【Family Empowerment Service】Life Practices of Living with Emotional Challenges
Healing Little Stone's Wounded Heart
Little Stone was referred to the Child Welfare League Foundation's (CWLF) Family Empowerment Service after a self-harm incident in her second year of senior high school. When I first met her, she always kept her head down and spoke very little, as if she had a thousand thoughts lingering in her mind but didn't know how to talk about them.
She listened to my conversation with her family, occasionally responding with a few words. I knew she had been seeing a psychiatrist due to her mental health condition, but seeing her arms covered in self-harm scars was still heartbreaking. I held her hand and said to her, "You've been through so much. I'll be here to support you for a while."
Hey, I am so nervous and I want to cry, but I will get through the stress. — Little Stone
Learning to Understand and Embrace Emotional Challenges
After several months together, Little Stone gradually opened up to me. We discussed various topics such as family relationships, emotional health, interpersonal relationships, and part-time jobs, and found motivation within her life challenges. Little Stone began to step out of her home, exercising alone and earning money through part-time work. I witnessed her learning to focus on the present and embrace her vulnerabilities during difficult times.
As a social worker, I feel honored to have accompanied Little Stone for a part of her journey, seeing her navigate through emotional ups and downs. I remember the first day she started her part-time job. She messaged me saying, "I'm so nervous, I want to cry, but I will get through this stress." I was thrilled for her transformation. She had learned to recognize and embrace her emotions.
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Acceptance and Early Intervention
"When we are sick in body, we go to a doctor and take medicine; the same should apply when we are sick in mind." Through Family Empowerment Services, CWLF aims to convey this idea to help teenagers and parents better understand emotions. Seeking support for emotional challenges should be done without hiding or feeling ashamed. Additionally, CWLF encourages people to have more understanding and acceptance toward those seeking help for emotional issues, especially when it comes to themselves.
With the idea of "early help and early intervention," CWLF hopes to assist teenagers with physical and mental health issues through Family Empowerment Service. By intervening early, it aims to prevent these issues from worsening as the adolescents grow older and potentially deteriorating into adulthood.◼︎ More information for Family Empowerment Service: https://www.children.org.tw/english/service/community