Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniele Clarke

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

As a registered psychologist, the founder of Superpower Kids, and the author of the multi-award-winning book Unleash, I’ve dedicated my career to making a positive impact on children’s emotional development. My passion is to equip parents, educators, and mental health professionals with the tools they need to guide children towards a brighter future.

My professional journey began in private practice in Brazil, where I focused on family dynamics and children’s mental health. However, a significant move to Australia in 2005 marked a pivotal point in my career. Working with families in need, I broadened my impact and deepened my understanding of the diverse emotional challenges children face across different cultures.

Witnessing these emotional challenges ignited my passion to create an accessible growth mindset program. Superpower Kids, a platform delivering social-emotional learning resources to thousands of children in Australia and globally, is the tangible result of this passion. It embodies my commitment to enhancing children’s lives through practical, engaging educational materials, instilling hope and inspiration in every child I reach.
As part of my dedication to the global community and my family, I wrote my most recent multi-award-winning book, “Unleash.” This practical journal is designed to help kids overcome anxiety and achieve their dreams.

The inspiration for my work is deeply personal. Seeing my daughter struggle with anxiety, her vibrant potential limited by overwhelming emotions, was a heartbreaking experience. This personal journey, combined with my professional knowledge, led to the creation of ‘Unleash.’ More than just a book, it’s a labour of love, a testament to empathy and connection, empowering children to manage their emotions effectively and fulfil their true potential.

Today, I continue to share my knowledge and experiences through writing and speaking. As a regular online and print media contributor, I strive to raise awareness about children’s emotional well-being. I live in Brisbane, Australia, with my husband and two children. My work, whether through “Unleash” or Superpower Kids, is dedicated to transforming anxiety and other emotional challenges from barriers into hurdles that children can overcome.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

It was not a smooth road—it hardly ever is. Anyone with big aspirations has to navigate their share of bumps and challenges along the way. For me, the bumps started when I decided to move from Brazil to Australia without speaking a word of English. While that may sound like a reckless decision, I saw it as an opportunity I had to seize to build a better life for myself. I knew there would be obstacles, and language was only one of many.

Another significant challenge was that my psychology qualification from Brazil needed to be recognised in Australia. This led me to pursue multiple alternative diploma-level qualifications until I could self-fund the pathway necessary to obtain my psychology registration here. While earning these multiple diplomas felt like a burden at the time, looking back, I see that they made me a better professional and person.

Becoming an Australian citizen was another hurdle that took many years to overcome. But all these external challenges were nothing compared to those in my mind. Self-doubt and low self-worth played a significant role in my journey. I believed I could never succeed because English was not my first language, and people would never trust me because I had a foreign accent. I thought I had to be more qualified than any other professional in my niche to be worthy of teaching anyone anything. These internal struggles were the most significant roadblocks I had to overcome.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?

This is the question that I fear the most; it actually gives me shivers. Every time I’m about to meet someone new, I know this question is going to be one of the first ones to come up. I wish I had an easy answer, such as “I’m a psychologist,” and then people could picture me sitting in an office applying therapeutic strategies with a child. But that would be the wrong picture of what I do, and I couldn’t live with it.

While I sat in an office for quite some time, it was very limiting. There were only so many kids I could help in a day, and while I was sitting in this office, it was time I didn’t spend with my children, which felt unfair to them. That is when Superpower Kids came into play. I wanted to reach as many children as possible while spending enough time with my children as well.

So, I started creating resources, guides, printables, and articles to help parents improve their children’s emotional health. Superpower Kids was created to teach vital life skills to children around the globe. In this process, I realised that anxiety was drastically increasing in school-age children, including my own, and that is how Unleash was born.

It’s fair to say Unleash is my baby and the work I’m most proud of. And it’s not just my opinion—Unleash has received multiple five-star reviews from book critics and several awards in categories such as children’s education, self-help, and activity books.

My diverse background, field experience and life experience set my work apart from others. The resources I create are based on scientific research and have been tested and proven effective in my professional practice and personal life. Unleash, for instance, combines science-based techniques used in clinical psychology that have been tested in therapy scenarios and my own home with my children. Both my children have completed all the activities in Unleash multiple times. The beauty of Unleash is that these strategies are organised in the most effective order, with each chapter building on the previous one.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?

I cannot express enough how important having a mentor is. We don’t have all the answers, and solving all the problems ourselves takes time. Learning from people who have more experience and different points of view is invaluable. Mentors have walked the path before you, so take the information they have to share and adapt it to your path. Every journey is different; we can’t expect to do only what our mentors tell us. Your journey will not be identical to theirs.

Having multiple mentors has been incredibly beneficial. Not all my mentors were great—some were quite disappointing—but my time with them was not a complete waste. It helped me create a clear picture of what I didn’t want to be, which is also valuable for growth. Even from disappointing mentors, we can learn resilience and resourcefulness. Having multiple mentors means you can learn from many different perspectives. Take what is useful and leave behind what is not.

Regarding networking, being open to opportunities and genuinely connecting with people works best. It’s not just about attending industry events and joining professional groups, it’s about actively seeking out opportunities. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people you admire. Building authentic relationships rather than just transactional connections has helped me create a supportive network. Always be willing to offer help and share your knowledge; networking is a two-way street.

Pricing:

• Unleash $39.95 AU

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.superpowerkids.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniele.clarke/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesuperpowerkids
• Twitter: https://x.com/superpower_kids