U of C offering free counselling for parents, kids to help with pandemic stress

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — As the kids headed back to school, some would say pressure was taken off parents — though sometimes, the stress never goes away.

The University of Calgary, Werklund School of Education has extended their Integrated Services in Education (ISE) free clinic for 2021.

Are you a parent supporting a child who is struggling with social, emotional, and/or behavioural difficulties as a result of the pandemic? Register now for FREE counselling services through Werklund’s Integrated Services in Education clinic. #mentalhealth https://t.co/RZq9daPlhC

— Werklund School (@UCalgaryEduc) December 17, 2020

“We were hearing from the families we were seeing throughout spring and summer from May through December of 2020 that the children were benefiting from the counselling program and they asked that we continue providing the services,” said Dr. Erica Makarenko, PsyD, director of ISE in a news release.

She added that whether individuals are experiencing pandemic-related distress, sleep disturbances, or mood-management difficulties — participants will benefit from increased resilience that will allow them to sustain their social, emotional and mental well-being throughout the pandemic.

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The two programs; Strong Mind, Strong Me and Strong Parents, Strong Kids are facilitated by PhD and Masters students in School and Applied Child Psychology and Counselling Psychology, under the supervision of an experienced registered psychologist.

For kids aged six to 18, the Strong Mind, Strong Me program will feature eight virtual sessions with various goals including:

-to provide support to children and youth who are struggling with social, emotional, and/or behavioural difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 situation;
-to assist the participants to recognize, understand, and manage their feelings and behaviors related to COVID-19;
-to support children in learning and practice adaptive coping strategies in response to their feelings; and
-to offer an opportunity for student clinicians and registered provisional psychologists to develop their intervention skills and support our community. These services are being provided free of charge.

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For adults, the Strong Parents, Strong Kids program was newly created for 2021 and is modeled to provide support to parents who have been impacted by the COVID-19 situation.

“For parents, the program focuses on building resilience and caring for oneself to best support their families. Parents learn similar strategies as children for recognizing and managing feelings of worry or stress and how they can support their children in managing these feelings,” Makarenko said.

Goals for the family sessions include:

-to provide support to parents residing in Alberta who are struggling with social and/or emotional difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 situation;
-to provide support to parents to support their children who might be struggling with social, emotional, and/or behavioural difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 situation;
-to assist the participants to recognize, understand, and manage their feelings and behaviours related to COVID-19;
-to support parents in learning adaptive coping strategies for themselves and their children in response to unhelpful feelings;
-to offer an opportunity for student clinicians and registered provisional psychologists to develop their intervention skills and support our community. These services are being provided free of charge.

The programs run roughly 45 minutes to an hour, respectively and is free as long as you live in Alberta.

To register, click here.