In this time of COVID-19 with the economic insecurity and anxiety about health saturating the atmosphere, with schools and daycares closed, with parents either working from home or at home and not working at all, it’s inevitable that our children will understand that something big is going on and most of them will also have big feelings about it.
Here at Evergreen we don’t see children younger than 12, but we do know that many parents of younger children in our community may be struggling.
That’s why we put together some resources we gathered from our therapist colleague community in case your child is struggling with increased anxiety, regressed behaviors, and big feelings about coronavirus and you’re struggling to figure out how to support them/talk to them about it all.
Great child therapists (for kids 11 and under) who made the shift to providing online therapy to kids at this time:
- Laila Shamszad, MFT; www.lailashamszadmft.com; (510) 380-8433
- Katrinca Ford, LMFT, katrinca@familyplaytherapy.com; (925) 831-1926
- Dina Leitch, LMFT @ 415-308-4461 … https://www.dinaleitchmft.com/ContactMe.en.html
- Jesse Strassman, LMFT @ 415-378-7085 … https://www.marinkidstherapy.com
- Monique Bendzick, LMFT @ 707-229-1146 … https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/monique-bendzick-napa-ca/371970
Further reading and resources to help talk about COVID-19 to kids:
- MindHeart.co Workbook: https://bit.ly/3agA6Bd
- NPR Comic: https://n.pr/2UhGB0I
- Youtube COVID-19 Germs Experiment: https://bit.ly/33H5XIN
- Gozen: 4 Expert Videos To Help Kids Manage Anxiety About COVID https://bit.ly/2UzPl1b
- Printable Coronavirus narrative: https://bit.ly/33Kyyg0
- PBS How to talk to kids about coronavirus: https://to.pbs.org/2JbbiOZ
Relaxation resources for children:
- Sea Otter Cove: A relaxation story: Introducing deep breathing to decrease stress and anger while promoting peaceful sleep (Download on I-Tunes)
- Indigo Ocean Dreams: Children’s bedtime stories designed to decrease stress anger and anxiety while increasing self-esteem, and self awareness (Download on I-Tunes)
- Moshi Twilight Sleep Series (App): Calming stories, meditations, music, and sleep sounds
- Glitter Jar video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE4Id5rYkrw&app=desktop