Welcome to another episode of the Relatable Voice Podcast. We are on the road to Clearwater, Florida to chat with Kelly Caleb. She is the author of the ”Now Cow Helps book series”, centered around a Cow who teaches mindfulness and other positive skills to the other animals she meets.
Kelly Caleb is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Master Certified Addictions Professional (MCAP) in Clearwater, FL. She is also certified as a hypnotherapist and in ART Accelerated Resolution Therapy (for trauma, anxiety, and other issues). She has a history of working in community mental health, adolescent detox and residential services, the public defender’s office, and domestic violence shelters.
When she’s not working, she likes to puzzle her way out of escape rooms, go hiking (with headphones playing BTS as loudly as possible), and read or watch Fantasy fiction, Sci-Fi, or Kdramas. She speaks Spanish (Hola / Hello) and is learning Korean. 안녕하세요 (annyeonghaseyo / Hello!).
Her main hobby, which takes up most of her time, is writing. All of her published writing is therapy focused at present. Her children’s series is written in a Dr. Seuss rhyming style which makes it fun for kids and parents, teachers, or anyone else helping with the reading.
Many mental health issues are due to anxiety which is focusing on projecting current or past fears into the future or depression which is often a focus on the past and associated regrets. Two of her best pieces of advice are, ‘Don’t cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it’ and ‘Stay in the now’ because the future might not occur and the past can’t be changed. Staying in the present moment helps reduce anxiety and regret, and promotes a calm inner peace.
Kelly identifies one of the most common issues for clients is polarization or black and white, all or nothing thinking. This is a common cognitive distortion or thinking error that something is about only having two options or choices. Helping clients find multiple solutions, common ground, and understand others’ perceptions and perspectives is a key part of her counseling approach. In addition, she promotes positive reinforcement. Often people have been waiting so long for another person to make a change that when they finally do, they don’t acknowledge or appreciate it. This simply ensures that the other person won’t bother repeating the chosen / desired behavior again which is self-defeating particularly in parent-child or partner relationships. She also hugely promotes personal responsibility and accountability in one’s words and actions which are the only things any individual really can control.
Her children’s book series “Now Cow Helps” focuses on teaching mindfulness or staying in the now along with other coping skills. Now Cow entertains children (or the inner child no matter the age) while helping with moral decisions, mindfulness, and emotional self control. She has four books published of the projected 10 book series all of which are available on Amazon as well as other select bookstores.
Book 1: Now Cow Helps Drama Llama: A Mindful Tale for Anxiety
Book 2 Now Cow Helps Bad Habit Rabbit: A Mindful Tale for Changing Bad Habits
Book 3 Now Cow Helps Lost My Shoe Caribou: A Mindful Tale for Personal Responsibility
Book 4 Now Cow Helps Fighter Spider: A Mindful Tale for Coping with Anger
Ten percent of profits from the Now Cow Helps book series goes to Operation Jacks Village (operationjacksvillage.org), a non-profit charity to promote child and adolescent mental health and suicide prevention.
Kelly has a YouTube channel Now Cow and Friends where her first book “Now Cow Helps Drama Llama: A Mindful Tale for Coping with Anxiety” is available for viewing. Join the adventure today!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0RZHILk5PJCZ8WYa3Clegg
Instagram #nowcowdramallama
Twitter @nowcowdramalla1
