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Dr. Chinwe Williams, a licensed professional counselor, shares ways to identify if your child is experiencing personal crisis on today’s episode of the Parent Cue Live podcast. This will be part one in a two-part series.
YOUR CUE
- Take your kid’s shift in mood seriously. Our experiences are all different and it’s easy for parents to dismiss their kids’ feelings because whatever they’re upset about seems trivial in the scheme of life. Don’t do this. Your kid’s feelings are very real to them. Talk to them and seek help if the change in behavior persists.
- Seek support. Having a child struggling with a tough time or mental health issues is difficult to bear for a parent. Find people you trust to confide in who will encourage you and give you sound advice. There is a long road ahead and you’ll need all the support you can get.
- Therapy doesn’t have to be expensive. The cost might often deter you from seeking counseling. Many companies offer different types of employee assistance programs where the first few counseling sessions are free. Also, do your research — many counselors do pro bono work, making it that much easier to talk to someone.
EPISODE RECAP
Being a parent means you’re no stranger to your kids’ fluctuating moods. Whether they’re a toddler who has just discovered the magical word, “no,” or a teenager who spends more time in angst and sullenness than not, moodiness and kids of all ages seems to go hand in hand.
But parents should be mindful of what’s normal for their kid versus if they’re experiencing a behavior that is out of the ordinary —while your child might appear as if they’re functioning on the outside, their world may be crumbling on the inside.
How do I know if my kid is in a crisis?
Dr. Chinwé Williams, a licensed professional counselor in Roswell, Ga., describes a crisis as any psychological, environmental, or social shift that your kid may have trouble coping with. They may react externally or internally, and for each child, their personal crisis is different.
Parents often miss the signs their child may be experiencing inner turmoil, chalking it up to them simply being a kid. But according to statistics, depression is on the rise amongst kids of all ages and often goes unaddressed and untreated.
The first step in identifying whether your child is experiencing a crisis is simple: Be a student of your child. Get to know them, especially their moods. If their mood and behavior changes, such as separation anxiety and becoming withdrawn from activities they enjoyed in the past, and if it persists for two weeks or more, this is a clear sign something bigger is going on and that you need outside help, whether from a pediatrician, youth pastor, or counselor.
Tune into today’s episode to learn specific signs of crisis based on specific phases in your child’s life and stay tuned for next week’s continuation of this important and timely topic.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
QUOTES IN THIS EPISODE
Any sort of distress or crisis comes from psychological, environmental, or social components. Every…
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When you’re stressed, support helps. —@drcuwilliams
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One of the primary ingredients of effective therapy is relationship. —@drcuwilliams
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VOICES IN THIS EPISODE
DR. CHINWÉ WILLIAMS
Dr. Chinwé Williams is a Nationally Certified Counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Georgia. She has served as a school counselor, counselor supervisor, and executive coach. Her expertise lies in the areas of trauma recovery, enhancing resilience, and adolescent development. She has taught at Georgia State University, University of Central Florida, and Rollins College and currently works as an Associate Professor at Argosy University-Atlanta. She maintains an active private practice in Roswell, GA, serving individuals, couples, adolescents, and young adults.
KRISTEN IVY
Kristen is the Executive Director of Messaging at Orange, Director of The Phase Project, and co-author of Playing For Keeps and It’s Just a Phase – So Don’t Miss It. She combines her degree in secondary education with a Master of Divinity and lives with her husband, Matt, and their three children, Sawyer, Hensley, and Raleigh, in Cumming, GA.
CARLOS WHITTAKER
Carlos is an author, speaker, and content creator living in Nashville, TN with his wife Heather and 3 kids Sohaila, Seanna, and Losiah. He is addicted to social media, his wife’s enchiladas, and is determined to have his daughters teach him to land a backflip on the trampoline by the time he is 45.
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Source: The Parent Cue
