BG physicians talk about impact of pandemic on kids’ mental health

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WBKO) - Bowling Green physicians are starting a conversation about the impact the pandemic’s had on kids’ mental health.

Dr. Lacretia Dye is a licensed counselor and a professor at Western Kentucky University. She’s pairing with City Commissioner Dana Beasley Brown to start a weekly webinar series. The virtual series is called “Emerging Minds,” to support tweens, teens, and parents.

“Thinking about all of the stressors that it creates for not just our young people but the adults, we wanted to address it in a way that supports the healthy co-regulation of the adults and the children,” Dr. Dye says.

It consists of weekly meetings addressing different challenges families have faced due to covid-19. Dye says kids are missing out on essential experiences.

”As they’re growing and developing--and I tell people about this all the time--think about the primary caregiver in your life and what was their nervous system like? Were they an anxious person, was it a calm nervous system, was it a supportive nervous system because your nervous system is constantly co-regulated by that adult’s nervous system.”

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