The Princess of Wales took time to teach a young girl a new trick as she visited a trauma therapy centre in Bradford.
Catherine met young people at Family Action’s Children’s Trauma Therapy Service on the first of her three engagements in the north of England on Tuesday.
The visit was chosen to highlight “the healing power of creativity, community and nature for individuals who have experienced trauma, isolation and poor mental health.”
Catherine met a young girl who had been making a “box of wishes” with her therapist and the princess showed her how to “listen to the sea” by holding a shell to her ear.
Catherine taught a young girl how to use a seashell to hear the sea in Bradford
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The Princess of Wales said: “Sometimes if you put them to your ear, you can sometimes hear the sea, do you want to see if you can hear the sea?
“Sometimes you can hear the waves. If you listen very quietly.
“That’s what I like doing with shells. If you close your eyes you can sometimes imagine you’re by the beach.”
The young girl replied “yes” when asked if she could hear the waves.
She then went on to show the princess a “potion” she had made that would keep “the bad dreams” away.
Catherine told the girl’s mother: “Lots of people need more of these.”
The princess showed the young girl first hand how to use the shell
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The girl’s mother said her daughter “loved” meeting the princess, saying: “I don’t know how I’m going to get her back after this. She’s very busy-minded, she’s normally covered in slime.”
Describing how the centre had helped her family cope with their trauma, the mother-of-two said: “You always think when something like that happens, don’t mention it to (the children) but they’re supposed to speak, otherwise they just repress it.”
The young girl’s therapist said she had also chosen some feathers to put in her box to keep the girl’s “busy head” calm.
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Catherine is a patron of Family Action, a national charity which helps children aged four to 18 and their families recover from trauma.
They work with families that have experienced adversity, abuse and traumatic bereavement.
The Princess of Wales also met a young boy who uses music as part of his therapy sessions
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The princess also met a 12-year-old boy who described using music during his therapy sessions, and told her how he now plays the drums in a school band because he loves instruments “I can smack”.
The Princess of Wales said: “Exactly, and that’s a fantastic way to express yourself and also manage really difficult and hard feelings that are sometimes harder to express with words.”
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