Page 26 - Kingdom News Special Author's Edition

Shauna Gallagher is a mental health nurse who works as a group facil-
itator, educating her clients on cognitive behavioral therapy. She has
her master’s degree in mental health nursing.

Experiencing the impact of mental illness in her family as a teenager
inspired Shauna to make a difference in the lives of those who suffer
from it directly or indirectly. Shauna’s writings are borne from this de-
sire to help those families and she is passionate about achieving this
through a Bible-based approach.

Shauna has been a Christian for over thirty-five years and has been involved in the life of the church
by leading playgroups and youth groups, worship leading and coordinating women’s ministry teams.

Shauna is married to her high school sweetheart, John, who is a pastor in a Baptist church in Queens-
land, Australia. They have four adult children and are very excited to be beginning
their journey as grandparents. Shauna loves being a mother and understands the
all-encompassing joys and heartaches that are a part of that journey.

Shauna enjoys sewing and dancing, as well as connecting with people through her
many roles as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, mentor, and colleague.

I work in a secular mental health unit as a group facilitator. As a part of this role, I take a relaxation
session each day and I find it very frustrating that I can’t include any Christian content. So, initially, I
had thought about writing some Christian relaxation scripts for adults. Within a couple of months,
my daughter said that she was expecting our first grandchild. I then wondered what resources would
be available if our grandchild had anxiety issues,
like so many children do these days. And that’s
when I decided I needed to write Christian relaxa-
tion exercises suitable for parents to guide their
children through. God works in mysterious ways,
and within a very short time, I had been to a
presentation by an assisting independent publish-
er. I walked out of that presentation just knowing,
without a doubt, that I was going to publish a
book. I didn’t even put ‘pen to paper’ for another 3
months, but in under 10 months from when I first
thought to write this book, my finished book was
sent off to be printed. I give God the praise that all
this came together so quickly – it certainly couldn’t
have happened if I had been the one in charge!

26 Kingdom News Magazine