Ask Alice

See also:

Summertime Blues: Sibling Love- or Lack Thereof by Katie Polski

Sanctification By Sibling: Seven Encouragements for the Parent Who Love Them by Anna Meade Harris

A Gospel Vision for Helping Your Students Love Their Siblings by Chelsea Kingston Erickson

War. Cancer. Kidnapping. Terrorism. Pandemic. Our world is scary and unsure at best. The ongoing list of fears can be never-ending, and with the rates of childhood anxiety increasing rapidly, its proof that our kids are not immune to fear either. In this episode, Alice hears from a parent whose child is struggling with the fear of death following Kobe Bryant’s passing. She discusses the mindset of a fearful child and their natural tendency to avoid talking about it, which unfortunately leads to additional fear and anxiety. Alice provides practical advice on approaching difficult circumstances with a child, as well as how to convey the peace and comfort that comes from the solid foundation of the Gospel.

Questions for Youth Groups:

1. What are the fearful events that affect you the most – globally and locally?
2. What are ways that you respond to these potentially uncertain circumstances?
3. If you could visibly see God in these events, would it change how you reacted? If so, how?
4. In Philippians 4, Paul speaks of the “peace of God which surpasses all understanding” – what does that mean for how we can live our lives and help those who may be overwhelmed with fears?

Questions for Reflection:

1. Melody discussed being an “elder brother” as part of her own sin. What are areas of sin that the Lord has revealed to you as you have walked through your own trauma?
2. How did you explain the divorce to your children? Has it been difficult for you to refrain from slandering your ex?
3. How can you use your painful experience to further the kingdom of God?

Resources:

Undoneredone.com – Melody and Traylor Lovvorn’s website and organization. The Lovvorns have an excellent podcast that you will find here, as well as on iTunes. Their podcast guests have included Elyse Fitzpatrick, Jackie Hill Perry, Dan Allender, and David Zahl, among many others.

The Smart Step-Family: Seven Steps to a Healthy Family by Ron L. Deal.

Dinosaurs Divorce: A Guide for Changing Families by Marc Brown and Laurie Krasny Brown. An excellent resource for parents of young children, this picture book works to answer the many questions children will have when they find out their parents are divorcing.

Living with Your Husband’s Secret Wars by Marsha Means. For women whose husbands are caught in a web of sexual sin.

This podcast is made available to you by the Rooted Ministry for educational purposes only, not to provide specific therapeutic advice. The views expressed are the personal perspectives of the author and do not represent the views of all counselors or the profession. This podcast does not create a counselor-client relationship and should not be used as a substitute for competent therapeutic counsel from a licensed professional in your state.

This podcast is made available to you by the Rooted Ministry for educational purposes only, not to provide specific therapeutic advice. The views expressed are the personal perspectives of the author and do not represent the views of all counselors or the profession. This podcast does not create a counselor-client relationship and should not be used as a substitute for competent therapeutic counsel from a licensed professional in your state.

Suicide affects millions of Americans; it will affect nearly all of us directly or indirectly through the course of our lifetime. Our teens desperately for need for the adults in their lives to be equipped to share Biblical truth and hope whenever the topic comes up. We highly recommend Randy Alcorn’s beautiful piece, Suicide, Heaven, and Jesus- the Final Answer to Our Sorrow. Prompted by the recent suicide of beloved young pastor Jarrid Wilson, this article offers biblical consolation and hope for those grieving a suicide as well as those suffering from suicidal thoughts. Alcorn also links other resources you may find helpful, including biblical counselor Dave Powlison’s helpful booklet, Grieving a Suicide: Help for the Aftershock.

In the podcast Alice recommends the resources at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; click here.

We also encourage you to check out youth ministry leader Walt Mueller’s articles: Adolescent Suicide: Number, Prayer, and a Helpful Handout… as well as Responding to Kids Who “Can’t Handle This Sucky World Any Longer.”

Resources from Rooted:

Alice Churnock’s extremely helpful article: If My Dad Loved Me, Why Did He Commit Suicide?

Articles about Thirteen Reasons Why, the Netflix series Alice references on the podcast.

