People are stressed. The COVID-19 pandemic, global conflicts, and the always-connected nature of modern life are weighing on our collective consciousness.
But no one needs to face these pressures alone. In Canyons School District, there’s a resource called the Canyons Family Center, which, for 15 years, has provided a spectrum of wellness supports to families completely free of charge, from counseling to student support groups and parenting classes.
“The Canyons Family Center is a place where families come together to discover genuine avenues to assist each other, connect with each other, and learn from each other,” says Canyons Prevention Specialist Kelly Redican. “This resource has been a tremendous asset for so many families. But we suspect there are families out there who don’t know about the center and might benefit from what we have to offer.”
Demand for wellness supports is growing as rates of anxiety and depression grow and the shortage of mental health providers becomes more acute. According to the National Institutes of Health, the global prevalence of depression grew from 3 percent in 2017 to 25 percent in 2021. In recent years, studies have shown teen self-esteem plummeting, which can lead to depression and anxiety, and have a negative impact on teen development.
The Canyons Family Center offers classes for students and parents on a range of topics from anger management and coping with stress to positive parenting strategies. They range from one-week courses to up to six weeks. “We’ve seen a lot of increase in anxiety and depression with our students,” Redican says, “So, new this year, we have one of our great social workers starting a parenting class in order to provide more understanding about depression and suicidal ideation.”
Registration for fall classes is open now. The classes run from Sept. 9 through Dec. 10, 2024.
The girl’s self-esteem class has become so popular, the Family Center is adding another class for emotional intelligence which will be available to all ages. “We want to help them understand emotions,” says Redican, “help them to understand self-awareness and how to better interact with other people while understanding their own emotions.”
Beyond helping students, Redican says they work to help parents as well through classes such as Positive Parenting Strategies, Parenting Students with ADHD, and Parenting Students with Anxiety. The Family Center also offers support groups for divorce and other factors that may impact families.
“I think it can be overwhelming and sometimes there’s a stigma preventing families from asking for help,” says Redican. “Having services connected to our schools, which are places of trust in the community, sometimes helps put people at ease.”
Classes at the Family Center aren’t the only avenue for wellness supports in Canyons. The District also sponsors mental health screening nights.
“Let’s say you might not be able to attend a six-week class, but you are kind of worried about your children and they are struggling with some emotional issues,” Redican says, “mental health screening nights can provide that first step.”
Families register to attend a night of their choosing, then fill out a questionnaire about some of their concerns before sitting down with a screener to go over the results and find the right support for each student.
“Canyons is really way ahead of the curve on supporting the whole child,” Redican says. “I worked as a counselor for 16 years before coming to Canyons and when I moved into my position here, I was incredibly impressed with the mental health supports we offer in this District. Not only do our schools have social workers, counselors, and school psychologists, but we have so many wonderful supports, it’s pretty amazing.”
Redican says if you’re not sure where to begin with helping your student, the first step is reaching out to your school counselor or someone within the school you trust. “I hope people understand it’s okay to reach out to your school for support,” she says. “I think it’s exciting how different it is from when we were younger. I grew up an anxious child and it’s wonderful to see what is available now versus when I was in school. It’s a hundred percent okay to get help.”
More information about the resources offered by the Canyons Family Center can be found here.
