Inventor Stories - Dr. Michael Sheehan When Dr. Michael Sheehan started his private practice in child clinical psychology, he noticed that many of the children he worked with had very low self-esteem, a root cause of their problem. He thought that the best way to reach children was through play, because through play you get children's attention as well as access to their unconscious mind. Dr. Sheehan started looking for a self-esteem game to use in his private practice. Only he found that a game about self-esteem did not exist, so he set out to develop one! For eight years Dr. Sheehan developed the game content by cataloging the most important and common self-esteem issues for children. The goal of the game was to develop self-esteem in as many children as possible therefore making the world a better place one child at a time. By 1983, he had completed the game. The first version of the Self-Esteem game quickly became the best selling game in the Childswork/Childsplay® catalog, a leading educational resource. Over the past two decades the game has enjoyed success with mental health workers, school counselors, and teachers. In 2004, Dr. Sheehan and Patch Products produced an updated version of the game that parents could play with their children. Teachers, counselors and parents have repeatedly told Dr. Sheehan that the game creates conversations that they otherwise were unable to have. It gives children the opportunity to express feelings they otherwise wouldn't share. Dr. Sheehan has been a clinical psychologist in South Bend Indiana for over 30 years and has conducted over 50,000 psychotherapy sessions over the past three decades. He is the president and co-founder of St. Joseph County's Child Advocate In Divorce (CAID) program, and has participated in a myriad of local youth programs such as Youth As Resources and the Youth Development Commission. Dr. Sheehan grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received his Masters degree in psychology from Marquette University. He obtained his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Saint Louis University. To learn more about Dr. Sheehan and Self-Esteem in Children, please contact Barbara Uebelacker.

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