Mirror, Mirror

Child psychologist Sarah Emily Hillyer's art therapy handbook Mirror, Mirror encourages young people to learn more about self, by reading old fairy tales that storytellers have told for hundreds of years.

Fairy tales present themes about resilience, fortitude, grit, determination, and trusting one's own instinct. Listening to the stories allows young readers to reconsider how they think about themselves.

Tales include "Rapunzel" (France), "Twelve Wild Geese" (Ireland), "Vasilisa" (Russia), "The Ugly Duckling" (Denmark), "Sealskin/Soulskin" (Inuit), and "Snow White" (Germany). Each chapter includes a story to be read and listened to, and features drawing activities that allow young readers to reflect deeply on self.

"For a long time, I worked with at-risk young people in alternative school settings, and I noticed the prevalence of their fractured sense of self," says the author. "As a psychologist, I have tried to support their understanding of self through the use of fairy tales to develop healthier ways to relate to themselves and others."

She adds, "This book represents a long journey over many years that began with theories about young women demonstrating depression through externalising behaviours, to work supporting young people with Borderline Personality Disorder and other significant mental health issues that can form from mal-adaptive attachment."

(About the Author)

Sarah Emily Hillyer was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She lived in Canada, the UK, and the Bahamas, before moving to Sydney, Australia, when she was fifteen. She has been a school psychologist, senior school psychologist, principal of a school for children with disabilities, and principal of a primary school, and is now the principal of a school within a major children's hospital.