Posts

When COVID robbed children of their friendships, learning suffered

By Caitlin McDermott-Murphy, Reprinted from The Harvard Gazette After the pandemic closed schools last year, hospitals saw a surge in mental health-related emergency visits among children 18 and under. The statistics have been grim enough that a large cohort of the nation’s top pediatricians recently declared a “national emergency” in child and adolescent mental health. […]

Surgeon general warns of emerging youth mental health crisis in rare public advisory

By Howard Blume and Melissa Gomez, Reprinted from the Los Angles Times Citing mounting evidence of ongoing harm, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy on Tuesday issued a public health advisory on the mental health challenges confronting youth, a rare warning and call to action to address what he called an emerging crisis exacerbated by […]

15 Strategies and Tips to Guide Youth in the Months Ahead

By Robin Cox, Reprinted from Mentoring Matters Recently I shared research on the impact of the pandemic and lockdowns on youth with some local mentors. While the impact will vary from country to country, there were some common themes which I will share in this blog, ending with some strategies and tips anyone guiding youth […]

Even With a Vaccine, It Takes a Village To Get Kids Back To School

By Artis Stevens, Reprinted from Black Enterprise As parents, families, and communities nationwide prepare to send children back to school, there is still uncertainty and obvious questions about our preparedness. Watch any news program, read most online articles and the majority of headlines, rightfully so, center on vaccinations and keeping our kids safe and healthy. […]

A novel mental health service-delivery framework: Integrating multi-tiered systems of support and community-based mentoring programs

Hart, M. J., Flitner, A. M., Kornbluh, M. E., Thompson, D. C., Davis, A. L., Lanza-Gregory, J., McQuillin, S. D., Gonzalez, J. E., & Strait, G. G. (2021). Combining MTSS and Community-Based Mentoring Programs. School Psychology Review. Summarized by Ariel Ervin https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2021.1922937 Notes of Interest:  Although American schools offer mental health services for youths, they are limited […]

New study explores how COVID-19 affected mentors and mentees

Kaufman, M. R., Wright, K., Simon, J., Edwards, G., Thrul, J., & DuBois, D. L. (2021). Mentoring in the Time of COVID-19: An Analysis of Online Focus Groups with Mentors to Youth. American Journal of Community Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12543 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest: The pandemic has had (and continues to have) a detrimental impact on […]

Can after-school programs foster positive youth development? New study has answers

Goodman, A. C., Ouellette, R. R., D’Agostino, E. M., Hansen, E., Lee, T., & Frazier, S. L. (2021). Promoting healthy trajectories for urban middle school youth through county-funded, parks-based after-school programming. Journal of Community Psychology.  https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22587 Summarized by Ariel Ervin Notes of Interest:  Early adolescence is a critical time where risky decisions can lead to consequences, especially […]

2021 Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring

The 13th annual and 2nd virtual Summer Institute on Youth Mentoring will focus on the theme of mentoring and mental health, exploring how mentoring supports the mental health of young people and discussing strategies for effectively mentoring youth with mental health needs. Online sessions will feature leading scholars and will include time for participants to […]

Talking to Your Children About Asian Hate

By Betty Wang, MD, Reprinted from The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds  Over the last year, there have been very disturbing reports and videos of hate and violence towards the Asian community. As a Chinese American, these events have left me with a sense of increased vulnerability for myself, my family, and my community. […]

How to Help Your Adolescent Think About the Last Year

Hint: It’s not a “lost year.” Also, the screen time with friends? It’s good for their mental health. Featured Article by Judith Warner, The New York Times 2020 was a hard year to get through. With remote learning, unemployment, losses of loved ones, and many other stressors, families have been struggling to juggle all of […]