Health Update: Addressing Mental Health Needs with Avera’s Family Wellness Program – What Experts Say

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Mental health care isn’t just for adults; it can be life-changing for children, too.

The Avera Family Wellness program provides therapy services directly to kids and their families in the Sioux Falls School District. Staff from five partner schools identify those in need and connect them with this resource.

In this Avera Medical Minute, one family shares how the program has offered support and positive change.

Malcolm is a typical kid who loves video games and having fun. But when he started school, he was having some difficulties.

“When you have a negative thing, it’s kind of like a maze to figure out what emotion it is,” said Malcolm.

“Avera Behavioral Services came into play to help him with his anxiety, some depression, some sensory issues, and some self-harm,” said Malcolm’s mom, Belinda Neil-Samo.

The Avera Family Wellness Program was there for support.

“We provide mental health and clinical therapy services to children and families that are referred to our program,” said clinical therapist, Avera Family Wellness Program, Heidi Thomas.

“Teachers will identify students that are in need of therapy services.”

“Eventually, after time, this place really fit in with me. I’ve just been, I get the negative stuff out,” said Malcolm.

By building a trusting relationship with Heidi, Malcolm was able to express his emotions more openly, leading to progress.

“He needed somebody else besides mom to talk to and trust in and someone else to tell him it wasn’t ok to hurt himself, and someone else to tell him it’s ok to feel the way that he does and he’s not different,” said Belinda.

“Our services include family therapy, they include working with siblings or other family members, the therapist is also working with the child every week in school for about 40 minutes each time in individual therapy and we are doing a lot of feeling identification and activities that really open their window of tolerance and can really just support some of those emotional and behavioral needs that they have in the classroom,” said Thomas.

“This actually helps me, like, a lot,” said Malcolm.

“I definitely see an impact with the parents a lot. Parents feeling supported, a lot of times they come to us at a loss. They’re not sure what to do, they’re reaching out for help, so when we refer them, they are feeling supported,” said school counselor Kristal Tagtow.

“She’s been able to help me understand him a little better, too. Give us pathways and different directions to take to calm down,” said Belinda.

“The mission behind the work that we do is to help families know that they are valued and cared for and that hope is just around the corner for them,” said Thomas.

Now Malcolm is taking what he has learned in therapy and putting it all together.

“Life is a puzzle, you need to put it together one by one,” said Malcom.

“Before, I was missing something, and this brought it to me. I had a missing piece in my puzzle, and I found it.”

The Avera Family Wellness program is made possible through a partnership with the United Way and the Avera Foundation.

To learn more, go to avera.org/medicalminute.

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