Opinion: Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Is Helping Young People Find Purpose During the Pandemic
written by Vidya Krishnan, Chief Psychiatrist and Medical Director, Children’s Health Council
During my nearly 15 years as an adolescent psychiatrist, I have worked with hundreds of young people and their families seeking a path to mental health through problem-solving, relationship and communication tools—and when appropriate—medication. But, until last year, I had not seen hopelessness so prevalent in young people. Read more ›
For the past 15 months, we’ve been carefully following safety protocols, and strict mandates have helped inform our decisions. Now, as we come out of our COVID caves, the rules are more ambiguous and varying comfort levels collide. It can create a whole new wave of anxiety around what feels safe, especially when our precautions don’t match those around us.
They are the people you love most in the world, but living 24/7 under one roof with your family is stressful and tension filled. Even small things that never bothered you are major irritants now. And now you have the added tension of re-entry – with different family members having different ideas about what that should look like. How do you as a parent navigate all of this and support your family? 
As parents, we all want to create a safe, nurturing and stable home for our families. And the collective, cumulative trauma of the past year has made it harder than ever. So it makes sense that we might turn to trauma-informed parenting, often utilized by foster parents or those whose children have experienced trauma, for ideas. 
My name is Ramsey Habib Khasho. I still wince when I say my middle name. (Sorry, Dad). The name harbors years of discrimination against me and my family, and the ensuing internalized shame. And then there’s the shame of feeling the shame, even after all this time. 
Feeling anxious about coming out from behind your computer screen? You are not alone. According to the APA, nearly 50% of Americans say they feel anxious about getting back to ‘normal’ post-pandemic, enough for psychologists to coin the phrase “re-entry anxiety.”
We’re experiencing what mental health experts call a “collective trauma”– overwhelm, isolation and the loss of what life used to be. Some have flourished during shelter-in-place and are anxious about re-entry. Others have lost so much that it feels like only thing left to hold onto is hope. 
For those with social or situational anxieties, sheltering-in-place may have brought comfort and control, and even the anticipation of re-entry can be debilitating. But these stressful times can also be a teaching moment, for us to validate our kids’ feelings and model healthy coping strategies.
Research indicates that self-compassion is associated with greater emotional resilience, higher self-confidence, more caring behavior, and less reactive anger. 
COVID has altered almost every aspect of our lives, and the effects of this cumulative and prolonged stress response can affect our brain size, structure and functioning.
