A Leawood hypnotherapist has taken pen to paper in the hopes of helping parents and children overcome mental health struggles together. Above, Sears with his book, "The Magic In Metaphor: Empowering Children Through Healing Stories." Photo credit Lucie Krisman.
Leawood hypnotherapist Harley Sears has taken pen to paper in the hopes of helping children and parents overcome mental health struggles together.
The book is available online, but Sears said it will hit shelves at Target, Walmart and Barnes & Noble in the next few weeks.
Sears’ book contains 25 short children’s stories, followed by a list of tools and key takeaways for children and parents. Photo credit Lucie Krisman.
Sears said the book was born out of client feedback
Sears’ clinic, Hypnotherapy with Harley Sears, has operated inside Suite 200 at 5251 West 116th Place since the end of 2022.
In the last few months, Sears said a common concern on his clients’ minds was the mental health of their children.
Sears said he believes the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated kids’ mental health issues, as anxiety and depression rates have skyrocketed during times of isolation.
“I think just hearing the frustration from my clients and just kind of that helplessness — one, because they can’t help themselves, and two, if the adult feels like their mental health is suffering, how do they help their child?” he said. “It makes sense, because during the pandemic, we had very little connection, and we’re social creatures.”
“The Magic In Metaphor” focuses on moments on growth
The book contains 25 stories centered around pivotal “growth and resilience” lessons for different characters — ranging from puppies overcoming first-day anxiety at Doggie Daycare to caterpillars trying to transform into butterflies.
After each story in the book comes a list of key lessons and suggested activities centered around the lesson, such as role-playing and group discussions.
While the stories are geared toward school-age children, Sears said the book is also for parents and adults who have children in their lives.
“If you look at the stories, they’re pretty short stories, but they’re really also key starters for difficult conversations,” Sears said. “One thing that certainly ties them all together is the (common theme of) the power of connection. A lot of healing can happen around two people sitting together.”
Sears said there’s overlap between the book and his work as a hypnotherapist
Sears’ background in writing began with columns for magazines and psychology journals, but “The Magic In Metaphor” serves as his first book.
But while it’s his first book and his first piece of writing that’s geared toward a younger audience, Sears said his line of work makes the concept of storytelling familiar.
“As a hypnotherapist, I’m a storyteller,” he said. “I use suggestion and metaphor every day in my practice with my adult clients.”
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