SAN ANTONIO – With back-to-school season in full swing, parents must be prepared to combat any anxiety in their children as they return to classes.
Anxiety comes in all shapes and sizes and at different levels, which can have dire consequences, especially for those who struggle with their mental health.
Jessica Knudsen is the president and CEO of the Clarity Child Guidance Center, a nonprofit that provides psychiatric help to children ages 3-17. The organization works with thousands of families whose children need mental health assistance and, in some cases, have suicidal thoughts.
“We have a mission to support children and their families in their pursuit of mental wellness,” Knudsen said. “We operate as an inpatient psychiatric hospital for kids. We currently have 66 beds and will have an additional eight beds with the newest build on our campus. Our goal is to basically get kids stabilized and back in the community.”
The organization also has a day program where kids come in from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and attend groups before going home at night.
The center also has traditional outpatient therapy and psychiatric services.
“This is a pivotal window. If we can get good quality care to kids before they reach adulthood, we can change the trajectory of their life,” Knudsen said. “If we get them to understand that taking care of mental is just as important as taking care of their physical health and getting an education, it can really keep them from struggling in their 20s, 30s and adulthood. It is a key time to get good quality intervention.”
Sadly, Knudsen said they tend to see an uptick in families needing their services during back-to-school season.
“School is a big stressor. The kids are having to meet expectations, and then there is the social component to it — social media component to it,” Knudsen said. “All of that factors in. We are seeing a lot of side effects from COVID. Kids with school refusal that are still aren’t ready to go back into the classroom and are still making ground of social plain of things. They missed a big chunk developmentally on that face-to-face interaction with their peers, which is so vital.”
Knudsen said it’s crucial for families to talk about the issues they are dealing with at home.
“We are still hesitant to admit that there is a behavioral health issue or that we have a mental health issue,” Knudsen said. “Statistics show, with kids and adults, that 1 in 5 are going to have some kind of behavioral health challenge in their lifetime. That is someone you know. If it’s not your family, it is someone from church, school, your neighbor.”
She said the first step is acknowledging that it exists and it’s something the family will have to face one way or another.
“Parents know their kids. And if something doesn’t feel right, pay attention to that,” Knudsen said. “Something else that is sad is that it takes about eight years from the first onset symptom to getting into treatment. If we can decrease that time and get people knowing that that symptom is a behavioral issue and then getting them the treatment they need, then that changes the prognosis.”
There is a reason why Knudsen is so passionate about what she does and why she traveled 1,500 miles to join the team at Clarity and has been leading the organization for five years. Her own lived experience drives her.
“My mother spent a lot of my childhood in psychiatric hospitals. I grew up with — Jason and I had an older brother. My older brother and I got it,” Knudsen said. “We understood that mental health issues is a disease and that it needed treatment. Jason was built different. He felt everything. It was really difficult for him to deal with our mother’s challenges. And in turn, he developed his own clinical depression, suffered through his childhood and into adulthood. I think a lot about his trajectory would have been different if he had access to a place like Clarity.”
Knudsen said her brother had his ups and downs, but things took a turn for the worse.
“In his early 30s, depression got pretty severe. He had a pretty serious overdose attempt that put him in the ICU for about a week,” she said.
“His physical health started declining. He got diabetes. He was a stress eater and had some heart issues. He passed at 48 from a cardiac arrest in his sleep. In my opinion, that is not what killed him.”
“We talk about the impact of health by depression or mental health,” Knudsen continued. “His death certificate said cardiac arrest, but it was because of the beating his body took over the years because of the depression and overdose and suicide attempts. If his mental health was in a good place, I don’t think the physical ailments would have killed him at such a young age.”
That chapter of Knudsen’s life motivates her to help others in a similar situation as her brother.
“I have that personal fire, knowing that good quality care can actually change somebody else’s life. And if we can do that even for one person, it is worth everything else,” she said. “We are doing an organization-wide activity called, ‘What’s Your Why?’ We ask all of our staff, ‘What is it that drives you?’ It is a lot of work, but ‘What is it that makes you come back everyday?’ For me, I’ve seen people who were some of the most serious patients are now married with kids or are working or going to college. I think just knowing what we are doing has an impact and makes a difference, you can continue to come everyday and do the work to help that next success story.”
Knudsen is encouraging any family out there who may have children dealing with severe mental health or behavioral challenges or who may be having suicidal thoughts to seek help.
“I think the strongest thing we can do is to admit when we can’t do it all and to ask for help,” she said. “It takes a village. You haven’t failed if you are asking for outside assistance. We need our village. When we need experts in different things, we would go to the right experts. Don’t lose sight of that when getting help with your kids.”
Knudsen said Clarity Child Guidance Center is open 24/7 with its crisis services areas.
“You can walk in and get an assessment,” she said. “If you have a feeling about something, call us and make an appointment. It doesn’t even have to be us. Just find a place to get that help they need, and do not ignore it.”
If you, or someone you know, is struggling with your mental health or having suicidal thought, seek help immediately. You can also call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
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