Mental Health U
Mental Health U is a podcast dedicated to demystifying and destigmatizing mental health issues. If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma, or some other mental health issue, then this podcast is for you.
Mental Health U
Combatting Summer Blues: Julia Manolukas on Mental Wellness and Enriching Activities for Kids
Could too much screen time be the culprit behind your child's summer blues? Join us as we sit down with Julia Monolukas, a licensed professional clinical counselor and program manager at Unison Health, to uncover the secrets of a stimulating and mentally enriching summer for kids. Julia sheds light on Unison Health's comprehensive summer program in Toledo, offering a rich mix of group therapy sessions, social skill practices, and engaging community outings to places like metro parks, the art museum, and the Toledo Zoo. Learn why maintaining peer connections and keeping kids engaged is essential to their mental well-being.
We'll also address the hidden dangers of excessive screen time, including mood swings, irritability, and isolation, and offer actionable tips to mitigate these effects. Discover how to combat the dreaded "summer slide" by establishing a structured schedule filled with fun, skill-building activities. Finally, celebrate the dynamic team behind these programs, whose passion and expertise make all the difference in fostering meaningful relationships and engagement with the youth. Tune in for an insightful conversation that promises to equip you with strategies for a fulfilling and enriching summer experience for your child.
So let's identify some stuff to do and let's make a schedule so everybody knows what we're expecting. So, when it comes to things to do, we already talked about how Toledo has really awesome metro parks. Let's go to the park and play at the park, depending on our age, or finding other ways to engage. You mentioned the art museum or the Toledo Zoo, different things in the community to get your child engaging with other people, get you engaging with your child, giving them opportunities to practice skills.
Bill Emahiser:Hello and welcome. I'm your host, bill Emeiser, and you're listening to Mental Health U, the podcast dedicated to demystifying and destigmatizing mental health issues. So if you or someone you know is struggling with depression, anxiety, trauma or some other mental health issue, then this podcast is for you. This episode is proudly sponsored by Unison Health, dedicated to making lives better through compassionate, quality mental health and addiction treatment services. Learn more at unisonhealthorg. Julia Monolukas is a licensed professional clinical counselor and the dedicated program manager for the school-based program and summer program at Unison Health. Julia has been pivotal in creating and overseeing programs supporting mental well-being for children and adolescents. Her dedication and enthusiasm for improving healthcare outcomes, as well as her commitment to providing compassionate and comprehensive care, make her an invaluable leader in the mental health service field. Julia, welcome to the show.
Julia:Thank you, happy to be back.
Bill Emahiser:Yeah, hey. It's almost summertime and I know you're in charge of that school-based program, so I assume you and your staff are going to be off for the rest of the summer, right?
Julia:If wishing made it so, bill. No, we have a pretty packed summer for the team. All those kids we see during the school year. We try to get them to come and spend their summer with us.
Bill Emahiser:And how many years have you been doing this program?
Julia:I have been doing it. This is my fourth summer.
Bill Emahiser:Okay.
Julia:But Unison has been having some form of a summer program long before I ruled into town.
Bill Emahiser:Yeah, I think it's probably been. It might be even creeping up on close to a decade now. I bet you it's getting close to that amount of time that the summer program has been up and running. But you've been there for four years and before we talk about some of the issues that might come up for youth in the summer, tell me a little bit about your summer program.
Julia:Yeah, so it is four days a week. We have the kids Monday through Thursday. We run a group in the morning time with them. So that involves learning skills, practicing our social skills, whatever topics that the clinicians feel like the kids need to practice, and then we feed them, we give them a meal and then we incorporate play as well. So in the midst of that time where they can play and interact with each other, we're providing extra support, redirection, mediating, applying our skills, things like that. So we try to make it as fun as possible and go to parks and do different things so we can practice our skills in the community. But the focus is always on learning new skills and continuing progress. We've started during the school year.
Bill Emahiser:Do the youth have to be part of your school-based program to participate in the summer program?
Julia:No, so they just have to be enrolled with Unison as a client and they do have to meet criteria for a mental health diagnosis. Because we do provide therapy, we make it fun, but it is therapeutic groups that we provide.
Bill Emahiser:I don't know, when you say fun do you guys still do kinds of outings and I don't want to call them field trips. But do you do other, you know? Field trips can you talk? Yeah, we do yeah.
Julia:so a big part of the program is wanting to provide our kids with opportunities to apply their skills in different settings. So you might do really good at school using a skill or at home using a skill or using it with Miss Brooklyn or Miss Madison because they're familiar to you. Let's go into the community and let's practice around people you don't know. We might go to a park or other areas around the community. Toledo has such beautiful metro parks. We'll do a different park sometimes every week and we'll try to have activities there and then that's a way for them to practice those skills in a new environment, which is hopefully setting them up for success in the future. And also fun to go to the park.
Bill Emahiser:Toledo, not only do we have these wonderful parks, but we also have the museum, the art museum, the Toledo Zoo. There are so many activities that are out there in our town that kids could really, I think, benefit from if they're able to get out there. As a parent of four adult children, as I think back of summer vacation for the kids, I really think about certain topics and I hear parents today talking about certain topics. Some of them are the same, some of them are much different, just because it's a different time and the culture has shifted, technology has shifted.
Bill Emahiser:But some of the things that I hear parents talk about and I know I experienced as a parent and even as a kid I can think back ways long ago was the boredom Like at first. Summer is super exciting, you just can't wait to be out of school, you get to go out and play, but after a few weeks oftentimes kids experience some boredom. And I know that boredom has some effects, like chronic boredom at least, and I've been told that it's my understanding that boredom is actually an important signal that kids receive that whatever they're doing, it's just not stimulating or engaging enough. But I also know that there's some potential mental health issues that can develop or behavioral issues that can show up because of boredom. Can you talk a little bit about some of the things that you see as a clinician from folks who are especially young people that are dealing with that boredom over the summer?
Julia:The first thing that comes to mind for me is the boredom that can come from disconnection to peers and friends. So kids today are connected more than ever. People today are connected more than ever. I remember back in the Stone Ages when I was a kid and we walk down the street and hope that they were home when we rang the doorbell to play. But now you can just like snap, which I hope any child listening to this I hope. Snap is what we do. I can't keep up with the trends, but you can just snap your friends and communicate with them via texting or Facebook. Do kids go on Facebook?
Julia:But whatever app they're using, but those kinds of connections don't always scratch the same itch we're looking for in terms of closeness or friendship, intimacy and things like that. So when we're feeling bored, when we're feeling disconnected, it can make us feel sad, it can make us feel lonely. And then, when we feel sad and we feel lonely, it can be hard to be motivated to try to do things in the summer or engage with people. So I definitely think that missing that connection piece can be hard, especially if you're a child that can't drive or you don't have parents that are able to take you places and your best friend lives not in walking distance. Sometimes you might not see those people until school starts again in August. That can feel isolating.
Bill Emahiser:Absolutely, and there's some research that came out because of the pandemic, when the kids were isolated from each other and also from school, that while having that connection through Zoom and through FaceTime and those kinds of things was a good thing, the kids did not report that feeling of connectedness through technology like they do when they're in a room with someone.
Julia:Yeah, I'm not a child anymore, but I think about my own experience during the pandemic and I started a book club which we can talk about reading maybe as something people might want to do in the summer. But I started a book club over the pandemic with a really good friend of mine and we had to meet virtually for several years. And that first in-person meeting to meet virtually for several years, and that first in-person meeting it was like a completely different experience. So I can only imagine what it's like for the kids that don't even have the option of trying to make those connections in person because school's out.
Bill Emahiser:Absolutely. Yeah, that makes sense and it's really challenging, I think, sometimes, especially, like you said, if your friend is not close by. So we have boredom, and you already started talking a little bit about technology, about the apps that kids use, and one of the things that I hear parents talk about whether it's summer vacation or not, I think summer vacation probably we see an increase of it because of boredom is excessive screen time. What are some of the mental health risks associated with too much screen time for children?
