Catholic Charities of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties

SAN BERNARDINO, CA – Rose F. Kennedy said, "neither comprehension nor learning can take place in an environment of anxiety". Yet, too many of our youth live with high levels of stress and anxiety due to traumatic life events. Catholic Charities’ counseling is reaching out to those students in eighteen Riverside County schools to offer them new tools for coping with the difficult emotions surrounding those experiences.

“Our hope is to help them heal, and to lessen their anxiety, so that they can learn at their highest potential,” commented Shanna Puels, M.S., LMFT, School Counseling Coordinator for Catholic Charities. “With CBITS, our school counselors are focusing on children in grades six to nine (ages 10 to 15) who have experienced events.”

CBITS, short for Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools, is a School-Based program that works to lessen post-traumatic stress symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, and behavioral concerns that are related to traumatic experiences. The CBITS program has been used most commonly for children who have experienced events such as witnessing or being a victim of violence, being in a natural or man-made disaster, being in an accident or house fire, or being physically abused/injured, and who are suffering from moderate to severe levels of PTSD symptoms.

According to Puels, “each student participant will join a 10-week, 1-hour group session during school hours, and will receive 3 individual sessions. Parents will receive two 1 hour sessions in support of their children's services. CBITS services are provided at no charge to either schools or program participants.” CBITS is funded by a generous grant through the Riverside Department of Mental Health.

Children learn coping skills such as self-guided relaxation techniques, the ability to challenge upsetting thoughts, and social problem solving. A major component is processing traumatic memories and grief; these skills are learned and reinforced through the use of drawings and through talking in both individual and group settings. By successfully processing the traumatic memories the children can move on with their life’s and make better decisions.

“Catholic Charities intervenes on the behalf on those in crisis.” said CEO Ken F. Sawa, “Our therapists bring hope to the traumatized students by providing necessary services . A primary goal of this program is to catch the trauma early and reduce its duration and harmful effects. Through professional guidance and comprehensive support, our objective is to reduce the risk of the child developing mental health problems later in life and obstacles that come from unresolved issues.”

The Catholic Charities’ school counselors also provide relief for the teacher, because the teacher is freed up from working out the behavioral problems of the students, so that he or she can focus on what they are trained to do, which is to teach. The Catholic Charities’ therapist in the school also helps families connect with other needed social services in the community.

If you are interested in more information please call Shanna Puels at 909 763-4970, ext. 415.