Your Cart

Hi, I'm Deborah

Welcome to EQuipped where you can access Emotional Intelligence development skills, support and advice to help you raise (and teach) children to feel safe being themselves, and live happier and healthier lives.

Easy Affordable Access to Advice and Support

What's Included?

Knowledge

  • Accredited EQ Training
  • Emotional Intelligence in a Nutshell for parents and teachers e-book
  • Certificate
  • Accreditation (optional)



Tools, Tips & Resources

  • Fun activities
  • Practical tools to boost confidence and relieve anxiety
  • Lesson Plans
  • Flashcards
  • Videobooks
  • Posters

Support & Ongoing Training

  • Unlimited Support in the Community Group
  • Weekly Q & A's
  • Ongoing training plus guest expert interviews


Expert Mentorship

EQuipped Parents

Being a calm, empowered parent is less daunting when you have the answers to your questions. To have a place to go to get the solutions, support and advice you need to help your child to deal with anxiety, and all their other big, and small, emotions.


Become a Member of our Caring Community

EQuipped Tutors

Being able to EQuip children aged 4 - 10 with this done-for-you Emotional Intelligence Life Skills curriculum is fun, interactive and highly effective. It helps them to understand their emotions and shift their negative thoughts. To be confident and resilient so they can deal with whatever comes their way.

New Fun Materials Every Month for Parents and Educators

No Waiting in Line, No Need to Make an Appointment

Deborah McPhilemy

I'm on a mission to make Emotional Intelligence development skills accessible and affordable to all children, so they can grow up feeling safe being themselves, and live happier and healthier lives.


To spread the word that anxiety, bullying, uncomfortable emotions and negative thoughts, can be alleviated.


I'm passionate about helping parents and educators with the skills and knowledge that will help them, and their children, to thrive, love their lives and have more fun.


Humanitarian, Award-winning Author, Counsellor, Coach, Mentor and Emotional Intelligence (EQ) Master Trainer. Creator of The Bears of Blueberry Forest EQ Teaching Bears and founder of the EQ for All / BEarKind Foundation.


I'm also a mom of two, step-mum of two and grammy of 5.

Feedback from Parents

My 7-year old started acting up really badly after my husband left us. She turned into such an angry child, she started swearing at me and hitting me. This program and Deborah helped me to understand that my daughter was grieving the loss of her family as she knew it, and that she felt completely out of control. I learnt how to deal with my own grief and feelings of being abandoned. She helped me to change my negative thoughts, to love myself and how to help my daughter to deal with her grief and anger. We are not completely out of the woods yet, but we are well on our way. Having Deb so close by to help with tips and advice, I feel less alone and more in control.

— Lesley

I started this program as I was really worried about my 13 and 15 year old sons. They had recently joined a gang and it terrified me. They wouldn't tell me why and I didn't know what to do about it. I had sleepless nights and felt anxious all the time. The course really helped me to understand why people do the things they do. What was most valuable to me, was the guidance I got from Deborah. She helped me to connect with my boys and I learnt from them that they felt out of control, that they were so scared of some boys in the neighborhood that they felt the only way they could be safe was to join a gang. I learnt how to help them to feel safe and in control. They left that gang and, they cleaned and organized their rooms. Thank you Deborah, I will be forever grateful to you!

— Amanda

After my partner of 15 years unexpectedly left me and took our two children with her, I felt depressed and disconnected. My children were also struggling, my son went through bouts of anger and sadness, my daughter became depressed. I felt so hopeless and at times I wanted to end it all, my life never felt worth living if I couldn't be with my family. I knew of Deb's and her work but I felt ashamed and embarrassed to ask for help, but I eventually did. I'm so glad I did as I learnt to love myself, to deal with my grief and to reconnect with my family. Thank you Debs! You helped me to turn my life around.

