Episode 086: Addressing Kids’ Mental Health: A Conversation with Dr. Tara Boer

This week we are so grateful to have our friend and colleague from the Dordt University Social Work department, Dr. Tara Boer, in on our conversation about students’ mental health. This is a passion area for Tara, and she has expertise from her background and experience as a therapist. She has lots of helpful advice and encouragement about how parents and teachers can help kids with their mental health concerns. In this episode we talk about the impacts of social media, different ways that anxiety manifests in students, trauma responses in kids, and kids’ self perceptions. Tara shares a variety of strategies for parents and teachers who are looking for ways to help and support kids’ mental health. From questions to ask kids, to strategies for journaling with kids, to partnerships with professionals…Dr. Boer has a wealth of wisdom to share! We hope this longer-than-normal episode will be a blessing for you and the kids in your life.

• You can get more information about Tara and more resources at her website: https://drtaraboer.com. We urge you to connect with her, and have her speak at your event. She is an incredible speaker and will bless and equip your school, church, or community group with her wisdom.
• In the episode, Dr. Boer recommended the book The Whole Brain Child by Daniel Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Whole-Brain-Child-Revolutionary-Strategies-Developing/dp/0553386697