PREVIEW:

It has now been more than a year since our lives changed drastically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While we’ve learned to live with this new normal, the impacts on mental health and development have been significant. In this episode, clinical therapist Mariah Loftin discusses how the pandemic has affected mental health in young adults, how they and their parents can identify and manage mental health struggles, and what hope and transformation can be gained in the midst of it all.

GUEST PROFILE:

MARIAH LOFTIN, MA, LPC

Senior clinical therapist Mariah Loftin has been working with young adults and their families at Open Sky since 2012, with years of clinical experience prior. She skillfully blends her background as a psychotherapist, behaviorist, and art therapist. Melding a variety of clinical modalities, Mariah helps young adult clients and their families examine and appreciate the many dimensions of themselves, including their mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing.

TOPICS COVERED: anxiety, depression, isolation, mental health, pandemic,parenting, substance abuse, therapy, young adults

SELECT QUOTES:

“I think it's a uniquely challenging time for young adults because they’re not being able to graduate, not being able to go to classes at college, not being able to actually launch from their homes because developmentally, that's where they are in their lives. So there's this sense of a lot of young people feeling stuck, stagnant, and like they’re being robbed of those opportunities.”

“Let'sreflect on where we've been. Let's look at how has this last year unfolded and where are we at this point so that we can move forward.”

“As a family, both individually and collectively, let's get honest with ourselves about what's been happening and what's not healthy. I think being able to define and even write it down: what's been going on, what are the things that we're concerned about for ourselves, for our families? And ask, what are the strengths from being together, so that we're not just caught and stuck in here are all the negative things that are happening.”

“I think all of us have experienced some unhealthy behaviors perhaps emerging or increasing. And it's about asking, when does it cross a line? When does it become a concerning behavior? That, to me, is an important thing for parents and kids to be looking at.”

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