— Mark

I have identical twin girls aged 10 and was at the end of my rope when I joined this program. I didn't understand them, they were moody, they wouldn't listen to me and at times I felt ganged up by them. When I started the course, I soon saw that there was another way to be with my girls. I realized that I didn't understand myself, so how could I understand them. Deborah also helped me to understand that I needed to treat my girls as individuals and not as 'a unit'. I loved the course so much, everything I learnt I taught them and we got to know each other together. We had so much fun. And, whenever we got stuck, Deb's was just a whatsapp message away. If you don't understand your children, then you need to join this program, it's fantastic!

— Susan

I contacted Deborah after my daughter was 'diagnosed' with ADHD and her school was pressurizing me to find an alternative school that could handle her condition. The diagnoses did not sit well with me, I just knew instinctively that she didn't have ADHD, that something else was going on with her. The doctor had also prescribed Ritalin, which I did not want to give to her. Working with Deborah was incredible. We discovered that my daughter had been called stupid by her teacher which led her to feeling very uncomfortable in her own skin which made her hyperactive and unable to concentrate. After only 6 weeks into this programme, my daughter was back to her old self, happy and at peace with herself. I highly recommend this program to anyone who is at a loss as to what to do about their child and their changed behaviour.

— Eliza

I had so much anger. I was so angry because my wife and children did not respect me. I didn't like spending time with them, I worked a lot as I felt respected at work. This program was recommended to me by a mate and I was a bit hesitant at first, but I joined because I wanted to fix my family life. I wanted to know how to 'fix' them, my wife and kids. I wanted to know what I could do to make my family respect me. What I didn't expect to learn about myself was that I didn't respect myself and if I wanted my family to respect me, I had to respect myself first and also to respect them.

— David

My 13 year old daughter tried to take her own life. I felt devastated, I had no idea what to do or how to help her. When I told a close friend of mine, she mentioned that she had attended a talk Deborah had given and suggested I get hold of her. Meeting Deborah online I instantly felt a sense of relief. I just knew that she would be able to help me and my family. Not only did I learn how to help my daughter to deal with her anxiety and rebuild her self-esteem, I learnt how to deal with mine. This program was an absolute God-send for our family. Thank you Deborah, we are so grateful x

— Annabelle

I saw an interview on Facebook with Deborah, she was about to do a tour with her EQ Teaching bears in South Africa visiting schools, malls, hospitals and orphanages. Listening to her talk, I knew I had to get hold of her, as I needed help. An incident at school had left my 14 year old son feeling miserable. His whole personality had changed because of it, he no longer wanted to go to school, he lost interest in his sports and all he wanted to do was to stay in his bedroom. This program turned everything around for us. My son got his love for life back, he's more confident than ever and his grades improved.

— Marie

My 4-year old had constant melt-downs and fits of anger. Her emotions were all over the place. One minute she was so sweet and loving and the next she was screaming and shouting. I honestly did not know what to do. A family member recommended that I try this program. The course is fascinating, I learnt how the brain creates emotions, how my child's behavior is affected by her emotions and how her emotions are affected by her environment and what she eats. What I love most about this program, is that you never feel like you are on your own. Deb and the community are right there when you need them.

— Sandra

Affordable and Accessible to All

Feedback from Educators

'I would not be the teacher I am today without doing this course.'

I did my EQ training with Deborah and it has really changed my life. I have learnt how to understand myself as well as other people and their emotions better and I have become more patient as well. It has made me realise how important it is to teach children emotional intelligence skills and has greatly impacted the way I teach. I would not be the teacher I am today without doing this course with Deborah and I am forever grateful ❤️

— Sabrina

The training is fantastic! It's opened up so many opportunities for me. I've started my own EQ Tutoring business, I run the programme in a few schools and privately. Doing the training has also helped me to become a better mum to my 4 boys.

— Carly

I was looking for an opportunity to change my career and work around my kids when I was introduced to this programme. It was just what I was looking for! I have since partenered up with Carly and together we run EQ Essex. It's so fulfilling being able to help children with these essential Life Skills.

