Health and Wellness

Jun

The Impact of Year-Round Mental Health Services for Middle School Girls

Posted on: June 10, 2024

At Pace, we recognize the critical importance of reaching girls in middle school to provide comprehensive, year-round mental health services. Middle school is a pivotal time in a young girl’s life, and addressing mental health challenges at this stage can have a lasting impact on their future well-being.

Girls today are growing up in an environment significantly different from that of previous generations. The rise of social media, increased academic pressure, and evolving social norms contribute to a complex mental health landscape. Investing in their mental health is not just beneficial for the girls themselves but for the broader community, leading to a healthier, more resilient future generation.

We spoke with A’laysia, a seventh grader in the Pace Reach Program in Marion County, South Carolina, as she was getting ready for her middle school dance. She emphasized the positive impact of Pace on her life: “I’m happy I’m in Pace because it feels like nobody’s ‘gonna’ judge you. You have someone to talk to, someone who can support you.”

Alexis Dennison, the passionate counselor leading the Reach Program in Marion County, shared her perspective: “Middle school is a pivotal time for development. By reaching girls at this stage, we can help them build a strong foundation for their mental health that will support them through high school and beyond.”

In 2021, data released by the National Association of Mental Illness painted a stark picture, reporting that over 56% of South Carolinians aged 12 to 17 suffering from depression received no care in the previous year. Moreover, students grappling with depression are two times more likely to drop out of school than their peers. The data is harrowing, but we know that prevention and intervention can change these outcomes.

The Pace Reach Program looks different in every community, as it is designed to meet the unique needs of a community. In South Carolina, Pace counselors and therapists come to local middle and high schools to provide mental health support directly to the girls. This approach ensures that the girls receive the help they need in a familiar and accessible environment, fostering a sense of safety and support within their school community.

While each program may look unique, one constant is the care and dedication of the counselors across Pace. Ms. Dennison is from Marion County, South Carolina and since the age of 10 has wanted to be a counselor and help her community. It is the passion of our counselors and therapists that help make real change in the communities we serve.

During the interview, A’laysia shared her reasons for joining the program, emphasizing the need for a safe space where she can express her feelings without judgment. She mentioned how the program helps her and her peers deal with the “heavy stuff” they carry, creating an environment where they can relax and be themselves. A’laysia plans to take what she learns at Pace and apply those skills throughout high school so she can achieve her dream of becoming a lawyer.

Recognizing the growing need for youth mental health services, Pace expanded to Marion County in March 2023. Over a year, we serve up to 40 girls in Marion County, providing individual, peer group, and family counseling sessions, as well as individual goal setting and implementing strategies for future success. Our services are available year-round, ensuring that girls have access to the support they need, regardless of the time of year. This continuous care is crucial for maintaining progress and stability, especially during school breaks and other transitions that can be challenging for young people.

If you know a girl who could benefit from Pace, learn more about enrollment here: https://www.pacecenter.org/become-a-pace-girl

May

A multifaceted approach to care is essential to supporting girls. Here’s why.

Posted on: May 17, 2022

Advocacy, Health and Wellness

When the pandemic started, Brianna began to see her world unravel — and with it, her mental health.

Brianna loved going to school to be with friends. Although she didn’t love schoolwork, her social life helped her thrive. With schools closing due to the pandemic and more time spent at home, Brianna’s relationships began to suffer. Formerly extroverted Brianna now felt shy and reclusive.

At her new school, a counselor connected her with Pace. When she first entered Pace, she was nervous but found that the size of the classrooms and hours of the program fit her needs. Through wrap-around, personalized behavioral health support, Brianna has taken control of her mental health journey and developed healthy coping mechanisms. She actively engages with Pace programs designed to provide support, such as TOPs — a teen outreach program — Girls Leadership Council, and has taken up running and drawing as hobbies.

Today, Brianna is thriving as a Pace girl in Palm Beach.

As we observe Mental Health Awareness Month this May, stories like Brianna’s — and the untold millions struggling with similar issues amid a growing youth mental health crisis — should be our call to action to take much-needed steps to support our girls and young women.

“Mental health is the center of gravity,” said Heather Blaise, a Pace Reach program manager in Palm Beach. “Finding the support to value yourself and know yourself is foundational to living to your full potential.”

Heather, who shared her perspective sitting next to Brianna in a Palm Beach classroom, sees firsthand the value that a community-first approach to mental health support can deliver.

