The Gulf Between Clinical Care & Longterm Healing

Before joining the mental health community as a provider, I believed therapy and clinical care to be the most important parts of a patient’s healing journey. Now, I know that comfort is as critical to longterm healing as any other piece of the journey. Through working with my young patients, as they battle their own minds, impossible circumstances, and various personal challenges that led to their admission, I am repeatedly reminded of the importance of the therapeutic act. We cannot guarantee what their life will look like after their discharge – but we can do everything to make their time safe and comfortable in our care. Children in our community that are in mental health treatment are in need of clothes, coloring books, novels, puzzles, art supplies, journals, activity books, and other coping materials. I tell every patient that I meet that it’s okay to be just a kid in our care. These things will let them be that.

Care spans beyond just the patient. Parents, teachers and other adults in the community must be educated on recognizing the signs of crisis before reaching the point of dangerous behavior and, in drastic cases, involuntary commitment. These skills can be learned in youth mental health first aid training. Kinder Sea Foundation will begin offering opportunities for certification beginning Summer 2024.

We can’t help what we don’t know about. The youth mental health crisis is an ongoing epidemic in our community. If adults begin to lead conversations about the importance of asking for help and discussing mental health, our children will follow suit. Kinder Sea Foundation will advocate for awareness in our community through local partnerships, educational materials, and more.