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Mental health can have a stigma surrounding it but mental health is just like physical health and should be treated as such.
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Allison Smith: I think one of the biggest myths that I see especially when I see patients or clients in my
work is a lot of people will come into my office and assume if I have a child with a mental health concern or if our family is experiencing a mental health concern that that automatically means I either have a bad kid or I’m a bad parent and we know that that’s not true.
Isis Pettway: Children deal with so much more than what they’re vocal about and sometimes allowed to be vocal about unfortunately sometimes there’s a saying you know what happens in the house stays in the house in that can cause a lot of stress.
Sufna John: When a family comes into my office there are two things I really look for in order to determine is there things we need to help you with the first is is this at all unusual for your development so is it happening way more or way less then is it happening in a much more severe or much more frequent fashion than someone else that’s in your developmental stage right so you look for that is it unusual and the second thing you look for is does it get in the way is it keeping you from forming the relationships you want in your life or being able to focus in school or being able to get along with your family.
Jason Wallace: Well the myth I would like parents or caregivers to know that’s not true is that it’s only happening to them that it is a problem not just in their community not just in their state or their city but it’s a worldwide problem and we need to deal with it locally because people feel isolated they feel like nobody will understand what I’m going through what we’re going through there’s still a big stigma of you don’t talk to people about that you keep that inhouse.
Unknown: Another myth is assuming you’re going to go lay down on a couch and they’re going to ask you what’s wrong with with you and you’re going to have to go well where do I start that’s not how it happens I have yet to lay down on the couch we sit in the chair we talk back and forth with each other we call each other on the phone we video chat with each other that’s like having a best friend who you can spill all your secrets to and they can’t tell anyone and then they are medically trained educated to provide you real life solutions with it.
Smith: I think the other myth about mental health that I would want families to know are not true
is that it’s going to be a lifelong problem so that if your child is experiencing a mental health
concern that means it’s going to last forever and that it can’t get better for lots of mental health
problems with kids and teens they do improve over time and eventually get to where they don’t bother
them at all.
John: I wish more kids actually came in to see a mental health therapist because we know for example anxiety disorders one in four people have them. I wish people realized how much better you could feel in such a short amount of time with the right kind of support.