Julia:I am not a medical doctor, but there is something that can happen with just the screens themselves. So I've read a lot about sleep hygiene. For my own personal health and blue light stuff like that that you get from the screen, especially close to bedtime, can really negatively impact your ability to have good sleep. So if you're on your screen all the time and then you're on your screen up until when you try to go to bed, you're not going to fall asleep. You're not going to sleep well, so you're going to be tired. And what's happening on the screen? What are you looking at? It's really easy to find not great news about the world on the Internet. That's the kind of stuff that gets clicked. So what are they clicking on? Cyberbullying is a thing that still happens often, so what things are they exposed to on that screen time? So not only is it the physical effects it can have, but then also the psychological component. What am I consuming? How is that affecting my mood, affecting my mental health?
Bill Emahiser:I read something from the CDC and they were talking about that excessive screen time affects the brain structure by shrinking gray matter, which controls cognitive function, and it can show up as a lack of focus, poor information processing, weaker memory, poor impulse control, which is very interesting because when we think at least when I think of young people, that part of the brain that controls impulses is still developing. What does that look like behaviorally when a child might have that lack of focus or maybe that poor impulse control? Can you give some behaviors that you typically see when a kid is struggling with those issues?
Julia:Yeah, I think those might be the kids that you would describe as they go from zero to 100, right, so something happened, something said. Somebody looks at them funny and now I'm screaming and yelling and I'm gonna throw a chair. Or it could just be the kids that, like they're always moving and grooving, they say everything that comes out of their mouth, whether it's helpful for the conversation or not. It's not always inappropriate, it just might not be relevant to what we're talking about, the blurting out and the things like that. And the kids that you say what happened, why did you make that choice? And they say I don't know. Those are the kids that are struggling with that impulse control, because there isn't necessarily. If it's like a candle, the wick is super short, so we get down to the wax really fast, as opposed to having more time to make a different choice, address the emotion or whatever is occurring and then try to do something healthier.
Bill Emahiser:Mental Health? U is brought to you by Unison Health. Unison Health, making lives better. It does seem like children, because of their developmental level, oftentimes may not have the words to communicate what's going on to irritability or boredom or whatever.
Bill Emahiser:So we sometimes see it in their behavior Leads me to thinking about. So we were talking about screen time and the effects it has in the brain, but there's also some research that shows that kids who spend and I can't fathom kids spending this much time, but apparently they do Kids who spend seven hours per day on their screens are twice as more likely to show signs of anxiety and depression.
Julia:Wow.
Bill Emahiser:And I'm just thinking of seven hours a day of screen time, and I guess in the summer it's very possible that if mom dad, guardian, is at work and the kids have not a lot to do, that maybe they're spending that time with that, and so with kids if they're experiencing symptoms of anxiety and depression. What might parents be looking for as far as symptoms?
Julia:I think the big thing with anxiety and depression would be looking for changes in mood. So if you have a child that maybe was pretty even-keeled or even-tempered and now all of a sudden we're sad or we're really angry, a lot of the times depression specifically can show up as anger as well as anxiety. Irritability is a symptom of anxiety. So if you're seeing some changes in mood, you're seeing things like isolation, you're seeing fidgeting, or maybe they were able to concentrate and now you're at dinner and you ask a question and their mind is not anywhere near the dinner table, those would be some things that you want to pay attention to, and I think a good way to understand what's happening with your child is always to ask. So if we're at the dinner table and Julia's brain isn't present, to say hey, julia, it looks like you were miles away. What's going on? Trying to open a dialogue is a good way to even try to understand. Is it depression? Is it something else? How can I be supportive?
Bill Emahiser:There's something that I hear teachers and educators talk about, and even parents sometimes, is the summer slide. What is the summer slide?
Julia:So when you're worried about going back and maintaining whatever you've learned, maybe we regress a little bit.
Julia:We lose some of the skills and the knowledge that we maybe gained during the school year because we're really worried about what it's going to be like in the fall all and if we're not having practicing as much as we did in the school year. Practicing is really how we develop and maintain a lot of our skills and if we're not practicing them, for whatever reason, that can also lead to a decrease in confidence and ability to use those skills.
