With suicide rates on the rise among young Americans, Catholic Charities’ Mental Health Services (MHS) team has added programs to keep adolescents safe and healthy.
This summer, with the help of a grant from Hamilton County, MHS launched a coping skills group that empowers participants with the tools to navigate challenging, emotionally charged situations.
“Especially with adolescents, there can be impulsivity and big emotions,” says Mental Health Services Director Laura Hershberger. “It’s learning how, when you have those big emotions, to just sit with them, tolerate them, move through them and not respond immediately.”
Group participants learn skills like mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and the ability to communicate assertively yet respectfully. Parents can join alongside their children, which helps break down mental health barriers within families.
In many cases, the reasons behind anxiety and depression are very different for adults than they are for young people. Deliana Peralta Fuentes, Mental Health Therapist, says the group helps “parents understand they have one perspective and the child has another, and that doesn’t make either one wrong.”
“They’re both on their own journey, but they also have a journey together,” adds Miriam Huerta, also a Mental Health Therapist.
In addition to the coping skills groups, Catholic Charities serves young people through Princeton City Schools. The effects of prolonged school closings have added to the stresses children face due to social media and constant digital connection. Deliana says she’s seeing more children struggle with transitioning to middle school or high school since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Because young people have less control over their environments, and less ability to change those environments, Catholic Charities focuses on coordinating with the people in their lives whenever possible.
The team is also devoted to providing individualized, culturally relevant care. For example, a teen who is an immigrant has different needs and concerns than a teen who was born in the U.S., and therapists know how to appropriately respond to each scenario.
With your support, Catholic Charities’ Mental Health Services program walks alongside people of all ages and backgrounds to help them find new hope for the future.