Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Top 10 Twitter Accounts

I made a list of my Top 10 Twitter Accounts for Children & Families in Crisis:




1.       FSU Counseling Center

@FSUUCC
5 stars

As my audience may be more of students in the Tallahassee area, I wanted to focus on a twitter I personally follow that I believe shares good things for those in the FSU community as well as inspirational tweets to anyone outside the area.  For anyone in the Tally area, or anyone college age, this may be helpful just for daily inspiration or to know what is going on in the area.

2.       Institute for Violence Studies at FSU

@ViolenceStudies
5 stars

Another twitter group that I personally follow is the Institute for Violence Studies at FSU.  As violence within the family or domestic violence (violence among those that live together) can definitely be a crisis for a family, this twitter provides resources and information for individuals who may be experiencing some sort of violence in their home.  

3.       Children’s Commission
@JaxChildren’s
4 stars

As I aspire to move to Jacksonville and work with children there, the Children’s Commission twitter account provides useful resources for children that we adults needs to be aware of.    They specifically shared some information from UNICEF about how children handle emergencies and how we can assist (here at http://www.unicef.org/appeals/)

4.       UNICEF
@UNICEF
4 stars

Following finding the Children’s Commission’s tweets, I stumbled upon the UNICEF twitter page, which promotes the rights and wellbeing of children in over 190 countries.  The twitter account doesn’t necessarily provide much information or useful materials for those that may be experiencing a crisis with a child, rather it promotes news stories and the realities of what children across the world are dealing with.

5.       Nemours Children’s Hospital
@Nemours
4 stars

Nemours is a children’s hospital in a few areas of the country.  If you want up-to-date information on their research, what is happening through the hospital or the movements they are taking part in, they frequently tweet with updates.  I support Nemours and believe it to be a great Children’s Hospital and encourage anyone interested in working with children to follow them.

6.       St. Jude
@StJude
5 stars

I have been a long-standing supporter of and donator to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  A hospital that continues to research for a cure to cancer and never charges the families that enters: wow!  I never hesitate to donate to them and am constantly following their twitter page to see if they have any new findings or to read about the moving stories of the children and families that enter and leave the hospital.  Having a child with cancer takes a large toll on the entire family.  I suggest supporting an organization like St. Jude’s to help find a cure!

7.       Make A Wish
@MakeAWish
5 stars

Children with life-threatening medical conditions are getting to make wishes, wishes that come true through this foundation!  The official twitter page of the Make A Wish Foundation shows the generosity of donors, stories of children whose wishes came true, and job openings for those interested in working for the foundation.  If you have a child who has a life-threatening medical condition, I suggest looking into the Make A Wish foundation to grant them their wishes during this hard time.

8.       Kids Health
@KidsHealth
5 stars

This twitter page provides amazing resources for mostly parents (educators and counselors too) to utilize with their children, from helping their kids with self-esteem issues to how to have a healthy pregnancy.  It provides tangible resources and articles that all parents can use.  I suggest anyone who has a family or works with families to follow this twitter page so that we may all provide the best healthcare (whether personally or professionally) to our children.

9.       Rights For Girls
@Rights4Girls
4 stars

This twitter page provides great information to help prevent crises and trauma from occurring to girls.  It discusses topics from sex trafficking, to foster families, to runaways.  It is based on a Human Rights Project for Girls, gender-based violence, and its impact on young girls.  If you know of any girls impacted by violence, are a girl impacted by violence, or work with girls impacted by violence, this may be a useful tool.  It is also eye-opening and informative for anyone to read.

10.   Child Welfare League of America
@CWLAUpdates
4 stars

Based in Washington, D.C., the Child Welfare League of America aspires to protect every child from harm.  The tweets consist of typically what is going on in the government regarding protecting children and their rights.  It also discusses parenting, and frequently parenting in adoption and foster care.  If you want to stay up to date on movements within the government regarding child welfare and some resources on how to protect children from harm, the CWLA twitter page provides some good information.

The Bystander: Who are you?

A crisis that I have dealt with many times is sexual assault.  I have seen this tear people up, cause anguish in families, reach the news, and really affect the mental health and well-being of people affected.

What if you had the ability to stop a sexual assault from happening?

This poses the question: Who are you?

I suggest everyone needs to watch this video, which highlights how bystanders play a very important role in stopping sexual assault.  It was made in New Zealand but definitely applied to the United States.

Warning: There is alluding imagery and may be very difficult for anyone affected by sexual assault to watch.


For more information please visit: http://feministing.com/2013/03/26/who-are-you-bystander-intervention-as-another-means-to-end-sexual-violence/

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

21st Century Feelings

People can have a wide variety of reactions to crisis. Children are probably experiencing a lot of feelings but don't know how to express them. In my experience it is best to find some creative way to get children to express their feelings. I found this app called Feeling Frenzy that may help with that. It helps kids to choose the positive feelings and negative feelings, and after each round, as a parent, caregiver, counselor, or other professional, you can have them explain what those feelings would look like, what would make them feel that way, or why someone else would feel that way. I highly suggest trying it out, or if you just want a fun and cute game to play, it's free in the App Store.



Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Top 10 Blogs and Podcasts

I present 9 blogs and 1 podcast related to children and families in crisis that may be useful.  Perhaps I am not providing you with the information you need.  I won't take offense if you need to look at someone else's blog! In fact, I would be happier if I could lead you to something more beneficial for you.


1.  Help. Hope. Healing. Crisis Center of Tampa Bay Blog


This blog provides personal stories, local events occurring in the Tampa Bay area, and issues related to crisis.

