As Ryther continues to provide essential mental health services to our clients, we have been constantly inspired by the creativity and passion of our staff during this extraordinary and uncertain period. While we have all been forced to adjust to a new routine, Ryther employees have continued helping our clients find a bit of healing and hope. We want to share with you three stories of some of the incredible things they have been doing, in the hopes that it will bring a smile to your face during this difficult time.
Our Health Home Care Coordinators have been guiding families through the confusion and anxiety surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. One Care Coordinator, Nick, helped a family navigate the new Seattle Public School meal program. SPS is providing meals for children who relied on school lunches, but when the family tried to pick up the meals for their three children, they could not find where they were being distributed. The next day, Nick met the family at the school and walked them through the pick-up process. The family was able to receive two meals per child each day, which was a huge help during this unstable time.
While in-person therapy groups had to be canceled for the time being, therapists quickly started brainstorming ways they could continue to help their clients and their families, virtually. This led to the launch of several creative stay-at-home groups, with topics such as Baking the Most of It, a group for kids to practice self-care through cooking, or a Movement Group to chase away anxiety by taking walks together while video chatting. These groups hope to help children who are adjusting to a new routine, as well as their parents who are also adjusting to having their kids at home all day.
Aspiring Youth has had to transition their social skill groups entirely online. This has forced our AY group facilitators to get creative, and they’ve really gone above and beyond! One of these new groups is “Muggles and Magic.” Two facilitators, Talia and Gabi, developed this new role-playing group set in the world of Happy Potter. Each of their participants received a personalized acceptance letter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Dumbledore’s handwriting, and Talia and Gabi were even able to create virtual backgrounds for the video chat so all group members look like they’re in the castle!
We hope this brought you a bit of joy, and that you and your loved ones are doing well as we head into another week of social distancing and staying healthy. Stay tuned for more stories of good news from Ryther!
Comments