More about Carol

Carol Surya has extensive experience and expertise in dealing with children and their parents, and has always been passionate about enriching the lives of others.

Qualified as a counseling psychologist at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa in 1996, Carol has dedicated her adult life to uplifting children and developing easy-to-use tools so that all adults can make a positive difference in a child’s life.

A selection of her professional accomplishments:

• co-founder and co-director of registered NPO : W.I.S.E (Well-being in Schools and Education) – aimed at bringing well-being into schools and the education system in South Africa and abroad
• writing and publishing her second book, ParentMagic – raising kids positively (2016)
• significantly upgrading her InnerMagic® children’s self-esteem game into a puzzle-game board (with a total of 450 emotional intelligence card questions).
• launching ParentMagic and the InnerMagic®game at the London Mind, Body, Spirit Well being Festival (April 2016)
• being a key speaker at the Mummy & Me Expo in Dubai (May 2016) addressing parents on children’s well-being.
• presenting talks at the National Child and Youth Care Workers’ 19^th and 20^th Biennial Conferences in Johannesburg (2013) and Cape Town (2015)
• approval by the Health Professions Council of South Africa’s (HPCSA) Psychology Board and South African Council of Social Service Professions (SACSSP) of Carol’s CPD points training for professionals : Therapeutic Tools for Working with Children (based on the game and book)
• writing her first book (Great Kids! Strengthening their natural potential (2012)
• becoming an internationally qualified Biodanza and Children’s Biodanza facilitator (2012) – a  unique system of music-movement therapy
• researching, developing, patenting and publishing the first version of the InnerMagic® children’s self esteem game(2005-2012:including while traveling to Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, America, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom)
• being selected to present the one day international Journey™ training (Liberating your child’s shining potential) and Junior Journey (an event for children) throughout South Africa on behalf of the Journey Africa office (2010 and 2011)
• qualifying as an internationally accredited Journey™ practitioner (2006)
• working on board the Transnet Foundation’s Phelophepa Health Care Train as their Psychology Clinic Manager for 2006
• introducing Journey work to rural communities throughout South Africa while working on board the Phelophepa.  (As a result, a full-time Journey practitioner post was created on the train in 2007.  This project went on to become a formal two year pilot study reaching over 53 000 children in two years.)
• working as a volunteer with the December 2004 tsunami survivors disaster by NGO Global Relief SA to Meleuboh, northern Sumatra, Indonesia (as part of a trauma debriefing team), to help children and adult survivors
• presenting a self-empowerment training workshop at the Women’s Centre facility during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development
• compiling various training manuals two as part of the Hands Off Say No to Child Abuse Project and one for the Transnet Foundation’s Phelophepa Health Care train’s Psychology Outreach Clinic, which has been published and distributed throughout schools and social services agencies in rural South Africa (2006).
• successfully running her own training consultancy for nine years (1996 – 2005), designing and implementing programs for parents and professionals in the social services field in Gauteng, SA
• researching and documenting a nationwide children’s HIV/AIDS, trauma and disability study via a research company for Soul City.
• initiating, co-developing and managing a two-year multi-disciplinary child abuse management project (1998-2000) – “Hands Off Say No to Child Abuse”, sponsored by the Johannesburg Community Chest and Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund
• presenting a scientific paper on her thesis  (Child Sexual Abuse : A Phenomenological Exploration) at the South African Psychologists Association’s Annual Conference in Johannesburg (Sept. 1996).
• co-presenting a paper at the 10^th International Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect in Singapore, Malaysia (Sept, 1995);
• writing her Masters thesis on child sexual abuse in South Africa : A phenomenological exploration of child abuse in South Africa (1995)

In addition to these accomplishments, Carol enjoys offering stress-management and self care training for organizations, and fun and inspiring Feel Good Workshops for children.

She offers a variety of presentations and training workshops for the public and professionals around South Africa and also travels abroad to work in groups at schools and organizations.

Contact Carol