Mindfulness
A Time to Talk: Communicating with Campers
When I was a young, first-year staff member at camp, two orientation speakers left me with distinct lessons that have carried me through forty more years in camping. The first was a recommendation from Camp Director Grant Koch, who said, “Ladies and gentlemen, take advantage of your opportunities.” The second was advice from Tufts University…
Read MoreUnprepared: Why Kids Are Anxious, Lonely, and Depressed
For many young people, the world seems to be crashing around them. It is a phenomenon years in the making but certainly accelerated by COVID-19, which created a climate of learning loss, decreased human interaction, and a scary lack of resilience. It is a perfect storm for anxiety, loneliness, and depression. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and now…
Read MoreTriple Threat
By Stephen Gray Wallace COVID-19 has wrought so many unforeseen consequences for youth mental health that it’s almost hard to quantify them. Some were recently noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which stated that mental-health related emergency room visits for children aged 12 to 17 increased by 31 percent from April…
Read MoreThe Long Arc of Misery
By Stephen Gray Wallace. Why resiliency is key for kids during, and after, the pandemic These days, it seems that every time we are about to turn a corner on COVID-19, we somehow miss the intersection. Such is the long, slow, agonizing slog that is the pandemic. By now, most people are familiar with the…
Read MoreNew Report Finds Positive Trends in Youth Substance Use – Young people are using drugs less often, but mental health remains a concern.
By Stephen Gray Wallace, featured in Psychology Today Since 1986, educators and public health proponents have used social norming theory to reduce youth risk behaviors. This theory holds that the behavior of young people is heavily influenced by their perception of what the norm is among their peers with regard to behaviors such as underage drinking…
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