CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s time to head back to school, but this can also be a stressful time for our kids.
Psychotherapist Myque Harris said the number one thing she sees kids dealing with is anxiety.
"I think overall, kids are sometimes struggling even with identity, like who am I right? And what does that look like? Can I wear these clothes? Are people going to accept it? Are they going to accept me? Is my identity wrapped up in being an athlete? Is it wrapped up in being a scholar or academic? What does my identity look like even in my family? And so sometimes something as simple as that can cause inner anxiety and stress," Harris told WCNC Charlotte's Sarah French.
And Harris said social media isn’t helping.
"I think in some ways, the world is getting smaller. There's so much access to information," Harris said. "And because the world is getting smaller, they're seeing more, they're exposed to more."
Social media also makes it easier for kids to experience bullying in schools.
"I think that there are many kids that have great experiences in school. But the reality is that bullying is real. And there are many kids that experience bullying. And so we need to acknowledge that. And we need to step in and pay attention and validate some of the things that children are telling us and students are telling us," Harris explained.
Union County has a teletherapy program that gives students access to counselors and social workers if they’re having issues with anxiety or bullying.
"Several years ago, we started an initiative called the Union County Collaborative. That is where we have hired, in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, dedicated mental health therapists and social workers across all 53 schools and clusters," Union County Superintendent Andrew Houlihan said. "So a year ago, we partnered with Atrium Health to provide just for our high schools, a mental health option for them, which is basically mental health therapy in a virtual setting. That has been very successful across all 11 of our high schools. We are expanding that to include now a handful of our middle schools going into this year."
Since 2019, Union County has also used the "Say Something Anonymous Reporting System" for students to receive information about bullying, self-harm, or threats.
"Sometimes parents want to ignore or push away what their child is feeling, though like, 'It's okay. Don't worry about it. You'll be okay.' And so we want to be able to ask them what they're feeling with open-ended questions," Harris added. "We have to step into the discomfort sometimes, ask the questions, bring up the topics. If we're waiting for our 14-year-old to come to us and talk to us about hard topics, it may not happen. So we have to step into that space and do that."
Contact Sarah French at Sarah@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.
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