When Leticia Guerrero-Castaneda’s son was in fifth grade, and the pandemic hit, he developed severe anxiety. He would wash his hands so continuously that they’d begin to bleed.

Guerrero-Castaneda had a tough time coping. “As a parent, it affects you a lot when your kids are mentally unwell.”

She has two kids, is a 911 dispatcher and a full-time psychology student.

“When the pandemic hit and all of those recent issues were coming up with my kids, things just felt so hard. I felt like I used to be losing myself as an individual and as a parent,” Guerrero-Castaneda said.

When Guerrero-Castaneda was at her lowest, the principal at her kids’ school, Norma Coombs Elementary School in Pasadena, told her a few recent program for folks – The Community Health Motion Mental Perseverance workshop (CHAMP).

The CHAMP workshops ran from September to April of the 2021-22 school 12 months. Three psychologists ran 4 sessions to assist parents of elementary school-aged children address recent mental health challenges of recent years.

“Throughout the pandemic, parents not only became caregivers, in addition they became teachers and coaches and friends and therapists for his or her children … nobody asked, ‘How are these parents doing?'” said Cassandra Peel, considered one of the founders of this system. “That is what this program was all about.”

Within the spring of 2020, three psychologists at Pacific Oaks College, Cassandra Peel, Camille Huggins and Giovanni Hortua, noticed that the mental health of fogeys of their community was getting ignored. They approached Norma Coombs Elementary School, a predominantly low-income school in Pasadena, to co-develop a mental health program for folks.

This system specifically targeted English learner parents and Black parents. Within the workshops, parents discussed their fears, anxieties and grief across the pandemic.

“To start with, many parents spoke concerning the unpredictability of every day and about how their entire family structure was changing because of lockdown,” said Huggins. Within the Black parent workshop, a number of parents spoke about young Black boys and their mental health. Parents also felt that their kids were losing their childhood and didn’t know how one can cope with that.”

Peel, Huggins and Hortua provided tactics for stress management and taught parents how one can communicate unexpected death and loss to their children.

“It was so healing to have time with other parents going through similar things that I used to be,” said Guerrero-Castaneda. “After the workshops, I at all times felt so far more equipped to return to my family and tackle whatever challenges we were facing that day.”

Guerrero-Castaneda said that it was within the CHAMP workshop that she began realizing she was depressed. “Talking to those psychologists and other parents really gave me the space to see that I used to be not OK and I needed some more support … I do not think I’d have realized [that] without having this space to place words to my feelings.”

The CHAMP psychologists provided referrals and further one-on-one sessions to folks after workshops. Guerrero-Castaneda began seeing a therapist after the CHAMP group ended.

Because the last workshop series resulted in late April, Hortua and Huggins said they’re brainstorming ideas for what the community needs next. “We at all times have to be shifting focus to actually understand what parents are needing. We regularly ignore them. Right away, we’re seeing educators and fogeys coping with serious anxiety around school safety,” Huggins said.

It was so healing to have time with other parents going through similar things that I used to be.

Leticia Guerrero-Castaneda, Parent

After the shooting in Uvalde this 12 months, parents must negotiate the complex and scary feelings of sending their kids to preschool. For educators, it is the anxiety of going to high school themselves, Huggins said.

“We’re in a recent place … normalcy has modified … parents must grieve the proven fact that they do not have a way of safety and security in the identical way they used to … and we’d like to handle the proven fact that these parents and educators are scared.”

Norma Coombs Elementary School principal Debra Lucas said schools have to be open to working with recent programs and out of doors resources to assist students and families in recent and progressive ways.

“We want to handle the entire community. CHAMP made us see there’s a lot need amongst parents and educators. If we get them to feel mentally well and stable, our young students will likely be so significantly better equipped in the long term.”

The CHAMP program will likely be implemented in other school districts next 12 months.

“Parents as much as students and educators need the space to precise themselves, reflect, and voice and honor their needs,” Huggins said. “We would like to supply these parents permission and tools to feel what they should feel and work with themselves.”

Parent Mental Health Suggestions from CHAMP Program Psychologists

CHAMP psychologists Cassandra Peel, Camille Huggins and Giovanni Hortua shared the highest suggestions that helped parents in this system.

1. Support Your Children by Emphasizing Your Love for Them Each day
“Parents and guardians that stand up every morning, prepare meals for kids and kiss them before they leave for college explained to us that they did so because they might not see them ever again. That is the tough reality we’re all living in, and letting your relations know they’re loved doesn’t mean spoiling or letting them not have boundaries. It’s ensuring you could have a healthy line of communication along with your children while also letting them know they’re loved and treasured.”

2. Acknowledge That You Are Doing the Best You Can
“We’re our own harshest critic, and having grace with ourselves, acknowledging our limits and capability, will minimize blame and self-doubt and reduce depression and anxiety symptoms. Despite these tense times, understand that as parents and guardians, you might be considering one of the best precautions possible to make sure a stable and healthy environment on your children.”

3. It’s OK to Be Honest With Your Children About Your Lived Reality and Your Fears
“Children may consider parents and guardians as superheroes: perfect without fear. Nevertheless, life throws curveballs that make us react in a lower than courageous way. It is vital to be transparent with our kids when coping with reality. Children are at all times watching and mimicking your actions and would appreciate truthful conversations and to partner with you on handling situations. It will teach them coping skills and resilience.”

More Mental Health Resources for Parents within the Greater Los Angeles Area

• The National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) offers a free six-week education program for folks and caregivers who’ve children coping with mental illnesses. This system is tailored for folks’ busy schedules. NAMI has a Westside Los Angeles chapter.
• The Whole Child is a nonprofit that primarily provides mental health services and other essential resources to single parents in nonwhite communities around L.A.
• The National Parent Helpline is a national organization parents can call for advice and a supportive ear in the event that they are experiencing parenting struggles.
• The USC Caregiver Support Center offers support groups for several types of caregivers around L.A.
• Alma Family Services offers mental health support for Spanish-speaking parents and families.
• WIN Los Angeles (Westside Infant Family Network) is a nonprofit that gives free, in-home mental health support to vulnerable and underserved families around L.A.

Want to start out connecting with other parents? Join our bilingual PBS SoCal for Families/ PBS SoCal para familias Facebook group.