“The Pace Reach Program is designed to be community based — to go outside of the Pace day programs and meet girls where they’re at: in their schools, in their homes and in their communities,” she said. “Our goal is to ensure that things like transportation and finances don’t become a barrier to providing the behavioral health services that girls need.”

Barriers to access is a significant consideration in improving mental health care. Ripple effects of the pandemic including economic troubles, isolation and health problems are compounding issues that girls were already struggling with while navigating their social lives, their education and changes in their bodies. When these challenges are coupled with barriers to access, girls are left with limited places to turn.

Complex challenges such as these must be met with a multi-faceted approach to support, which is why Pace programs are designed to meet girls where they are both physically and developmentally.

In addition to programs like Reach, Pace employs a support system throughout our holistic approach that addresses three key pillars, including:

● Gender-responsive: We understand girls’ unique perspectives and tailor our approach to their lived experiences.

● Strengths-based: We talk with girls about what they love and help them advance those skills.

● Trauma-informed: We know that traumatic experiences can be at the heart of behavioral issues. Approaching a girls’ lived experience with empathy and compassion is critical to healing.

“People think there is only one way to address mental health issues,” said Brianna, “but when they become more educated on the topic, they can begin to understand mental health on a deeper level.”

Brianna’s words reflect our beliefs at Pace: positive mental health outcomes begin with communication, education and support. Every day, our exceptional team of counselors and therapists work to create safe, inclusive spaces and help girls realize and harness their power. Sharing this ethos is key to helping girls across the country navigate the ongoing mental health crisis.

As Brianna and Heather sat together in the classroom discussing their unique perspectives on mental health, one thing is clear: there is no substitute for genuine connection and care.

If you have a girl or young woman in your life, Mental Health Awareness Month is a great time to check-in with her. Sometimes just asking someone how she is doing can be an important step to prevention or to beginning a healing journey. If you know someone who may be a good fit for our programs, click here to learn more about Pace.

Apr

Pace Provides Teen Girls Safe Spaces to Express Themselves through Art

Posted on: April 18, 2022

Health and Wellness

All girls, regardless of their story, deserve safe and supportive spaces to heal that help them to become strong, compassionate, and successful women. Through creative outlets, girls can find their inner voice, examine values and morals, and look towards the future.

During National Poetry Month, Pace girls are teaming up with community partners for a series of art and poetry workshops.

Pace Miami partnered with O, Miami Poetry Festival and Bakehouse Art Complex to teach girls the fundamental principles of art-making and poetry writing as vehicles for self-expression. The eight-week program, led by writer Arsimmer McCoy and visual artist Patricia Monclus, culminated with a poetry reading celebration and publication of a limited-edition book of the girls’ work.

“The girls are enjoying all the [art/poetry] sessions,” said Britney, Spirited Girls Teacher at Pace Miami. “The educators are doing a magnificent job with instructions and engagement. Pace Miami is very grateful to have this infused art opportunity within the Spirited Girls curriculum.”

Pace’s Spirited Girls class focuses on the developmental needs of girls, life and vocational skills, diversity, spirituality, and empowerment. In the class, girls can express themselves in a context of gentle guidance that supports their self-discovery and growth.

We sat down with Annah from Pace Lee, who wrote her first poem about the unique strengths of a woman in the Spirited Girls class. Annah shared: “Writing is important because I am able to express myself and get more creative with what I do. In the Spirited Girls! class, we learned about the struggles women went through, and the class helped me express myself. Women have not been treated with the same respect and equality as men, and what I want people to take away from my poem is that women are strong and able to get through anything.”

Annah was the first middle school girl at Pace Lee to accomplish the Grace stage, the highest level of Pace’s Growth & Change Recognition Program. Girls move through the recognition program as they complete milestones that align with Pace’s nine guiding principles.

Annah’s counselor Ms. Leslie reflected on Annah’s growth and development thus far at Pace: “Annah has made strong relationships with positive peers. She has straight A’s and a 100% attendance rate. But she doesn’t give herself enough credit. She’s an absolute rock star.”

In all its various forms, art is a powerful tool for expression for girls like Annah and is weaved throughout the fabric of Pace’s programs.

Dec

Mental Health During the Holidays

Posted on: December 22, 2021

Health and WellnessTagged Community Support, Counseling, Mental Health

The media often presents the holidays as a cheerful time for all. Images of couples kissing under the mistletoe and families gathered around a warm fire dominate our screens throughout the season.

But sometimes, what should be a joyful time instead reminds people of the challenges in their lives; couples being asked when they’ll have children while silently battling with infertility or miscarriages, reminders of lost loved ones, family members experiencing the criminal justice system, or interactions with people who may have caused harm and trauma.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 64% of people with mental illness report that the holidays make their conditions worse. Children and teens are not immune from this, as the highest rate of child psychiatric hospitalizations occurs in the winter.

For young women and girls, who according to the CDC experience higher rates of depression than their male counterparts, it is especially important to have access to resources that help them cope with seasonal stress, depression and anxiety brought on by the holidays.

Pace provides support to girls by centering their experiences as young women in today’s world and recognizing how trauma may inform the choices they make.

“This Christmas will be hard for us because this will be the first Christmas without my dad,” said Jennifer, a 16-year old Pace student. “He passed on the 25th of September of this year, so the 25th of December will be even harder. I see my mom doing her best to be strong, so I’m trying to be strong for her. I just wish people understood that Christmas isn’t about presents – it’s about family, so don’t take them for granted.”

We could all use a little more kindness in our lives, so it’s always important to remember that you never know the internal struggles the person in front of you may be smiling through.

Everyone, regardless of their story, deserves safe and supportive spaces to heal. Keep in mind, it’s ok to take care of yourself in whatever way is best for you this holiday season.

Oct

Teachers are Being Called on to Support Students Total Wellbeing

Posted on: October 8, 2021

Health and WellnessTagged Believing in Girls, Counseling, Middle and High School Academics

Teachers are increasingly being called on to be educators, counselors, and support systems for students. Schooling has been turned into a “universal large-scale experiment.” As of October of 2021, education in the United States has been impacted by COVID-19 for a year and a half.

While not alone, Pace Center for Girls has felt the push and pull of changes to learning, ways to support positive behavioral health, and how to provide a safe and trusting environment for our team members as well as our girls. We have experienced the deep systemic inequities of our families, differing approaches to dealing with stress, disrupted carefully crafted routines at our centers, and enhanced the vision of schools as “social-service providers and connectors”.

In the following PBS NewsHour Extra video, teens discuss feelings of negative thoughts, isolation, a desire to stay optimistic, and the need of love, support, and encouragement while going to school during the pandemic.

Although trauma-informed and trauma-responsive care is at the core of Pace Center for Girls services, this pandemic brings about new and challenging opportunities.

We, at Pace Center for Girls hear these concerns from our students as well. As we continue to live through, now the impact of the Delta Variant; dedicated educators and counselors at Pace Center for Girls continue to wrestle with how to ensure that collective care and responsibility for learning and self-care are constructed.

Our focus was and remains answering the question: How do we help balance our girls and team members’ physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing?

As our team members work diligently to support our girls, we have seen positivity and ingenuity through adoption of remote educational and social emotional technologies to help with this balance, improve grades, build good relationships with teachers and counselors, and ways to reduce class sizes.

Microsoft Teams Video Conferencing allows our counselors and teachers to engage with our girls in both auditory and visual manners. Our National Office team members check in for counselors and teachers to assist in reducing anxiety a way for team members to participate in meetings, and easy access to classroom assignments.
Smiling Mind App created by psychologist and educators, this mindfulness app assists with, staying connected, using self-care, and achieving emotional calmness.
Wakelet provides a place for teachers to curate content and student a place to collaborate.
Nearpod provides classroom curriculum that is tied to Florida Standards and allow the girls to engage our girls in remote and in classroom learning sessions.
Google Classrooms to allow for creation, distribution and grading of lessons as well as assignments.
Mentimeter, Poll Everywhere, and Padlet are all websites that encourage real-time response through live polls, quizzes and word clouds to check in with our girls and create engagement during group sessions and classroom lessons.
Kahoot has a library of Social Emotional Lessons that help build empathy, provide opportunities to check in and even build resilience.

According to Psychologist Angela Lee Duckworth, the key to success is grit. So, as we move through this unprecedented time, we need to remind ourselves of two things:

The importance and continuation of providing self-care, and
that having passion, perseverance, and stamina to ensure your achievement of future goals is our way toward a better future.