By Mary O’KEEFE

The stigma connected to mental health is slowly changing; however, many find it is still there. The therapists at Given Guidance Family Counseling in La Crescenta understand this stigma but also know the importance of reaching out for help when it is needed.

Jamie Given, a licensed marriage and family therapist, along with six other clinicians, serves the community including youth 5 years old and up.

She has been in the area for a while and works with many children and families. One issue that brought to the forefront the need for mental health providers was the 2023 shutdown of Crescenta Valley High School due to intruder/trespasser Brandon Santora.

“We had a busy couple of weeks [after that],” Given said.

Given Guidance Family Counseling was also busy after the recent cyber attack experienced throughout the Glendale Unified School District.

Given said her counseling encourages families to work together on a variety of issues; however, at times kids may not want to share what they’re going through.

“Parents will bring a child in but [sometimes the child is] not ready to talk to a therapist,” she said.

Given does not put pressure on children to talk about whatever issue their parents are concerned about. Instead she allows children to talk about anything they want to share. Often it is gaining the trust of a therapist that is the key to having a child open up.

She has seen how the pandemic has affected children by stunting their social growth. For example, an eighth grade student may have social skills more in line with a sixth grader. Missing the two years of school during the pandemic did affect social interaction, which is important for youth.

In addition to the pandemic, there are other outside sources that are affecting children including social media and technology, like computers and smart phones. This issue may have been exaggerated when they stayed home during COVID-19, spending a lot more time online. This doesn’t just affect kids but adults as well. A new twist is that some are turning to technology for therapy, including accessing artificial intelligence like ChatGPT.

“They are going [online] because that therapy is easily accessible,” she said.

But AI is only as good as those who program it. Often the mental health therapy that is required is very personal and very focused on the individual.

There are also more telehealth options, which Given Guidance does offer, but Given said those under the age of 14 should be seen in person and asks that everyone first start with in-person visits. It is this type of one-on-one conversation that helps build trust and allows the therapist more easily to get to know the client.

“We ask them to please come in person,” she said.

If a child over the age of 14 needs helps but does not want to include their parent, they can come to the counseling office and a therapist will consult with them. Again – it is the therapist’s goal to work with the entire family to facilitate healing; however, there are times children feel they are in danger if they share their concerns with a family member. It may be the child feels uncomfortable sharing.

There are gaps in understanding between some parents and their children. Given and her team work to bridge that gap.

“A child can tell us s/he doesn’t trust his/her parent and [we will ask the child to] tell us just one thing [about his/her] parent,” she said.

And they work from there, one step at a time.

Other parents bring their child to therapy and they work together on issues from the start.

Given said, “We may have a parent in session with one therapist and [his/her] child in a separate session at the same time.”

Given said her practice does see a lot of children of divorce and it works to build relationships among all parties.

Sometimes there is a misunderstanding of what therapy is and what it can do. Some will put a time limit on help, expecting to be “all cured” in a matter of weeks. Others will walk in and not want to talk about what is really an issue to them but instead talk around it. Some simply are not ready for therapy yet.

“We allow it to be up to them,” Given said.

She added sometimes a person comes in and it just doesn’t feel right; the person is too nervous or doesn’t click with the therapist and that is okay.

“I have some people I see every week, others I see once a month, and others that only come when they need support,” she said.

There are others who will come in and say they don’t need this help and everything around them is wrong. This often happens with children.

“We play a game with them or agree that maybe they are right but then ask what’s wrong with everyone else,” she said.

There are some who are uncomfortable with asking for help, even a parent that is worried about their child.

“There can still be a stigma and it is hard to ask for help; but it’s okay to ask for help,” she said.

Given Guidance is located at 2600 Foothill Blvd. Ste 203 in La Crescenta. For additional information contact (818) 446-7488 or email at info@givenguidance.com.