🌈 Measuring Magic: The Rocky Books Efficacy Study
by Sheena Vassiliades
Sheena Vassiliades
Co-founder and Director of Psychology at Rocky Books
Sheena has experience as a Trauma Informed Therapist, Functional Family Therapist, Criminal Justice Recovery Practitioner, Substance Misuse Specialist, Youth and Gangs Worker, Restorative Justice Officer and Sexual Health Advisor.
She is extremely passionate about supporting individuals/families that have come to face various difficulties whilst trying to live, including (but not limited to) drug dependency, domestic violence, mental health challenges, gang affiliation, violent sexual behaviour, breakdown of interfamilial relationships,trauma and death.
At Rocky Books, we’ve always believed stories can heal, teach, and connect. But now, we’re putting that magic to the test! ✨
Our new Rocky Books Efficacy Study is a fun and simple way to understand how our books really help children overcome and grow after experiencing difficulties — emotionally, socially, and mentally. Using a colourful smiley-face scale for younger ones and numbers for the rest, children and practitioners record how they feel before, during, and after using Rocky Books as part of their learning or therapy.
🧠Why This Matters
This isn’t about numbers for the sake of it — it’s about listening to children’s voices and making a difference.
By tracking changes in how children express feelings, solve problems, and ask for help, we get to see real progress that goes beyond reading comprehension. We get to see hearts and minds expanding and building strength.
Understanding what works helps us to:
💬 Refine our stories and activities
💚 Create even more emotionally intelligent content
📈 Support schools and therapists in choosing resources that make a long term measurable impact
Students at GGES Jalyari Bhi Khan School in Pakistan
Our Efficacy Study will look at how the students are impacted by using Rocky Books as a social-emotional resource.
🧩 The Psychology Behind It (Made Simple!)
The scale we use draws on ideas from emotional literacy, self-regulation, and social learning. In child psychology, these are the foundations of wellbeing — being able to notice feelings, calm down, understand others, and reach out for support. Each question in our scale gently measures one of these skills, so we can see how children develop confidence and resilience over time with the help of Rocky Books to achieve this.
🌟 What’s Next
The data and feedback we gather from children, teachers and mental health professionals will directly shape the next installation of Rocky Books. Their experiences will inspire how we write, illustrate, and design — making sure every book is not just read, but felt, while we continue to #centrethechildren💛