• Host – Michele Heyward, Founder, PositiveHire
• Guest – Christina Broderick, Licensed Social Worker, Psychotherapist, Certified School Social Worker

Mental health is critical right now especially for children. While parents are worrying so are their children. But what can parents do to help their children during these uncertain times?

Christina Broderick is clinically trained Licensed Social Worker, a Psychotherapist and a Certified School Social Worker. She’s worked in K-12 educational settings for nearly a decade. She is also the founder of  IgnitEDU.  It helps every student to learn, build and strengthen their mental health foundation within their education journey.

When Christina started working with students, she realized there’s a consistent gap that existed related to mental health. Christina established IgniteEdu which she’s the founder that helps every student to learn, build, and strengthen their Mental Health Foundation within their education journey. 

For Mental Health Awareness Month, Christina and IgnitEDU are more focused on Student Mental Health than ever before! Find out what you can do to help your child’s mental health during COVID-19.

What is IgniteEdu?

The vision is that every student can learn, build and strengthen their mental health along their educational journey. We’re igniting education by using our “3C” approach to turn students from statistics into success stories. IngnitEDU “3C” are Content, Connection and Creation.

 What are two or three common stigmas you often encounter when it comes to mental health?

Usually they seek help for their mental health when an issue presents itself or they wait until something happens. Many believe you have to be in a crisis to get mental health support, and that’s not true. If we wait too long to get the help then it’s a lot harder to undo some things we’ve already developed. Remember, you can get mental health support anytime.

What are some tips on how to explain to a child the current public health crisis without scaring them?

Lean on honesty. Being honest with your kid will surprise you in terms of the response that you may get.  This is versus trying to continue to paint rainbows and butterflies for them. But you must always start with yourself because you can’t give from an empty well. Make sure that you’re in that space that you’re able to be the best support for your child. This means get mental health services for yourself.

What are some of the common symptoms and behaviors of mental stress? And does it differ among age groups and races?

Anxiety looks different for everybody. It definitely looks different within different age groups and different demographics. It’s important to always notice change. There’s a lot of psychological responses. Rashes develops in some people. In kids, anxiety can come out as anger, sadness, as isolation. So it can look very different, depending on the person and depending on the age group that they are in. 

How do you get parents to be considerate without condemning a child for voicing issues within a home that the parents would rather avoid?

This questions is answered on the interview. Listen to Christina’s responses along with with other information that could help you and your child(ren) during and post this pandemic.  Also, find out more about IngnitEDU’s services provided to college students and parents.