Supporting Teen Mental Health During COVID-19
It is becoming more and more important to provide safe spaces for teens to feel accepted, valued, and heard. Throughout our conversation featuring Appa Health co-founder Dr. Katrina Roundfield and guest speaker Jen Benson, we discussed various methods to create an environment to embrace the sprit of acceptance. Below, you can read some of the strategies we talked about.
Set the scene for difficult conversations.
It's vital that you take into account the environment of the conversation before addressing important topics. Ensure that you plan for the right time, place, activity, etc.
Implement activities to help build connections.
Here are some ideas:
Pizza Parties
Family Game Night
Going out in nature, parks, hikes, walking or riding bikes
Family notebook for members to comfortably to write messages in and that can be left in a common area (i.e. dining room table)
Build a list of current natural supports and keep them on hand to build community and connection.
Try the 2AM Exercise. Ask your teen:
Who would you call if you had an emergency at 2AM?
Who would you call if you needed a ride?
Who would you call to borrow money?
Look for places to expand your community.
Here are some great places:
Spiritual community
School
Coaches
Neighbors
School groups (PTA)
Social media parenting groups / similar interests or concerns
Experiment with different techniques.
Understand that all situations and experiences are different. Take the time to test out and analyze which techniques will work best for you, your teen, and your family.
