was fun for me because it allowed me the opportunity to practice what
I preach. At a time when things were unknown and changes were fast-paced, I could
focus on simplistic images to create and draw.”
Even a psychologist at an Istanbul university wanted to use the book in her practice,
and it was translated into Turkish.
A request also came from the United States Health and Human Services (HHS) Department
working to aid recovery from another devastating disaster -- Hurricane Maria. The
Director of the Human Services Branch Health and Social Services Recovery Support
Function in Puerto Rico wrote, “In our branch, we work to support the local Department
of Education among other local agencies engaged in the recovery efforts, I recently
saw the Caroline Conquers her Corona Fears materials and was impressed by the book. I was wondering, is the book available in
Spanish? I know a resource such as this would be of great help to the local Department
of Education and other local agencies but having it in Spanish would make it truly
accessible to the children of Puerto Rico. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful resource.”
Patricia Molina, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair of Physiology at LSU Health New Orleans
School of Medicine, recruited a cadre of medical students, and Marco Acosta, William
Boles, Margaret Carey, Nicolas Chanes, Michael Dubic, Alexis Hernandez, Jackson Mierl,
Alex Miller, Jimmy Saravia and Jeannette Zavala got to work. They produced Carolina
Conquista Sus Miedos Sobre El Coronavirus, which was sent to Puerto Rico and also
posted here.
Says Dr. Molina, “These are the future bilingual leaders of health care! They are
a good group!”
In the meantime, Drs. Dugan, Camelford and Vaughn have been busy writing a sequel. Caroline Continues to Conquer is now available as another resource for children and families. Caroline and her
family are learning how to keep calm and carry on through a variety of routines and
activities like going on “bear hunts” in their neighborhood, new ways to celebrate
birthdays and “front porch pictures.” Also featured are how to make a “calm down”
glitter bottle, coping wheels, and “stuck” and “flexible thinking” charts.
Caroline Continues to Conquer is free and available for download here. And the HHS recovery team in Puerto Rico has a surprise coming. Dr. Molina just
finished translating it, and Carolina Sigue Conquistando! will be on its way to them soon.