If you have noticed a shift in your daughter’s well-being in the past couple of years, we are here to tell you that you are not alone. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on everyone’s lives, especially adolescents. Luckily, there is hope. Here at Clearview Girls Academy, we are constantly changing and adapting to fit your child’s mental health needs. This has been especially true in a post-COVID world.
The American author James Baldwin once said that “People are trapped in history, and history is trapped in them.” That is sometimes what living in a post-COVID 2022 world feels like. Society now has this collective COVID-19 experience that permeates our lives. It is undeniable
It is no understatement to say that COVID-19 changed the entire landscape of human existence. Perhaps, not since World War II was a moment in time been so universally experienced. It’s hard to think of an aspect of life now that has not shifted in some way since March 2020. That is certainly true in the recovery realm.
Understanding the Mental Health Effects of COVID
The collective trauma of COVID-19 has caused cases of mental health, life-controlling issues, and substance use disorders (SUDs) to spike. It has been shown that the COVID-19 experience has been especially hard on adolescents. We here at Clearview Girls Academy have seen this firsthand. For this reason, we are constantly staying up to date and shifting what our “individualized plans” look like to best fit our students’ needs.
A little over a year and a half into the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory on the Youth Mental Health Crisis Further Exposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The advisory explains how “[E]ven before the pandemic, an alarming number of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression, and thoughts of suicide – and rates have increased over the past decade.
The COVID-19 pandemic further altered their experiences at home, school, and in the community, and the effect on their mental health has been devastating. The future well-being of our country depends on how we support and invest in the next generation.”
The Resilience of Our Youth
Here at Clearview Girls Academy, we understand this call to action fully. We have seen how the past two-plus years of isolation and confusion have wrought havoc on our youth. While it has been a confusing time for everyone, that has been especially true in the still mentally developing adolescent population.
However, it should also be noted that we have been amazed and uplifted by the resilience we have seen in our students here at Clearview Girls Academy. Sometimes society underestimates the ability of our youth to endure. While COVID-19 certainly tried to knock many of them down, we are seeing our students continue to get back up, fight and win.
The Disproportionate Effects of COVID on Adolescent Well-Being
According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “37% of youth experienced poor mental health during COVID-19, and 44% of youth experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past 12 months.” These are staggering numbers to contend with, but that is exactly what Clearview Girls Academy’s mission is all about.
It seems that young women are struggling with their mental health more than ever. The CDC also explains how young women are a particularly vulnerable group in this regard. The same study showed that “57% of female youth experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness […] compared to 31% of male youth.”
While COVID-19 has undoubtedly tried to push our kids down, we are here to tell you that we can help lift them back up. If you have seen your daughter struggling, know that we are here to help. Clearview Girls Academy has a balanced program to help our students recover, so they can best navigate the new post-COVID world in which we now live.
How to Recover in a Post-COVID World
Here at Clearview Girls Academy, we believe in a balanced three-part approach to recovery. Those parts include a focus on academics, emotional well-being, and spiritual growth.
#1 Academics
All of the effects of the isolation that teenagers went through during the lockdown and remote learning period of COVID-19 are still yet unknown. More and more information is coming in all of the time. What we do know is that the lack of socialization has been devastating.
That is why getting your daughters back in a classroom with their peers is critical to us. We are a fully accredited middle school and high school, and getting our students in those classrooms has never been more crucial.
#2 Emotional Well-Being
For emotional support and stability, we offer a variety of therapies that can help your daughters grow. While we provide traditional therapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), we also offer therapies like equine and art therapy. These approaches to treatment can get your daughter back into the world that COVID-19 has taken from her over the last two years.
#3 Spirituality
We also believe that now more than ever, creating a strong spiritual foundation is pivotal to a full and healthy recovery. In the Book of Mathew, Jesus Christ says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” We aim to follow Christ’s example. Like Christ, we reach out our hand because we feel it is needed now more than ever.
COVID-19 changed nearly every aspect of the world we live in. How we interact with the rest of the world has been almost completely transformed. While this change in interaction, or lack thereof, has affected everyone, statistically, it seems to be hitting adolescents particularly hard. COVID-19 put a hard social pause on an already fragile developmental period in our children’s lives. It is no wonder that we have seen so many children struggling to cope with their problems. COVID-19 has already done enough damage, don’t let it continue to dictate your daughter’s development. Let Clearview Girls Academy help. Call us today at (888) 796-5484 to learn more about our program.
