How many times have you heard it?
When you are looking to get healthier the simple, “Move more and eat less.”
Yet a true health journey goes beyond the physical. It requires an exploration of mental, emotional and spiritual health.
The multiple facets of health and healing are such priorities for Boys and Girls Homes that they are included in our mission statement:
Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina is dedicated to providing a continuum of care to meet the physical, emotional, mental, behavioral, social, educational and spiritual needs of children, youth and families in distress or at-risk.
It is easy to say the words that acknowledge this commitment, but it is the putting it into practice where the true impact happens.
I have seen the commitment in practice through the continued evolution of the clinical modalities on campus to best address the individual needs of each child and family served through a BGHNC program.
One clear example is through our C.R.E.A.T.E. Hope program. Funded through a grant received from the Governor’s Crime Commission, the program provides treatment and advocacy services for child victims of crime or witnesses to crime and their non-offending caregivers. Children who are victims of crime or who have witnessed violence are at increased risk of academic struggles, chronic illnesses and self-destructive behaviors. The goal of C.R.E.A.T.E. Hope is to reduce those impacts.
C.R.E.A.T.E. Hope Senior Clinician Anna Miller is now rostered in Trauma Focused – Cognitive Behavior Therapy through the North Carolina Child Treatment Program. This specialized, evidence based treatment for those impacted by trauma was selected because it is highly effective at improving PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, shame, and behavior symptoms.
TF-CBT is only one of the treatment programs used in C.R.E.A.T.E. Hope. Others include Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Person Centered Therapy, Mindfulness, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. C.R.E.A.T.E. Hope clinicians are currently exploring and pursing opportunities to train and obtain certifications in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Internal Family Systems, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and Polyvagal Theory.
Clinicians in all BGHNC programs are receiving additional training in multiple modalities all the time. It is part of the organization’s ongoing commitment to provide the best care possible so each child, youth and family can experience health, healing and hope.
Melissa Hopkins is the Public Relations and Marketing Specialist at Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina.
