Note: In honor of Minority Mental Health Month, this week’s blog talks about North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s Latina Girls Project.
Any parent of a teenager knows that the adolescent years can be challenging, and they aren’t alarmed when their kids exhibit a healthy dose of moodiness and angst. But for some young people, feelings of desperation and sadness can become overwhelming, and that’s when North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center steps in to help.
In her work as Associate Executive Director at the Guidance Center, Regina Barros-Rivera has counseled numerous teens who suffer from depression and anxiety. But a few years ago, she noticed a disturbing trend: An increasingly large number of first-generation Latinas were coming to the Guidance Center with severe depression, self-harming behaviors and suicidal thoughts. Many had stopped going to school, and some had been hospitalized for suicide attempts.
Barros-Rivera soon discovered that nationwide research mirrored what she was seeing at the Guidance Center. Studies show that Hispanic teenage girls are significantly more likely than their non-Hispanic peers to suffer from depression and thoughts of suicide. Sadly, many have attempted suicide or killed themselves.
Barros-Rivera, herself the daughter of immigrant parents, was gravely concerned—and determined to do something to help the teens and their families. She gathered a team of bilingual, multicultural counselors from the Guidance Center and created the Latina Girls Project, an innovative program that employs individual, group and family therapy, along with monthly outings and other activities, all designed to tackle issues such as depression, low self-esteem, school refusal and suicidal ideation.
WARNING SIGNS
Following are some signs that your child or teen may be at risk of a suicide attempt. From the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychology:
- Family history of suicide attempts
- History of depression
- Exposure to violence
- Impulsivity
- Aggressive or disruptive behavior
- Access to firearms
- Bullying
- Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness
- Acute loss or rejection
- Changes in eating or sleeping habits
- Frequent or pervasive sadness
- Withdrawal from friends, family, and regular activities
- Frequent complaints about physical symptoms often related to emotions, such as stomachaches, headaches, fatigue, etc.
- Decline in the quality of schoolwork
- Preoccupation with death and dying
If your child or teen exhibits these symptoms, contact the Guidance Center at 516-626-1971 for help.
A big part of the reason these girls are struggling is because they are pulled in conflicting directions, says Barros-Rivera. “Their parents want them to adhere to the traditional values of their homeland, while the girls seek to integrate into American culture,” she explains.
The result: Parents are often extremely overprotective; they won’t allow their daughters to venture out and participate in the activities such as sleepovers, dating or trips to the mall. “That leaves the girls feeling like they are trapped and have no way out, which creates a very dangerous situation,” says Barros-Rivera.
Even if the teens are allowed to go out with their friends, they are required to have a chaperone, such as a parent or brother. In addition, they are often relegated to gender-biased roles, required to cook, clean and take care of their siblings while their brothers are treated , as one girl said, “like princes.”
During individual and group therapy sessions, the girls realize that they can trust their counselors, many of whom also grew up as first-generation Latinas. The counselors teach the girls healthy ways to deal with stress and depression and better ways to communicate with their parents.
For their part, the parents become more compassionate about their daughters’ feelings and also understand the need to let their teens separate in healthy, age-appropriate ways. As one girl put it, “My parents learned that I just wanted them to be there for me and listen. They learned that it doesn’t help to question why I feel the way I do but to accept it and support me.”
The teens also go on supervised monthly outings to museums, historical sites and even Broadway shows, thanks to the support of the John and Janet Kornreich Charitable Foundation. These trips serve to boost their confidence and sense of independence. They also discover that there’s a great big world of opportunity out there for them, which allows them to feel optimistic about their futures.
“After we work with them, they see hope,” says Barros-Rivera. “They develop self-reliance and self-esteem.” With a big smile on her face, she adds, “I just love these girls!”
More Help for Your Teen from Latina Social Media Activists
It’s not unusual for teenagers to be reluctant to speak with their parents about issues such as depression. Of course, it’s important to do your best to engage them in these conversations, but there is also an important avenue you can use to help your daughter learn more about mental health from her peers. Share this link with them that highlights seven Latina activists who are blogging about mental health.
Sources:
http://www.humansafetynet.com/latina-teens/
https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Teen-Suicide-010.aspx
https://fierce.wearemitu.com/things-that-matter/latina-mental-health-activists-follow-social-media/
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/10/20/lia.latina.suicides/index.html?eref=rss_us
https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children/school-refusal
