Description
Learn about different benefits that can help you and your kid thrive. Hear from UAMS therapists on why they firmly believe therapy is beneficial, along with parents who have been through therapy with their children.
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Transcript
Allison Smith: I think there are a lot of benefits to mental health treatment for kids and families the biggest one that comes to my mind aside from giving you lots of tools to know how to handle a hard time is therapy can be a great place to learn those strategies that are most supportive of your child and that are most supportive of them feeling and thriving in their environment.
Beth Tody: Imagine a coffee date with one of your closest friends who really wants nothing but the absolute best for you and you get an hour, or 30 minutes, or an hour and a half, however long you need of someone who just listens and not you know just listens just to listen but they listen to understand; but, when you go to therapy it’s exactly like that.
Sufna John: But also I think mental health treatment has an element of really improving like your self-confidence and
your self-worth it’s another adult in your life who is showing you I care a lot about who you are; who you are is incredibly beautiful and important and unique and why wouldn’t we want our kids to have messages from all over the place
that they are special and unique and worthy of fulfilling the potential that they have.
Isis Pettway: You know bringing your youth into mental health treatment can not only serve as a a support to you as a
parent but it also gives your uh your child their own space to be able to have conversation. It doesn’t make you a bad
parent or anything of that nature but sometimes different interventions um are needed and so you know just like you
would take your child to the doctor if something seemed off and you’re wanting to understand what’s going on so that
the doctor can treat it you can kind of treat it when you guys get home. Same thing if something gets off or maybe
they want to understand more about their emotions or maybe something is happened in the family sometimes you need
additional tools and sometimes you need a professional to help with that.
Beth Tody: Probably one of the most beneficial things that I learned in therapy is that when you’re going through something everyone you know cares about you in one way or another they’re coming into the conversation with a bias but when you go to to therapy and you talk about that with someone that they don’t know the people that you’re talking about at work, they don’t know your family, they don’t know the struggles with your your child; but, that gives them a perspective to give you guidance and help you walk through it. They’re not going to handhold you and give you all the answers but
they’re going to teach you how to get through it.
Glenn Mesman: And many times therapy can really restore family relationships and there’s improved relationships between all the people in the home so it just leads to a home that feels more connected and calm and at peace.
