The post Stabilizing Families and Supporting Mental Wellness in a Pandemic appeared first on RG Magazines.
]]>Family Centre responded to the pandemic by encouraging and promoting a ‘Mentally Healthy Bermuda’.
In the early stages of the pandemic, our focus was on helping families to immediately access resources to meet their basic needs such as food and the technology needed to stay connected to the rest of the world during lockdown.
Our therapeutic services remained accessible as we moved them to a virtual platform and provided public messages to our community that we were still providing help to children and their families during this unprecedented and stressful time. We actively used our social media forums to advise the community of the local resources available to assist them.
Family Centre also provided a counsellor to assist individuals in crisis on the Government of Bermuda’s Emotional Wellbeing Hotline.
Family Centre was designated as an essential service with the support of the Third Sector Coordinated Crisis Response (CCRE) and other remarkable individuals, families, and corporate donors who specifically gave funds to support children and families in need because of the pandemic. This support was critical to putting food on the tables of many families in our programmes and services as well as access to the technology needed to stay connected with us, the local media and with their children’s schools.
The therapeutic team at Family Centre developed and launched the 5C Challenge. The challenge promoted wellness by encouraging families to practice the “5 Cs” (Connecting, Calming, Cooking, Creating and Caring) for physical and emotional wellbeing.
Family Centre produced and aired on Bermuda Broadcasting Station a televised Mental Health Panel featuring local partners with expertise in different areas of emotional wellbeing. The panel was moderated by our Executive Director, Dr Sandy De Silva, who is also a Registered Clinical Psychologist. The panel discussion covered mental health matters related to children, adults, couples, and families, as well as addictions and employer-employee related matters.
Family Centre continued its community awareness campaign on the impact of domestic abuse on children given the rise of domestic violence during lockdown. Information was placed on grocery carts and local television reminding adults to stop and think about the impact of their actions on the often-ignored victims of domestic abuse which are the children in background.
We honoured World Children’s Day in November inviting primary schools, friends of Family Centre, partners, and donors to celebrate the day by wearing blue and bringing awareness to children’s rights.
The international call to action this year was to “reimagine a better future for every child.” While children in our community and around the world may not be the “face” of the Coronavirus, they are at risk of becoming its hidden victims.
The global increase in violence is a disturbing indicator that many young people aged 18 and under have experienced some form of early life trauma in any of the many forms of violence during the continuing pandemic. Family Centre is committed to ensure that World Children’s Day serves as a reminder of our common responsibility to protect the rights and well-being of all children, especially the children in our own community.
Throughout the pandemic, free Counselling Services were provided to children and their families on confidential telehealth platforms. We continued to accept new clients for counselling.
Our Community Programmes were also delivered remotely to the youth and their families enrolled in our Youth Leadership Academy and Beyond Rugby programmes. Family Centre continued our advocacy work with our Family Forum community group and partners especially in critical spaces such as the Youth Development Zone.
As of July 1, 2020, we returned to in-person delivery of programmes and services at Sunshine League House. With strict adherence to the Government’s COVID-19 Guidelines, we held our children’s specialized camps, youth summer projects and commenced in-person counselling services.
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on family life and the wellbeing of children, it is clear Family Centre’s services and programmes are needed now more than ever. Already there is an increase in demand for mental health services in Bermuda.
We are encouraged that families are putting up their hands to receive the help they need rather than suffer in silence. Our programmes and services are provided at no cost to families, thanks to dedicated and generous private and corporate donors who are working to ensure that Bermuda’s families remain supported.
For more information on Family Centre Programmes and Services please visit www.tfc.bm or email us at [email protected] or call us at 232-1116.
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]]>The post Advice on staying mentally healthy appeared first on RG Magazines.
]]>by JEREMY DEACON
During the pandemic, Nadine and her husband both had to work from home due to company policy. With two small children, and limited space and support, they both experienced increased marital conflict.
Nadine reported she felt the burden of childcare largely fell to her, and juggling two lively children alongside their academic commitments, plus maintaining her commitment to work was impossible and unfair. She felt resentful towards her husband.
She also started to doubt her competence at work, and working from home, felt she was missing some of the usual feedback that her work was up to standard.
Her increased anxiety left her feeling overwhelmed, and she noticed she was drinking more heavily to cope, creating even more stress. She sought help to understand and manage her stress levels, communicate her needs, and develop healthier coping strategies.
It’s a fictional situation, but while working from home may suit some, for others it brings massive new strains. The loss of a job, a struggling business, loneliness, uncertainty – all impact mental health.
Dr. Gemma Harris, Senior Clinical Psychologist at Sol- stice, said they’ve witnessed a significant increase in new referrals, and the return of past clients, as people try to understand and manage the impact of the pandemic.
“The situation is affecting our clients in diverse ways. However, common themes have related to uncertainty, for example: adapting to restrictions, having to change plans, feeling unable to move forward, and concerns about future stability.
