The Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 on Kids and Families (Part One)

Podcast by Ross Cochran May 6, 2021

Brendan Bell, MA, LCPC, is the Executive Director and one of the owners of Cherry Hill Counseling, a multi-site practice in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. Brendan and Awana CEO Valerie Bell, who also happens to be his mother, discuss the mental health impact of COVID-19 on Kids and Families. They also share practical solutions to many of the challenges you might be facing today dealing with life during a global pandemic.

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About Brendan and his Practice
Brendan Bell, MA, LCPC is the Executive Director and one of the owners of Cherry Hill Counseling, a multi-site practice in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. Cherry Hill was established in 1976 by Dr. Clark Barshinger, and one of the oldest counseling practices founded on Christian values in the suburbs of Chicago. Cherry Hill has roughly 35 counselors, with practice locations in Lake Zurich, Deer Park, Vernon Hills, McHenry, Palatine, Chicago, and Wheaton. Brendan provides counseling at both the Deer Park and Wheaton locations, and is currently providing tele-health counseling (by video platform) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the article referenced by Brendan on COVID-19 and its impact on kids.

Brendan’s associate, Chelsea Laliberte Barnes, MSSA, LSW provided statistics on the Opioid crisis in America. Learn more about her organization, Live 4 Lali.

U.S. Surveys on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Brenan, M. (2021, January 14). Americans’ mental health Ratings sink to new low. Retrieved September 8, 2020, from https://news.gallup.com/poll/327311/americans-mental-health ratings-sink-new-low.aspx

Mental health – household pulse survey – covid-19. (2021, March 10). Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm

Moric, M. (2020, July 29). US Divorce Statistics During COVID-19. Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://legaltemplates.net/resources/personal-family/divorce-rates-covid-19/

Smith, E. (2020, March 25). Divorce rates jumping in corona-quarantined couples. Retrieved September 08, 2020, from https://pagesix.com/2020/03/24/divorce-rates-jumping-in corona-quarantined-couples/

Concerns about child abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic
Ingram, J. (2020, July 27). Has child abuse SURGED under COVID-19? Despite alarming stories from ERS, there’s no answer. Retrieved January 20, 2021, from https:// www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/has-child-abuse-surged-under-covid-19-despite alarming-stories-n1234713

Trends in U.S. emergency Department visits related to suspected or Confirmed child abuse and NEGLECT among children and ADOLESCENTS aged 18 years before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic – United STATES, JANUARY 2019–SEPTEMBER 2020. (2021, January 14). Retrieved January 20, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/ wr/mm6949a1.htm

The six mental health “Food Groups”––adapted from Daniel J. Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness
SIEGEL, D. (2020). AWARE: The science and practice of presence. PENGUIN Books.