Our Superheroes Answer the Call when Crisis Occurs
Posted November 20, 2023 in News
Another Halloween has come and gone. Like most of us, we answered the doorbell’s call to hand out candy to groups of children dressed as their favorite superheroes, including Captain America, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, and the Incredible Hulk. At Catholic Charities, Diocese of Allentown, another kind of superhero works every day to help individuals, couples, and families struggling with mental health issues.
The counseling program at Catholic Charities has served hundreds of clients from all faiths in the five-county area of the Diocese of Allentown. Many clients come seeking help with anxiety, depression, work/school struggles, or marriage and family issues that prevent them from living their best life. As one recent client stated, “I just need help focusing on what is important in my life. I’m struggling and can’t pull myself out of the quicksand.” This client received help with depression and is reporting that she made significant progress in her counseling sessions.
A particular focus of Catholic Charities’ counseling services is helping students in the Diocese of Allentown’s elementary and high schools. In a post-Covid school environment, our students are struggling and there has never been a time of greater need for mental health counseling.
Catholic Charites’ counselors see students every week at many Diocesan schools with great success in lessening their stressors and helping students develop tools and coping strategies that will be used over their lifetime. The additional components of social media and online bullying have only added to the stress our students face every day in and out of the school environment.
Our counselors also answer the call when a tragedy involving our students occurs. Recently, Catholic Charities was called to help with grief counseling in two Diocesan high schools. As Tom Miller, Assistant Director of Clinical and Family Services for Catholic Charities stated, “we answer the call whenever our schools or families need us”.
The dedication and support of our counselors truly make them “superheroes”! Won’t you please support counseling in Diocesan schools and help our superheroes continue the mission to help our students?