Thirteen Reasons Why We Need to Have Conversations With Our Kids by Kristen Hatton

Hope This Helps: Responding to Thirteen Reasons Why by Charlotte Getz

For the issue of self-harm, which Alice discusses but differentiates from the desire to commit suicide, please see:

Understanding Self-Injury by Liz Edrington

A Call to Incarnational Ministry in the Face of Teen Self-Harm by Taylor Mendoza

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255.

This podcast is made available to you by the Rooted Ministry for educational purposes only, not to provide specific therapeutic advice. The views expressed are the personal perspectives of the author and do not represent the views of all counselors or the profession. This podcast does not create a counselor-client relationship and should not be used as a substitute for competent therapeutic counsel from a licensed professional in your state.

In this episode of Ask Alice, licensed professional counselor Alice Churnock speaks with veteran pediatrician Stacey Gilbert, who answers questions from parents who are exploring medication as an option for their children. Dr. Gilbert dispels myths and encourages a balanced perspective on meds. With so many confusing and conflicting reports about medication, this episode of Ask Alice allows parents to hear the truth directly from a professional.

Dr. Gilbert addresses the following questions:

How young is too young to put a child on medication?

What would cause you to start a child on meds ? What symptoms are you looking for?

How long do most kids take meds and are they addictive?

What is a black box warning and should that deter us from starting a kid on meds?

How do medications work – what do they do for the brain?

As a Christian, how can I justify placing my child on medication?

On the Rooted blog , we work to address teen depression through the lens of the Gospel. Here are some articles and podcasts we hope you and the parents of your students will find helpful:

Only the Gospel Will Save Teens From Their Anxiety by Seth Stewart

To the Parent Struggling With a Struggling Teen by Kristen Hatton

Parenting A Child With Major Depressive Disorder by Ingram Link

Rooted Podcast: Dave Thomas on Adolescent Anxiety 

Rooted Podcast: Gospel Contextualization of Anxiety and Academic Pressure in Affluent Suburban and Asian American Contexts with Cameron Cole and Clark Fobes

In addition, check out the Special Challenges section of our Resources tab for more Rooted articles and other resources on topics such as depression, grief, and perfectionism.

This podcast is made available to you by the Rooted Ministry for educational purposes only, not to provide specific therapeutic advice. The views expressed are the personal perspectives of the author and do not represent the views of all counselors or the profession. This podcast does not create a counselor-client relationship and should not be used as a substitute for competent therapeutic counsel from a licensed professional in your state.

From Alice: The past week has been up and down in my office as the thought of heading back to school is starting to slap us all in the face. Where we live school starts in very early August. Just about every kid I’ve talked to has wanted to process their upcoming school schedule. So while the kids are dealing with disappointment, we’ve had some excellent parent questions this week on how to handle the let-downs our kids are facing.

Here are a couple of the questions Alice will be addressing in this month’s episode:

Riley Reed, a mom of three in Nashville: “My oldest daughter is 12 years old and she’s dedicated her time and energy to an incredible theater group in town. She’s put in long hours, paid for extra training and received high scores in the placement levels. However, for some unknown reason, she was not asked to advance to the upper level ensemble when a lot of her friends did. She’s sad, but honestly, I’m mad. How can I walk rightly with her through this disappointment, while I’m still hurt and frustrated too?”

Virginia in Virginia: “My son is going into 3rdgrade this year and several of his friends have moved away or are going to a different school. He’s so upset that he’s already made up his mind that its going to be a horrible year. How can I help him push past his disappointment and make the most of a hard situation?”

This podcast is made available to you by the Rooted Ministry for educational purposes only, not to provide specific therapeutic advice. The views expressed are the personal perspectives of the author and do not represent the views of all counselors or the profession. This podcast does not create a counselor-client relationship and should not be used as a substitute for competent therapeutic counsel from a licensed professional in your state.

This podcast is made available to you by the Rooted Ministry for educational purposes only, not to provide specific therapeutic advice. The views expressed are the personal perspectives of the author and do not represent the views of all counselors or the profession. This podcast does not create a counselor-client relationship and should not be used as a substitute for competent therapeutic counsel from a licensed professional in your state.

This podcast is made available to you by the Rooted Ministry for educational purposes only, not to provide specific therapeutic advice. The views expressed are the personal perspectives of the author and do not represent the views of all counselors or the profession. This podcast does not create a counselor-client relationship and should not be used as a substitute for competent therapeutic counsel from a licensed professional in your state.