Thank you for your interest! My name is Michelle Surtees. I created Tough Cookie Communications in order to share effective and practical relational tools for connection based interventions with children. I am a two-time best selling author with a passion for empathy, writing, and baking cookies.
As the creator of the Courage to Communicate Model, a practical guide for talking with children about life’s biggest changes, like death, divorce, diagnosis, disaster and departure, I believe that courageous communication is for everyone. I continue to create models that help adults and children use empathy as an effective and efficient intervention for dysregulation.
With a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and a bachelor’s degree in Child and Youth Care from Vancouver Island University, I have the academic background to support my work. I also have 20 years of professional experience working with children and families in complex situations.
I write from my home on Vancouver Island, BC, where I live with my husband and three children.
