In Macomb Adolescent Outreach, teenagers mourn their coronavirus graduation

During COVID-19, teenagers seek counseling for a unique type of grief: the loss of daily personal interactions and grief at major events like prom or graduation.

“It appears to be more of a by-product of COVID-19,” said Steffanie Boudreau-Thomas, director of clinical services at Macomb Family Services. “It’s not a direct fear of the virus, but a fear of the unknown. With no prom or graduation and things to do. It’s more of a loss of grief than an actual fear of the virus. “

Macomb Family Services was founded in 1957 and offers a variety of services including mental health, substance abuse, residential services, and courses on dealing with anger and domestic violence. It has locations in Clinton Township, Romeo, Sterling Heights, and Richmond. Macomb Family Services posted on its Facebook page below facebook.com/macombfamilyservices/ On March 23, March 26, all customer appointments would be for telemedicine sessions, unless it was not a covered benefit. New customers would also be accepted via telemedicine. The aim was to meet Stay Home Stay Safe’s executive orders and reduce the number of customers who come to clinics in person.

Boudreau-Thomas said the Macomb Family Services Adolescent Outreach Program is funded by the Macomb County Community Mental Health’s Office for Substance Abuse Treatment using Block Grant funds. Students at any Macomb County school can receive six free 50-minute counseling sessions. Recommendations may be available to those in need of additional advice. Boudreau-Thomas said if schools were open before the onset of COVID-19, therapists would travel to middle and high schools to see students referred to the program by school counselors so that sessions could take place during the school day. In some ways, according to Boudreau-Thomas, telemedicine sessions helped expand the Macomb Family Services Adolescent Outreach program to more middle and high school students.

“What’s really interesting is that we’ve never thought about telemedicine being available to all of County Macomb,” said Boudreau-Thomas. “We used to be limited by school.”

School counselors helped educate parents about telehealth services, and Boudreau-Thomas says parents are now the primary referral source for students. Students under the age of 14 must obtain parental consent. The declarations of consent can be found at macombfamily.org/, via email from the remote therapists or via telemedicine help, said Boudreau-Thomas. Boudreau-Thomas said there are seven licensed therapists working on behalf of teens. Participation in telemedicine for the youth program is through the offices of Romeo and Clinton Township, Romeo, 586-752-9696 ext. 0 or Clinton Township at 586-226-3440 extension 0.

The effects of social isolation and loss of school-related events or fear of the unknown are some of the most common concerns teens are now voicing, Boudreau-Thomas said.

Parents might consider seeking help for teens if they notice signs of depression, flogging, difficulty expressing frustration, anxiety, or self-isolation from their own families or people they have access to during that time, Boudreau-Thomas said .

Parents can also find ways to express their own stress or concern to their teenagers, taking into account the age of the student, Boudreau-Thomas said.

“I have a feeling that at this point families have to learn to lean on each other,” said Boudreau-Thomas.

Parents who can adequately express their own fears and feelings with their teens can help the teens feel more comfortable expressing their own fears and feelings. However, parents shouldn’t pretend nothing is happening or encourage scare tactics, added Boudreau-Thomas.

“You want to give age-appropriate information and express your feelings and fears. We all have to rely on each other, ”said Boudreau-Thomas.