A Latino generation gap over mental health

January 5, 2024

By Courtney Wise and Diana Hembree

I don’t have any friends with children the same age as my daughter and even though she’s school-aged, the journey still feels new. Maybe that feeling will never go away. We have to leave room for our children to change throughout their lifetime as much as we’ve changed in ours. And much of the journalism we cover at the end of the week suggests time and again that showing our children how we care for our own mental, emotional, and physical health is a surefire way to guide them into becoming their very best selves.

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New MindSite News stories on migrant therapists, mental health generation gaps and interfaith protest coalitions for students and their parents

We took a couple of weeks off from the newsletter for the holidays to spend time with family and other loved ones. But that means we’ve got an embarrassment of riches from the last days of 2023 to share with you, including our new original MindSite News stories: 

— Latino Next-Gens Face Off With Parents in Cultural Divide Over Mental Health. Yesenia Barrios explores the culture clash between many Latino parents and their children over mental health. Although research shows Latino families tend to be strong, cohesive and intergenerational, as well as warm and supportive, some parents are confused and threatened by their children’s sexual identity and/or need for therapy.

— California Program Trains Undocumented Residents to Become Therapists and Serve Those in the Shadows. Celeste Hamilton Dennis reports on a young woman from Mexico who crossed the border without papers at age 14 and who now works with undocumented families in her therapy practice, thanks to an innovative California program. Undocumented people who want to care for the mental health needs of their community face many obstacles to becoming a licensed therapist. But in California, it’s at least possible: In 2014, the state passed a law permitting undocumented residents to become licensed. Nevada and Illinois followed suit in 2019.

— Arab and Muslim Communities in Detroit Grapple to Heal from Collective Trauma. Nargis Hakim Rahman’s story explores the pain and despair experienced by Arab and Muslim students and their families in the Palestinian ex-pat hub of Greater Detroit and elsewhere over rising attacks on their people in the US and the relentless Israeli bombing of Gaza civilians, which has resulted in the death of nearly 22,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children — as well as interfaith organizing by students and community members to stop the killing.

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YouthBuild Philly Charter School Provides a Safe Haven for Neighborhoods Under Siege

Denise Clay-Murray reports on the trust, dignity and respect underlying the work between staff and students at YouthBuild Philly Charter School, a wildly successful high school that offers academic and vocational training and provides a safe haven that boosts students’ mental health in a high gun violence area of Philly (Hint: it has to do with trauma-informed care – and love).

Saiyonn Thomas is a recent graduate of its culinary arts program. In April 2023, while he was still a student there, he was shot in the hip while at a McDonalds near his home. While he was in the hospital and during his recovery, Thomas’s teachers and other YouthBuild staff members made sure that he knew he wasn’t alone.

“They sent text messages and emails,” he said. “Teachers came to the house to make sure that I was okay and to bring me whatever I needed. I came back to school early because they were so loving and caring. They treat you how you want to be treated…They don’t want to let you quit.” Read our story here.

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“Succession,” a master class in dysfunctional family dynamics, heads to the Emmys

Arts and culture writer Sarah Henry does a retrospective piece on the final season of Succession, which was nominated for a staggering 27 Emmys that it will or won’t receive at the awards show on January 15 — and what the popular series had to say about intergenerational trauma. As Henry says of the fictional Roy family dynasty, “Cruelty, disregard, ruthlessness, envy, greed, insecurity and laziness: If the Roys had a family coat of arms it could stand in as a banner for the seven deadly sins.

“The Roys may live a life of unfettered material luxury: Private helicopters, personal chauffeurs, fancy homes, designer clothes and expensive cars. But the siblings are all completely miserable, vying in vain for their father’s love and respect and exhibiting what’s known as the four Fs of trauma — fight, flight, freeze and fawn — as they lie, cheat, connive and backstab each other. As Medium writer Kayli Kunkel concludes in her analysis of the show: “Even with so much power and prestige on the line, real wealth has nothing to do with money. Intergenerational trauma is the great equalizer that makes even the most powerful among us small.”

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In other news…

This essay from Allison P. Davis published in The Cut asks whether or not parents can maintain relationships with their childless friends. My personal experience says of course, but it certainly takes effort: The toddler stage is a beast. That’s not just my opinion; Davis points to a 2017 study that examined how the age at which parents had a baby affected their personal relationships. Its findings suggest that if your relationship can survive toddlerhood, it’s probably good for the long haul. 

I love a good podcast and this list from the New Yorker offers up some good listens. Its third place selection for the best podcast of 2023 is The Kids of Rutherford County/ “Unreformed: The Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children. Please note, it’s a very difficult series to hear, but certainly worthy of being heard for shining a light on the horrors experienced by children who were jailed for offenses like pulling another child’s hair. It tells the story through the voices of several survivors, including lauded artist, art educator and musician Lonnie Holley.

How do you know my child is still very young? I know nothing of the tween/teen group chat. Now, I do have several personal chats running on my own phone, but most of them are muted and they max out at 7 people in one thread. Our kids, however, maintain a relentless amount of communication via text message in threads with upwards of 30 people, where chaos and bullying often take place, Yahoo reports. So they’ve extended what they’ve learned about group chat dynamics to share ways you can empower your child to make safe, healthy decisions as they work to stay connected to their friends. 

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If you or someone you know is in crisis or experiencing suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and connect in English or Spanish. If you’re a veteran press 1. If you’re deaf or hard of hearing dial 711, then 988. Services are free and available 24/7.

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