— Sam

Since I started using the resources to teach children, I've had wonderful feedback from my students and their parents. They've seen the children using the materials as well as the coping strategies in their everyday lives. I've seen the children grow from being uncertain to finding their confidence. I also had two students who were being bullied and using what they learnt in the EQ lessons they were able to resolve the situation themselves without adult intervention and have since become friends with their bullies! Deborah has been an incredible support system through it all. She has allowed me to continue learning through it all and is so helpful with questions and queries I have. The lesson plans are a mix and match of different activities, the children look forward to all the fun things we learn, without it feeling heavy or scary.

Devna Vadgama

EQ Tutor, Kenya Nairobi

Comments from some of Devna's Students with her comments added to it

N, aged 7

"Why aren't you teaching this to all the children in my school?" (she also recommended me to one of her friends, which was amazing). I really enjoy this class and look forward to it every week.

K, aged 6

"What are we learning today?" from being closed off around uncomfortable emotions, to learning to be curious and understanding it's ok to have emotions has been a journey.

D, aged 10

"I want to learn about the emotions and what they mean and how they feel." As an older child, giving these tools to help her grow and understand her emotions and the coping mechanisms have been amazing

A, aged 11

A started off as a very anxious child, now better able to handle anxiety, using the coping mechanisms in their every day life has made a major impact and helps with focus.

Affordable and Accessible to All

Feedback from Educators

My wish is that every human being gets access to these incredible life-changing skills.

I have been involved in child care, tutoring and Early Childhood Development for 23 years. After completing this course, I now teach these lessons to the children in my pre-school. Seeing the difference it makes in their development and how they pass the teaching onto their parents, has been truly wonderful. 

— Lumen

I work as a TEFL Tutor and after taking this course and becoming accredited, I now incorporate these lessons into my English lesson plans. I am passionate about, and firmly believe that now, more than ever, there is a real need to transform the lives of children. To empower them with the social and emotional skills and tools to develop mindfulness, self-esteem, confidence, responsibility, resilience, inner happiness, and to create a positive mindset and a “can do” attitude. This course covers all of that and more.

— Debi

To me, it's THE most important thing we can do for a child.

Without emotionally intelligent children we are seeing no empathy. Trauma, living conditions and poverty increases the emotional trauma kids are exposed to with no help to balance it out or solve it! When I learnt in this course that I was not responsible for other people's feelings, it sparked an intense desire to learn all that I had been missing. Applying the EQ principles has already changed my life beyond measure. I can only imagine how different my life would have been if I had been raised with Emotional Intelligence.

— Lizl

Feedback from Educators

I took this course to incorporate the lessons into the drama lessons I teach to children. I now incorporate it into the TEFL lessons I teach as well. This course is very informative, it was easy to navigate and I loved that each topic was broken up into different sections. The videos are also really helpful. I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to learn about Emotional Intelligence and how to teach it. It is also a great course to help parents to raise emotionally aware children. Thank you for a fantastic course!

— Mariska

This has given me the opportunity to open and manage an EQ centre at a school.

The EQ training was the missing link in my life. It has changed the way I see life and the way I react to situations and has benefited me immensely in my family life. It has opened doors for me career wise and given me the opportunity to open and manage an EQ centre at a school, which I never thought would be possible, now I get to change little lives everyday. This course is life changing and I think the world needs more of us EQ Tutors out there.

— Tracy

Becoming an EQ Tutor for Kids, I was guided by valuable training material and the excellent assistance of Deborah McPhilemy to learn, grow and implement new ways of dealing with emotions, not only as a tutor, but in my personal life as well. Definite lesson plans and relevant stories (kids love them) assisted me in effectively introducing and instilling improved ways in handling of emotions and real life situations. Thank you Deborah, you are amazing!

— Chantelle

Affordable and Accessible to All

Subscribe to the EQuipped Newsletter

Keep up to date with all the news, events and happenings.