2023 Newsmaker: Mental health counselor unlocks a magic secret to help kids with anger management
2023 NEWSMAKERS
STAUNTON — It began with a magic trick.
Staunton mental health counselor Dustin Wright was trying to get through to the boy. Nothing was working and Wright was getting close to giving his parents a referral list.
“I had a young client who was being very oppositional, very defiant,” said Wright. “He was what we call stonewalling me. I had these sponge magic balls. We were sitting here and I was like, ‘Hey, let’s forget about talking. Do you wanna see a magic trick?’”
The boy perked up and told him "yes, I want to see a magic trick." Wright showed him a couple of magic tricks, and from that, he snuck in a conversation.
“That got me thinking,” said Wright. “So I started scouring Pinterest and YouTube looking for different science experiments and magic tricks that I could use as metaphors to explain different psychological principles to teach about coping, or learning more about our body warning signs when we’re feeling different emotions.”
Mostly what Wright found were standard anger management workbooks filled with worksheets. One night he was watching a show that talked about how Stan Lee created his comic characters.
“He always used a mnemonic device like Peter Parker, Silver Surfer, using the same letter. I thought that was really cool, and I think that probably does help it be memorable," Wright said. "So the opposite of temper is happiness, right? Okay, that’s H. I have to develop a character that has an H name. So I came up with Herbert the Happy Hobble, and he is the foundation of the book and the name of my publishing company, Happy Hobble Books."
Hoebble [pronounced hobble] are mythical creatures that have a special power that is similar to the Incredible Hulk premise.
“Whenever they allow their emotions to get to an unhealthy state, they morph into an entity of that emotion,” Wright said.
What began as a magic trick led to creating characters for Wright’s new book, “My Temper Taming Workbook…For Us,” a family-help workbook for young people experiencing anger and the adult who is trying to help.
Each year our newsroom profiles people who may not be heavily in the public eye, but are part of the key pool of citizens moving forward the projects and topics our area cares about. Wright is one of our key 2023 News Leader Newsmakers.
In Wright’s workbook, when Herbert makes the choice to show his anger through yelling or kicking, he’s allowing his "Mad Monster" out. The premise, he said, is to learn that all of us have a mad monster inside of us.
“And that’s okay. To feel anger is okay," he said. "What’s important is how we show and share that anger in a healthy way and learn ways to keep our mad monster at bay.”
Each character represents an emotion, explains Wright. If a young person gets sad and starts moving slowly or self-isolating in their room, they morph into the "Sad Snail" who moves slowly and hides in their shell. If they are anxious, there’s the "Anxious Alligator" character to help them with anxiety.
Wright also created the Happy Hobble video series for both the adult helper and adolescent to help them work through activities in case they get confused or need some extra tips. QR codes provided lead directly to the activity where Wright offers step-by-step instructions.
The book and its supplemental material helps the entire family system. Instead of adult helpers using one book and children using another, the workbook reflects the way families arrive at his practice.
“I've found that when families are coming in there's a divide,” said Wright. “Because the family is in a state of chaos or instability. The adult helpers are feeling some feelings, the young person's feeling some feelings, maybe a sibling is feeling some feelings. So having them go through it together helps them to have these cathartic experiences together, and you learn together and grow together.”
“My Temper Taming Workbook…For Us” has earned the International Impact Book Award and the Gold Award from the Nonfiction Authors Association. A portion of the book's proceeds will go to Mental Health America's affiliate in Augusta County.
In 2018, Wright was awarded Behavioral Health Professional of the Year by the International Crisis Intervention Team for training crisis teams on how to handle mental health emergencies. Wright formerly worked for Valley Community Services Board and teaches graduate students at Mary Baldwin University's Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences. He is a licensed professional counselor, consultant and clinical trainer who sees all ages and families at his practice Wright Psychological Services in Staunton.
To learn more about Wright’s temper taming book and video series on youth anger management or Wright's ABC workbook that teaches handwriting and emotional wellness at the same time, visit https://www.happyhobblebooks.com.
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This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton psychologist helps kids tame their 'mad monsters'
