A Growing Need

Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post

Youth suicide is on the rise, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Counselors across the county have established initiatives to aid youths’ mental health in schools and DSHS plans to discuss with schools what can be done.

Nehilot Dipiazza, public health nurse for Kerr County Health Services Region 8, which also covers Gillespie County, gave a health report at the Aug. 14 Gillespie County Commissioners’ meeting on the 2022 year and presented new goals concerning mental health of youths in the county.

She confirmed with Judge Daniel Jones of Gillespie County they are working on new initiatives to address the local mental health crisis, specifically the rising suicide rate in teens.

In Gillespie County, in the past several years, the rate of suicide is higher than the rest of the state of Texas, according to the CDC, and DSHS has reactivated the Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT) to more closely surveil rates of suicide in children (overseeing Gillespie, Bandera, Kendall and Kerr counties).

Jones said there “needs to be an increase” in mental health resources available to children.

The CFRT — affiliated with but not led by the government — works to improve the response to child fatalities, provide accurate information on how and why children are dying and ultimately reduce the number of preventable child deaths by establishing an effective review and standardized data collection system for all child fatalities that will inform local programming to reduce preventable risks for children, according to DSHS.

The team works with a list of local individuals, including medical examiners or justices of the peace, members of law enforcement, child protective services, district attorneys and others in communities to “provide information regarding the child’s death or prevention measures relating to the type of death,” Aubri Reed, officer of the local CFRT, said.

What’s available now

While during summer, children had the comfort of being at home, being back in school brings on a set of challenges for children to manage, local licensed master social worker Gina Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez, a counselor at the Hill Country Community Needs Council, visits St. Mary’s School, Fredericksburg Independent School District and Harper schools.

The Needs Council is an option for parents who cannot provide the mental health services their children need because they can’t afford to travel for care or pay out of pocket.

Children are “feeling more pressure,” and their moods might not be labeled yet, said Cindy Heifner, executive director of the Needs Council.

Counselors help youths to see what emotions look like and what can be done when they have them, through continued social and emotional education.

Rodriguez provided therapies for domestic violence, trauma, depression, anxiety, depression with anxiety, sexual abuse, all in the month of July.

Early trauma, divorce or expectations on themselves can compound and contribute to anxiety, Rodriguez explained.

She also mentioned that lockdowns can cause fear in students. Parents and guardians, as well as the students, are notified when there will be a drill for shooter preparedness, assuring them that it is only to be prepared for a potential event.

Counselors from the Needs Council have also worked with children after the tragedy in Uvalde, Heifner said.

Pinpointing the problem

The first order of business in a session, Rodriguez said, is to get to the bottom someone’s anxiety, depression or what it is that they are living with (other mental illness) and why.

“We really try to find out what is the cause for the symptoms that they are experiencing,” she said.

Rodriguez said it is difficult to pinpoint one reason for why a child is struggling with their mental illness.

“You might be having some problems with a friend, or maybe you broke up with a boyfriend and it leads to depression and that stems to anxiety.”

Heifner said the numbers of children in need of help has also risen since the beginning of the pandemic.

It was a seismic shift for everyone, and children experience lingering effects, Rodriguez said.

“A lot of times we can work through cognitive behavioral therapy or solution-focused psychotherapy to help with coping skills and tools to help them whenever they do have bouts of anxiety.”

A leading causeof anxiety

Phone use is one of the leading factors to our mental health crisis, she said.

“Whether we say it or not, it all affects us,” she said about phone use.

Rodriguez gives talks every month to classes, where she educates students on what mental illness looks like and what can be done about it. Much of the subjects she discusses concern the effects of social media on individuals.

Hormones are released when using social media, and it becomes something a child wants to return to.

“We need human connection,” Rodriguez said. “I think, unfortunately, a lot of our kids are getting that through social media — through Snapchat or Instagram.”

Even if a child is not feeling distressed or distraught to a large extent after using social media, she confirmed that people are still physically affected in the brain.

“I think they’re going to those social platforms for that social connection, and it’s not real,” Rodriguez said.

Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook all give an addictive response, she said, and the psychophysical response (brain activity) is not the same when being with someone in person.

“Its original intent was to connect people, but it absolutely doesn’t replace personal human connection,” she said about virtual connections.

“Hear their voice. Listen to their laugh. Be able to react to their response.”

She said the emotional connection that humans need is not met through a text message. She said that human connection — the ability to see someone’s face, hear their voice, see their emotion, be able to share whatever personally — is important to mental health.

In therapy, children learn to implement different skills that will help them to self-regulate.

“We are available for individuals when they are ready to pursue it,” she said. “We try to meet everyone where they’re at.”

Counselors bring clients to a place where they are able to function without mental illness interfering with daily life.

Connection in a QR code

All children can access resources to find and begin therapy with people like Rodriguez through the counseling program at their school.

A QR code can be found on school bulletin boards and tacked to walls that link to a form to reach Rodriguez.

She began sharing the code with school teachers last year, and found it was an easy, accessible way for children to reach her confidentially.

Boxes are available for students on St. Mary’s campus to drop notes to counselors, but the QR code used across many schools offers more privacy. Rodriguez emphasized that confidentiality is important to youths.

“Mental health has always been pretty taboo,” she said. “I think we’re getting to a place where were trying to be more comfortable talking about it.”

She said the best way for children to know when they might need to reach out is by having more mental health education, focusing on how technology affects a person physically and socially.