Worcester Youth Offers Back-To-School Services

BERLIN — Now that the new school year is on the horizon, Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services (WYFCS) have launched an effort to educate parents and students about how to prepare for heading back to the classroom.

This fall will also see WYFCS trotting out several new counseling programs, including the long-awaited boys’ equivalent to SAGES (Strengthening Adolescent Girls with Education and Support).

While most kids are still wishing that it was early July, schools re-open their doors in less than two weeks. It can be a hectic time for families and an anxious one for students, which is why WYFCS has issued a list of tips and information to help people get ahead of the curve.

“We have a monthly article that comes out to anyone who wants to sign up,” said Dr. Jennifer Leggour, clinical director for the agency, “and the article this month outlines tips for getting ready to go back to school for children and families.”

For parents, the tips include some practical advice for taking care of necessary but easy to overlook steps prior to school starting. First and foremost, WYFCS encourages parents to “discuss the transition” with their child or children.

“Develop a plan for addressing things they may want to do before summer is gone,” reads the checklist, “and any areas of concern about the upcoming school year. Talk about preparations that the family will be making to get ready.”

Other advice includes working to get everyone on a schedule before summer is over, reviewing educational tasks, shopping, taking care of any health needs and attending any open houses that a child’s school might offer.

For students, WYFCS offers a different kind of encouragement. Heading back to school is always a stressful time, said Leggour, and every youth reacts differently. With younger kids, she suggests giving a pep talk and focusing on “tangible” things. Positive reinforcement is useful as is setting small goals. For example, a reward for getting through the first school day.

Older students and teenagers tend to think in more hypothetical terms, Leggour continued. They will often play the “what if” game with themselves and worry about everything from their social lives to the attitude of their teachers. The best way to help in those situations is to encourage “balanced thinking,” said Leggour, and to convince the student to not concentrate only on negative hypotheticals but the positive ones as well.

Besides offering advice, WYFCS’ Family Connections program will also be offering school supplies to students in need.

Along with the re-start of the school year, WYFCS has an ambitious program line-up set for this fall. It will include two new major programs: “The Girls Circle,” a counseling group for area girls of a high school age, and “SABER” (Strengthening Adolescent Boys through Education and Resources), a multi-purpose group for middle school boys that will serve as the sister, or in this case brother, to the well-established SAGES.

“We’re hoping to start a boys’ program that is similar to our girls’ SAGES program,” said Leggour.

It’s something that has been a need in the community for a long-time and on WYFCS’ drawing board for about a year, she added. The organization will be taking on a male therapist in the fall, which Leggour feels is perfect timing for the soon-to-start boys’ group. The actual program would have group, family and individual therapy, community outreach and service and would provide weekly transportation for attending students from the nearby Stephen Decatur Middle School (SDMS).

Girls Circle should also kick off this fall. It would focus mostly on counseling and would give high school girls in Worcester County and the surrounding area a place to talk freely about their lives in a comfortable setting. WYFCS wants both SABER and Circle to have around 10 members, though the exact number is flexible. The programs should both launch around September or October.

Something that has already launched but is still in its early stage are WYFCS-run group date nights in Berlin.

Taking place once a month, usually on Fridays, the date nights are multi-purpose, allowing for couples counseling while also providing a fun date experience. There have been a handful of the nights so far since it was established late in the spring.

“So there’s a different theme, a different purpose, to each date night. And essentially it helps enhance relationships,” said Leggour. “It will have a therapy focus.”

One final program WYFCS has on its plate for the fall is its third partnership with Suddenly Single. Leggour will be holding a “Suddenly Jingle” counseling session on Saturday, Oct. 25, at the Blue Ox in Ocean City. The idea is to offer counseling to those who have recently, often unexpectedly, found themselves single after a relationship. It can be a rough experience, said Leggour, and one that might be compounded during the holiday season.

The session will be all about how to “survive the holidays” and while it is particularly geared towards those who just left relationships, Leggour promised that it will be relevant across the board.

For more information on back-to-school tips or WYFCS’ upcoming programs, visit www.gowoyo.org or like Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services on Facebook.