TPP 392: Cara Bean on Comics and Mental Health for Kids
episode
Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
37 min
1 speaker
8 chapters
transcribed 15 hours ago
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Why is it important for anyone to talk about mental health, not just professionals?
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Maybe it's Maybelline. You don't have to be a mental health professional to have mental health conversations. And any one of us could be the person that someone turns to, just like I was as the art teacher, and I could be the coach, you could just be the aunt or uncle, you could be the parent, you could be anybody. And are you ready for that? Do you feel prepared to guide someone in the right direction?
I'm Debbie Rieber, and welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. As my guest said in the episode you're about to listen to, you don't have to be a mental health professional to have mental health conversations. In fact, I would say that talking about difficult mental health topics outside medical settings is not just helpful, it's necessary in that it both normalizes Mental health challenges and reduces the stigma that's often associated with such struggles. Author and illustrator Kara Bean also knows this to be true and is committed to exploring these topics through her art, specifically comics.
Kara sees comics as a powerful tool both for teens to learn about mental health and for parents to lean on for important conversations about complex topics. That's exactly why she wrote her new book. Here I am, I am me, an illustrated guide to mental health. Every chapter in this therapist recommended book explores a different aspect of mental health, from the brain and the mind to feelings and emotions. And by portraying complex neuroscience concepts with this cast of illustrated characters, Cara offers this really accessible, approachable understanding of what's going on in the brain that truly empowers readers. I really love Kara's book, and so I wanted to have her on the show to talk about her process for writing it and how we can use it to support kids going through hard stuff.
So in this conversation, Cara explains the way she visualized thoughts and feelings, why she felt so strongly about including detailed brain science in her book, and the power of metaphors to explain the impacts and struggles of things like addiction, depression, and Anxiety and suicidality, making these heavy topics more relatable and easier to understand. Carib provides interactive workshops on creativity with people of all ages and backgrounds in various public forums. And when she's not teaching, she makes comics that delve into poetic self introspection, playful storytelling, and topics relevant to teens and teaching. So now without further ado, here is my comic. Conversation with Cara. Hey Kara, welcome to the podcast.
Hi Debbie. Thank you so much for having me. Pleasure to be here.
Yeah, I'm excited to talk about your book and your work. And I've already read your formal bio, but I always like to hear from my guests in their own words to learn a little bit more about what you do in the world. And I always love to know people's personal why for their work.
Yes, I was a high school art teacher for about 13 years in Lexington, Massachusetts. And I ran a classroom and I drew with students every day. Not very long into my career, I realized that mental health was a huge part of teaching at a high school and would come up in the art classroom. quite often and you're always encouraged as a teacher to pursue professional development and I didn't want to learn anything more about art. I felt okay with my own knowledge base on that, but what I didn't know enough about was anything to do with mental health. And I found that especially maybe my more shy or artistic students, the creative kids would kind of choose me as their safe person to talk to.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is it important for anyone to talk about mental health, not just professionals?
0:00–5:47
2
How did Cara Bean’s background as an art teacher lead to creating a mental‑health comic book?
5:47–10:27
3
Why did Cara decide to include detailed brain science in *Here I Am, I Am Me*?
10:27–15:13
4
How do visual thought‑bubbles and character metaphors make emotions easier for kids to understand?
15:13–19:04
5
What personal stories does Cara use to build credibility and connection in her book?
19:04–24:46
6
How does the addiction chapter use an amusement‑park metaphor to explain substance use?
24:46–29:22
7
In what ways does the depression‑and‑suicide section use landscape imagery to help readers process heavy topics?
29:22–33:17
8
What does Cara hope readers—kids, parents, and educators—will do after reading the book?
33:17–37:14
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children
TPP 266a: A Conversation with Poet and Advocate LeDerick Horne
TPP 522: A Whole Child Approach to ADHD with Phil Boucher, M.D.
TPP 091a: A Conversation With Steve Silberman About His Book “Neurotribes”
TPP 521: A Conversation with Dr. Peter Gray About Restoring Childhood
TPP 253a: Advocate and Author Jonathan Mooney on Why Normal Sucks
TPP 520: Dr. Özgür Bolat on Why Rewards Backfire and the Real Science of Motivating Kids