This resource would be helpful to those in the Tampa Bay area, as well as those who may need inspiration from stories of success, stories that show the after effects of overcoming a crisis.

2.  Pencilled In. Children In Crisis.


Follow the stories of children who experience crisis in Afghanistam, the DR Congo, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

We may not always know the types of crises that occur outside our immediate environment and forget everything else that is going on in the world.  Seeing what kind of difference we can make in the lives of others, especially children in areas like Afghanistan, can be empowering and eye-opening.

  3. Beggar’s Daughter

From a Christian Perspective, Jessica points out the struggles many teen girls deal with regarding lust, sexual promiscuity, pornography, masturbation, and what Christians see as sexual sin.

Things like pornography and masturbation are just not spoken about amongst women.  Jessica puts it all out into the open, is constantly open to receiving e-mails and puts forth the effort to respond to them.  If any girl out there feels alone in this struggle, Jessica helps her to see that she is not alone and see her worth in other things. (The blog is under construction for the month of February, but make sure to take a peek in March!) 

    4. Family Court Crisis – Abusers Getting Custody!

This blog highlights stories of court cases in which it appears the abuser receives custody over the children, as well as some tips with tense topics such as abuse, domestic violence, and relationship violence.

While this blog is quite lengthy and one-sided, it does give an honest opinion of the kinds of dilemmas and controversies surrounding the judicial system, court proceedings, and custody battles.  It puts these things into perspective.  It provides a lot of good information on domestic violence and the adverse effects on children.  If anyone needs more information on these topics this is a good blog to look into.

  5. Cathy Cress, MSW

Social worker Catchy Cress discusses in this single blog entry how even quite normal families can experience their own crises, for example when the children become middle-aged and their parents are elderly.
Her blog doesn’t focus entirely on crisis, but gives some good things to think about.  For someone who may feel like they always experience crises, it is important to realize even the most functional and normal families and individuals experiences crises at some point in their lives.

   6. Goodlife Zen: 21 ways to comfort a friend in crisis

If you’ve ever felt helpless and like you can’t do anything for your friends in crisis, this blog posts give 21 straight forward ways to help.  Sometimes it’s something as simple as being there to listen.
If you’re stumbling upon this and know someone in crisis, they may very well need your help.  You may not be able to give them something tangible, like all of their problems magically fixed, but you can follow these 21 steps (either just one step or all twenty-one) and you can be sure at least one of them will help out.  In my own time I’ve found this difficult and just want to fix their problems, but I must remember being there emotionally, not pushing them, and helping them make decisions may be better than be trying to influence them with my opinions. 

 7. Dr. Kathleen Young: Treating Trauma in Tucson

From the perspective of a Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Young gives information on all aspects of trauma, from suicide, to PTSD, to rape, to things everyone should be aware of going on in the nation.

Dr. Young seems like a down-to-earth kind of person that lays it out there.  If you have a question about trauma, she probably answers it in this blog.  I highly recommend going through her posts and I am sure you will find one that hits a nerve in your body that causes you to read more about it.  If you want your information to come from a professional, but don’t want to be weighed down with jargon, visit her blog.

    8. MidLoveCrisis: A Blog About Love, Life, and Relationships

Within families are relationships, and within families are crises.  This blog discusses how crises may occur in families, in dating, in friendships, and in all types of relationships.

Perhaps your crisis you are going through involves someone you are in a relationship with, whether that be your husband/wife, brother/sister, mom/dad, boyfriend/girlfriend, friend, etc.  This blog gives some good advice as to the types of crises you may deal with in relationships but also how it is possible to overcome them.  It also gives some tips for those mistakes we all make in relationships.

    9. The Good news: Helping Your Children Cope in Family Crisis

When one person in a family is in crisis, it typically affects the whole family.  This blog post discusses helping children who may not know how to cope with a family crisis.
A child may not directly be involved in a crisis, such as bankruptcy or divorce, but it most certainly affects them.  This blog gives some in-depth pointers about how to help children through the family crisis, focusing on being honest and open. 

    10. Real Warriors, Real Advice

I end this top 10 list with a podcast told from veterans and military families the types of crises they endure and the importance of seeking care and counseling.

For anyone who may have family in the military, or is interested in hearing more about ways to help veterans and military families, they first hand witnesses are helpful and encouraging, and reduce that stigma for veterans to obtain counseling.  From learning simple coping strategies to helping children cope, this weekly podcast covers a lot of topics for veterans.

To This Day Project

I write this post with something a little more fun for you: a youtube video! Who doesn't love watching youtube videos? Okay, maybe my father, but that's another story...

Today I bring a video that I came across a while ago and it has stuck with me every since.  And in relation to this blog, we can definitely consider this topic a crisis: bullying.

Bullying is definitely seen as a crisis for kids.  I was bullied all throughout my elementary, middle school, and part of my high school years.  It tormented me.  My self-esteem plummeted.  My self-worth was nonexistent.  I felt like I was constantly being picked on.  I made friends but then found out my so-called friends would talk about me behind my back. 

Crisis? A never-ending crisis.

This powerful and emotion-sparking video captures what bullying does to you and the lasting effects it can have.

There are also other aspects of this video just to think about: the investigative system regarding child abuse, views on counseling, society's views on mental health, psychopharmacology (i.e. meds for mental health, like antidepressants)



I encourage that if you are a victim of bullying, don't be afraid to talk to someone about it.  A teacher, your parents, a friend.  If you know someone who is being bullied, or your child is, don't be afraid to talk to them about it.  They may be silently crying out for help.

AD