Para Los Niños supports children as young as infants through its clinical services program, but at any age, all children need the support of their caregivers to have the potential for long-term wellbeing. This is called dyadic work, focusing on two people in relation to each other. In this case, therapists support how the parent relates to their child to give them the best support possible.

Trauma in young children can express itself in many ways, including excessive crying, tantrums, loss of sleep, separation anxiety, or isolation. Many times, parents interpret these as behavioral issues, not realizing that oftentimes the behavior is cued by the adults in the child’s life. So, caregivers learn key developmental stages in a child’s growth to recognize the differences in behaviors through life’s transitions. They also learn to regulate their own emotions, understand their triggers and sometimes even uncover how their own trauma might be impacting the relationship with their children. Co-regulation can look like anything from holding and rocking children to modeling taking deep breaths together.

Daisy specializes in supporting parents with children between birth to 5 years old, and says she enjoys witnessing breakthroughs caregivers experience through their work together. For example, she has supported parents who never played when they were young. “I’ve seen parents become teary-eyed, and I ask, ‘is everything OK?’ And they say yes, but back in their country, they had to work and didn’t have the privilege of having these kinds of toys. Many parents are also processing trauma through this experience.”

In PLN’s community in particular, trauma can often be linked to toxic stressors such as experiencing systemic discrimination or lack of stability due to extreme need. It can be difficult to support a family through mental health services when they are struggling to have their basic needs met, even if they know they need that support. Daisy has seen directly how support with food or housing can stabilize a family enough to focus on sustained healing. “I’ve been working with families at the Union Rescue Mission. They come to therapy, because they want it, but that’s not their first priority. Their priority is having a home of their own. When they are finally housed, therapy become smoother and more consistent.” This is why we are grateful to have a whole network of helpers at PLN to support families as they prioritize their needs, including partners in the Skid Row Collaborative, teams of family support specialists across programs, and funding that allows us to support families in staying and getting housed.

Therapists like Daisy, who understand and care for our communities in deep and nuanced ways, are what make this program special. “I love that Para Los Niños is more of a community. So, we try to bring together all these supportive services in case [families] need anything. What makes me happy is families getting the services they need, using all these tools we provide them and being successful in life.”

Happy Mental Health Month!

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