How Kids Can Meet Their Challenges

Mental Health Awareness is on the move: More than 20 people signed up for the first Family to Family Group offered by the National Alliance for Mental Illness on the North Fork.  And last month, in support of the Dignity Act protecting students from bullying and cyberbullying, students in the Mattituck Schools watched the powerful documentary BULLY, and learned how communities can respond to the tragedy of bullying.

Kids on the North Fork face tough challenges.  Aside from athletics and Junior ROTC there aren’t many outlets for their energies and passions. So they hang out. No surprise, drinking, smoking and the internet are common forms of recreation.

Cyberbullying is no joke. The movie BULLY introduced parents whose children had committed suicide due to bullying.  These heartbroken parents reached out to each other and formed an organization called Stand with the Silent, vowing that their children would not be forgotten, and encouraging other children and teenagers to stand up to bullying and support peers who were being bullied.

As I watched, I wondered…What it would be like if those kids put their feelings into words—spoken word poetry, slam, rap—then stood up at a microphone, and told their truth in their own authentic way?

I have experienced what happens at open mic events at the Nuyorican Poets Café, when young people from high school, college and beyond, speak the poetry of their truth about what it feels like to be walking in their shoes. Every poem was a home-run, and the audience cheered like we were at ball game. 

And I thought, what if kids on the North Fork had that chance?

So fellow poet/therapists Maggie Bloomfield, Nina Yavel and I started a conversation, and we’re now talking with Pat Snyder and Jane Kirkland at East End Arts Council, as well as with parents, teachers, social workers and kids, about putting together an event early next year. And finding open mic venues where kids can slam their poetry.

But what does that have to do with therapy? I believe that self-expression is the path to well-being. As we help open the path, others can express who they truly are, and we as listeners can acknowledge that authenticity.

As the Poets of Well-Being, Maggie, Nina and I bring this message to recovering substance abusers at the Long Island Center for Recovery.  Yes, writing can help people stay sober, combat bullying and lead to mental health!  The exact opposite of the stereotype, right?

So stay tuned.  Self-expression is a path anyone can find! If you’re interested in finding that path, or helping a kid find that path, let me know.

Susan Dingle LCSW CASAC is a therapist and well-being specialist in private practice on the North Fork. Her public practice includes spoken word poetry, workshops and “stand-up therapy.” With fellow Poets of Well-Being Maggie Bloomfield and Nina Yavel, she will be performing poetry on Sunday, November 17 at the Floyd Memorial Library in Greenport, at 3 pm. All are welcome to attend.