THA students illustrate books designed to help children better understand and cope with mental health challenges

How do you explain to a child what obsessive-compulsive disorder is? How do you offer encouragement when someone is struggling with an eating disorder or can barely speak because of anxiety? What can you do if you’re plagued by tics or feel a compulsive need to wash your hands constantly? And how can such topics be conveyed through illustrations that children can understand without frightening them? These questions are at the heart of a joint book project by Philipps University of Marburg, THA, and Hogrefe Publishing. Five new books in the “Psychological Children’s Books” series have now been published. They were illustrated by THA students Carla Figge, Phuong Anh Le Thi, Clara Reisewitz, Alex Schön, and Leonie Trierweiler.

The collaboration between the two universities and Hogrefe Publishing has been in place since the 2022–23 winter semester. Since then, 16 children’s books have been published. The scientific content is developed by experts in clinical child and adolescent psychology under the direction of Professor Hanna Christiansen of the University of Marburg. Professor Mike Loos from THA serves as the artistic director for the entire creative process. 

Each book, which is about 80 pages long and fully illustrated in color, begins with a child-friendly story. This is followed by playful exercises and suggestions designed to help children better make sense of their own experiences and develop coping strategies. A concluding informational section is aimed at parents, family members, and professionals. The books can thus also be used in psychotherapeutic work.

When it comes to the illustrations, THA students face the challenge of developing characters and visual worlds that provide children between the ages of six and twelve with age-appropriate access to difficult psychological topics. This involves not only creating visually appealing illustrations but also demonstrating empathy, narrative skill, and the responsibility to portray sensitive content appropriately.

For the students involved, working on the books means more than just a typical semester project. It offers them the opportunity to experience the entire process of creating a professional book publication—and to play an active role in shaping it—while they are still in school. In the process, the students take on not only the illustration of the books, but also the typographic design, layout, and prepress preparation.

It takes two semesters for initial ideas to become a finished book. During this time, the drafts are discussed, rejected, revised, and improved. Coordination with psychology experts at the University of Marburg and the editorial team at Hogrefe Publishing is just as much a part of the creative process as addressing professional quality standards.

The project is set to continue: Five new books on the topics of loneliness, encopresis, enuresis, gender identity, and phobias are already in the works. They are scheduled to be published in the fall of 2027 and presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair.