Young People Deserve Support
The past three years, since all of the upheaval that COVID and a deep racial and social unrest have brought, studies have shown a marked decline in learning outcomes among students in Washington State, and this includes social and emotional learning. A KUOW report recently stated that districts with higher resources like Mercer Island had better learning outcomes than districts like Highline Schools. Moving toward equity is essential–every young person should have optimal opportunity and access to every resource for success. Young people throughout the U.S. are struggling with depression, over 2.7 million of them, according to Mental Health America, with the highest rate of those being from youth reporting to have more than one race. This all sounds very bleak, I know, but it just goes to demonstrate how vital it is to have these mental health services in the community.
We need one another, and we need to pay attention to what the young people around us are experiencing. When statistics like these represent stories, it can be overwhelming, AND it can be so encouraging knowing that support truly makes a difference. We have young people in our programs who have higher academic outcomes while engaging in our services, and more importantly, who report a stronger sense of self-esteem and feeling supported. At CHOOSE180 Counseling, we are determined to walk a journey with our participants, validating their experiences, seeing their strengths and being a reminder that no one has to face difficulty alone.
If you’re interested in some of the exercises we’ve used to support anxiety and depression, here is an article that includes several practices that can be used on your own anywhere. We would also like to invite you to check out this link that lists art therapy activities for Self Discovery. Here is an example below:
How To Mind Map Your Thoughts-
Materials needed:
Pencil, marker or pen
Paper
First step is to think about a dream, theme, issue, or conflict in your life right now that you might need more clarity with. Or if you have a bunch of different thoughts that you need to make sense of you can start with a my thoughts starting point.
Next that a sheet of paper and in the middle write down the theme, thought or where you would like to start, ex. My thoughts.
Then, choose the way you want to fill out the map. There can be three different ways that you can do this.
Level by level- first you fill out all the 1. Levels of branches, those are direct links to the main topic, then you fill out all the 2. Levels, then if needed all the 3. Levels, etc.
Branch by branch- you fill out one whole branch, with all its levels, before moving on to another branch.
Freestyle- filling out freely, as thoughts come to you, without any particular order.
When you’re ready to learn more, feel free to check out the Counseling page on our website, and if you have a referral you’d like us to follow up with, please use this form.