Coping Skills BY THE CHILDREN’S COALITION FOR NORTHEAST LOUISIANA
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anaging stress is an important part of building resilience. Having a range of healthy coping skills to turn to allows young people to bounce back from challenges. We hope our children will come to us to talk about the stress in their lives. The reality is they often attempt to manage stress on their own. And in their attempts to reduce discomfort, teens often turn to things that make them feel better quickly. This may include taking part in risky behaviors like drinking or drug use. These short-term “fixes” are often misguided attempts to deal with stress. Equipping teens with a wide range of healthy coping DR. SCOTT skills reduces the need to turn to worrisome behaviors and supports emotional and physical health. Dr. Scott Shelby is the owner and CEO of Family Solutions. Family Solutions has three divisions: The Counseling Center which provides outpatient counseling, therapy, psychiatric care, medication management, and psychological testing; Behavioral Developmental Services which provides comprehensive autism treatment with ABA
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therapy for children and adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder; The Therapy Center which provides occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy to children and adults. Family Solutions has grown to serve individuals and families in North Louisiana having 8 practice locations and employing a staff of over 130 passionate employees that provide the highest standard of care. Q: What is the most important thing parents need to know about coping skills? A: It’s important to know that it is never too early or too late to learn a new coping skill or fine tune the prior learned skills. It is one thing to learn the skills, SHELBY however, parents need to help their children put these methods into practice. Practice, practice, practice! Teaching your child healthy, appropriate coping skills could be the most important thing parents teach their children. Self-care is something you can teach your child to do that incorporates many coping skills. Self-care is not something you do once you are totally stressed out, but rather, self-care is a daily practice of engaging in healthy activities that make you
happy and help you maintain you physical, mental and emotional health. Q: Why is it important for parents to talk to their children about coping skills? How does this impact their health? A: Talking to your child in a positive way when they are struggling is critical. It can be as simple as creating a safe place for children to express their feelings. Keep in mind their feelings are very important to them, even if you do not agree. By creating a safe place to explore your child’s feelings, you can then help them discover healthy methods to deal with the situation they are facing. Talking it out can be very helpful. Remember, talking with your child about the struggles they are facing is very different from you as the parent trying to solve their problem for them. Q: What are some examples of coping skills that you can share that parents can help teach their child? A: Talking it out is a great way for anyone to express feelings and find solutions to circumstances. Talking it out with parents, a friend or a professional can help your child not feel like they are dealing with this alone. It is important to not be judgmental, rather supportive and encouraging. Taking a break is a great way to stop and shift your focus