“Bullying, anxiety, anger, lack of self-esteem, depression and despair have become more commonplace among children of all ages,” she says. “Without help, a child’s entire life may be negatively affected.”

Tana has worked as a teacher and senior leader in secondary schools, as a boarding school housemistress, school governor, marketing director and as a creator of life-changing events for young people. She is also a Child, Adolescent and Parent Coach; a Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA) trainer; a Psy-Tap, EFT and NLP Practitioner; and a Reiki Master.

By combining that wealth of experience with compassion, intuition and insight gained from her own mental health issues, Tana has developed ground-breaking programmes and tools for children, parents and educators.

As a coach and therapist, Tana works with young people from the age of four to 24, helping them handle their emotional responses to the myriad issues they face in everyday life: bullying, collapsing family relations, addictions, exam pressure, low self-esteem, self-harm, lack of confidence, parental expectations and the negative impact of technology and social media.

Through her proven techniques, she inspires young people to develop a more positive mental outlook, envision clear plans for the future and gain the resilience to meet challenges head-on.

As a trainer and speaker, Tana works with teachers and parents, helping them understand their impact on children’s mental health. Her PPCE programmes help with Prevention of emotional issues among young people, Parenting, Communication and Empowerment. These four areas of focus are key to the mental wellbeing of children of all ages.

Tana delivers motivational speeches to teenagers, facilitates workshops for children of all ages and for parents and teachers, and teaches online and in-person classes based on her coaching techniques. To support educators, she also develops tailor-made lesson plans that can be incorporated into the school PHSE curriculum.

As an author, she writes books that help children and teens gain an invaluable new perspective on their mental health. Her Monkey Wisdom books and materials, based on a coaching technique she developed for her young clients, give children immediate relief from the negative messages that can make them feel helpless and alone. “Our thoughts can hold us back in misery,” she says, “or push us forward to success and happiness.”

In all her work—especially when she receives heart-wrenching calls from parents who ask, “Can you help my child?”—Tana is guided by one overarching mission:

“We need to tackle the mental health crisis from the grassroots up,” she says, “by enhancing the early life experiences of children everywhere, and by making their emotional and mental wellbeing an absolute priority both at home and in schools.”