Bill Emahiser:So I know educators talk about it in the summer, slide from like an academic side of things, but I hear you talking about the skills, so are you suggesting that it's not just academic but it could also be like social skills or emotional skills or the ability to cope and manage things?
Julia:Yeah, 100%. I think I talked about how our summer program focuses a lot on maintaining and trying to continue with gains that kids might make in treatment during the school year and it can be challenging to go from having multiple staff, so not only an embedded mental health partner but a school counselor or a teacher, like people that get that social emotional component for you. They're helping you practice those skills, you're triggered real time and they're in real time with you using those skills. It can be challenging from going to that to I'm home by myself, or maybe I'm with a sibling and like siblings butt heads, or mom, dad, guardian works a ton and I have emotions about that, or I'm lonely and I'm trying to use my skills but maybe the flame is burning faster than I expected and I'm getting to the wax faster than I do when I'm at school with Miss Carly or Miss Tammy and it's harder for me to use that skill. So that can happen if you fall out of practice with your coping skills or your social skills too.
Bill Emahiser:What are some strategies that we might be able to utilize or to give people that are listening today to help mitigate boredom? Screen time, that summer slide. What are some ideas that you have that you would encourage parents to tap into?
Julia:Yeah. So anyone that's ever heard me on this podcast in the past knows that I love a good schedule. I'm a fan of a schedule. So I think putting some of that structure into the summer day can be helpful. I'm not saying school 2.0, but planning things. So what kind of activities do we want to do to keep our kids engaged, to improve our relationship, to help with some of that sliding? So let's identify some stuff to do and let's make a schedule so everybody knows what we're expecting.
Julia:So when it comes to things to do, we already talked about how Toledo has really awesome metro parks. Let's go to the park and play at the park, depending on our age, or finding other ways to engage. You mentioned the art museum or the Toledo Zoo, different things in the community to get your child engaging with other people, get you engaging with your child, giving them opportunities to practice skills. I want to. I don't know. I want to give a plug for the Toledo Library and the Summer Reading Club. Fun fact adults can participate too. I am a multi-year participant. It's a lot of fun and that could be something to do with your child, especially if you're concerned academically about some regression. Let's read books together or let's do things together and also just reading can be really fun and you can maybe win a prize at the end, which is always exciting. So finding things to do together that they want to do can be good.
Julia:And then the last thing I will say when I think about that, screen time is having some boundaries. It can be hard to as an adult, it's hard for me to set screen time for myself. I have the apps. Be like girl, you've been on here for nine hours, turn it off and I'm like, haha, ignore. And that is me, as an adult, choosing to continue to engage with the screen time. It can be hard to enforce that for kids setting a boundary that you guys feel comfortable with that makes sense and then sticking to it, because consistency is super important. So, even if we don't like it and we throw fits and things like that, understanding we have to try to stick to those limits and finding alternatives instead of just being like me and being on the phone for way too long.
Bill Emahiser:I love those. And as you were talking about activities and scheduling, I think Mondays does the zoo still have free admission?
Julia:To my knowledge, yes, free on Mondays, I believe If you're a resident of the county, I think.
Bill Emahiser:Yeah, so there's a lot of free things to do. The library doesn't cost anything. Going to a park, riding a bike, going for a family walk I was just even thinking a few. Most people have phones listening to a favorite playlist together, listen to music, scavenger hunts are free and they can be fun. Puzzles, all kinds of different games, board games I love games myself. All those things can be relatively inexpensive or free. It just takes the time. And I did want to mention one thing that the CDC I believe it's, or I'm sorry it's the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends with regard to screen time in children.
Bill Emahiser:They say no screen time for children two years and below. That kind of makes sense. I don't know what a two-year-old would need a phone for what a two-year-old would need? A phone for no more than one hour of screen time for children aged two to four.