“Also, there is heightened anxiety about job and/or financial stability and adapt- ing to home working. The challenges of working from home for some families are marked by marital conflict, perhaps simply by spending so much time together and/ or the challenges of shared parenting whilst also manag- ing employment demands.
“Whilst these difficulties appear to impact our clients across the age range, we are noticing that young adults, 18-25, may be more prone to feeling that their plans are on hold, whilst parents with young families might struggle most with balancing work and childcare demands.”
Dr. Harris said that working from home seems to have created a dichotomous response, with some people reporting that they love the freedom to work more flexi- bly and feel more focused.
“By contrast many are reporting that their work-life balance is poorer when they work from home, that supporting their children is almost impossible, and that they are finding it isolating and demotivating.
“Many times, clients feel disconnected from their teams after protracted periods of home working and may even start to feel de- skilled. We suspect that the range of experiences may be a product of the type of work, the suitability of the home environment and personality factors.
“The impact of the pandemic is significant, far-reaching, and protracted. As such, we expect that most people will be impacted emotionally. It makes perfect sense for us to be anxious and fearful, and for our threat systems to be activated.
“When our threat systems are activated it means that we are more vigilant to risk, and as such we may be anticipating future risk possibilities. Whilst this is very normal and functional, in the case of Covid-19 (which is a protracted risk) we can potentially be anxious and on alert for long periods, which is likely to be stressful and exhausting.
“Counterbalancing this important and necessary threat response with selfcare is really important. Hence, making time for hobbies, relaxation time, and self- care is vital. Give yourself time to switch off and reset. That might include taking a break from reading about the pandemic.”
Dr. Harris’ advice: “Try to implement good care routines like getting enough sleep, exercise, eating healthily and managing a good work-life balance. Be careful of more harmful coping strategies such as alcohol and drugs, gambling, and excessive spending.”
The Bermuda Hospitals Board Deputy Chief of Psychiatry, Dr Anna Neilson-Williams, said she believed people are talking about mental health more. “I think as a country, we’ve always had this unfortunate challenge around stigma that hasn’t necessarily gone away, but I think Covid-19 may well have been able to lift the lid a bit and get people to start talking about how they’re feeling.
“I think everybody has been affected by Covid-19, and we’re definitely seeing an increase in anxiety and depression. People that have been stable for long periods of time, I think there’s been some evidence that they’ve not been doing as well because of the isolation and feelings of loneliness.
“And then we’ve also seen an increase in referrals from groups where there’s been a knock-on effect. For instance, the older adults that have got dementia related concerns, the day programs aren’t necessarily running because they’re not able to happen in person. So, they’re at home more or their carers aren’t quite sure what to do with them.”
In terms of any positive impact from Covid-19, Dr. Neilson-Williams said she believed more people are talking more honestly and openly about mental health, especially the younger generation who are much more open to talking about an anxiety problem or a depression.
She added: “Maybe it’s created a bit more flexibility for people, a bit more autonomy, particularly working mothers who are able to work from home. Some people were able to do a bit of a reset and said, ‘You know what? I’ve had all this family time. I feel like there’s been more connectivity with my family,’ and that’s been something that those that could work remotely have been able to enjoy.”
*The Bermuda Mental Health Foundation can be contacted on 703-0003 or info@bmhf. bm. The Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute can be contacted on 236-3770 8am to 5pm Mon- day to Friday, or the 24-hour Mental Health Crisis Line: (441) 239-1111
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What is a psychologist?
Psychologists have the professional training and clinical skills to help people learn to cope more effectively with life issues and problems.
Why do kids see psychologists?
Many children and teens face problems that affect how they feel, act or learn. When children face problems that they cannot deal with alone or with the help of a parent or supportive adult, they might see a psychologist. Psychologists engage children in therapyto help them to learn strategies to manage their feelings and behaviors. Therapy can also help to teach kids strategies that help with learning. Psychologists can also do assessmentsto clarify what particular areas kids may be struggling with, especially in school with things like reading, writing or math.
What kinds of problems do you help kids with?
I help kids who may be facing family problems, school problems, health problems and even bullying. I also help kids with feelings like sadness, anger, stress and worry, low self-esteem and grief.
How old do I have to be to see a psychologist?
I work with children and teens from the age of 4 to 18 and sometimes older. When children come to therapy, their parents or guardians are almost always involved as well.
What happens in therapy?
At first, the psychologist will meet with you and your parents to ask questions and listen to learn all about you, your family and the problem that you are struggling with. The psychologist will then let you know how they can help. In future sessions, you will talk with the psychologist to express your feelings, you will do activities that will help you to learn skills to manage your problem, you will practice the skills that you are learning and you may even learn problem solving skills that will help you to manage when challenges arise in the future.
How long will I need to see a psychologist?
The goal of therapy is to teach you ways to manage problems when they arise. Since you will be learning how to better cope with problems, you will not need to see a psychologist forever. Most times, you will have weekly appointments for a few months.
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