Bill Emahiser:And for children ages six through 18, no more than two hours of screen time daily. So when you were talking about setting limits, these are what they recommend is at least guidelines. And, Julie, I'm old school. Back in the day we used to be television screens. I remember the experts were telling parents and during my time, don't let your kids watch too much TV. And I do remember that these numbers sound very familiar. It's usually about an hour of screen time on television, or maybe two hours at the most. And then they told you to go outside and play, go do something, do a chore, go get active with your friends, do something. But just sitting there looking at a screen is typically not healthy and not beneficial for kids or for adults.
Julia:I hear it. I'm not a pediatric, I'm not a child, but I'm hearing you, american association, and I'm rethinking some of my own life choices.
Bill Emahiser:I know I've mentioned this before, but with my own clients. I work with folks with OCD and anxiety disorders and oftentimes, especially if people are super anxious, I ask them how much screen time they use and you can see a ton of time online and what I find is that most people see about a 50% decrease in their anxiety by cutting down significantly or just not using their phone only for phone calls, for connecting with human beings or looking up the weather.
Bill Emahiser:It's like just use it for that for a week or so, and I know there's that FOMO, right? Is that the fear of missing out with younger people? So that's a challenge? Or is that the fear of missing out with younger people? So that's a challenge? But I find that most people do experience a great deal of relief from anxiety just by cutting down on their use of cell phones, so there's something to that. All of this stuff is making me think. What if a parent is listening and their child they're struggling with some kind of mental health issue? Where could they learn more information about programming for kids or about therapy for kids?
Julia:At Unison we do have a child and family department or group where we have different types of programming for kids with different needs. So going to our website unisonhealthorg and clicking around in there and services and things like that, you can see the different offerings we have. So we have school-based, which is the team that I'm a part of. We have office based child and family programming. They do individual therapy in groups. We also have stuff for like little kids, early childhood stuff. So I know you mentioned two and under and two to four.
Julia:Even kids that young can sometimes have struggles that would benefit from having a mental health professional part of that process. So we offer all of those things at Unison so you could go to our website and get more information and even set up an appointment right from the webpage.
Bill Emahiser:And your summer program. Is it too late to be part of your summer program or can people still get in?
Julia:I will say it's never too late. I will say it's never too late. I can't guarantee admission, but I'll probably call you All right. And there you go.
Bill Emahiser:Good, that's something Good, good. Good Because people do come and go throughout.
Julia:Some kids may not be able to stay for the whole time, so slots could open up or what have you? Yes, sometimes we can shift kids on. Usually we see that especially halfway through. We take a break for July 4th, so in the second half of summertime sometimes we are shifting new kids on.
Bill Emahiser:Yeah, absolutely. That would be a great cure for kids that might be experiencing some of the summer slide or boredom, and I'm thinking that cell phones and screen time is not a big part of your program, so they get a little bit of break for sure.
Julia:Yeah, I don't not. Yeah, we can put the. We can put the phone away if you're going to bring it stays on you in your pocket. And now you're going to come outside and look for something yellow with me, right, and that's what we're going to do. That is great, julia, and look for something yellow with me, and that's what we're going to do. That's great.
Bill Emahiser:That is great, julia. Thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge with folks. I really appreciate it and I have to say your program sounds wonderful. I think it's going to help a lot of kids who are, and it is for the Toledo area, so kids in the Toledo area.
Julia:It is Yep here in Lucas County, yep, and so kids in the Tudor area Yep here in Lucas County, yep, and we have a fantastic team.
Bill Emahiser:Yes, you do.
Julia:So anything that sounds good about my program is because we have an amazing team. They are that are just wonderful, so you can hang out with them. Yeah, they're awesome. I can attest to it, you do.
Bill Emahiser:You have an amazing team. They're great, they're passionate. They're great, they're passionate, they're knowledgeable.
Julia:So, and the kids?
Bill Emahiser:really seem to connect with them and that's, that's huge so yes, I would agree. We will definitely have you back. I know we have you for some other topics, like bullying, and I think we wanted to talk about some other things as well with you. So I am excited to see you very soon, but until next time, thank you so much for being on.
Julia:Thanks for having me.
Bill Emahiser:Thanks for having me.