My daughter was struggling, and we had no idea what to do. She’d come home from school and immediately go to her room. We’d ask what was wrong – she’d give us a blank stare. She’d always been a good student – now she was really struggling, and her grades were lower than they’ve ever been. She wouldn’t see her friends and she rarely smiled.
The day of the school conference was one of the hardest days ever. Somehow, we thought we’d get to the meeting and hear all the same things we’d always heard – that our daughter was bright and engaged, that she volunteered to help others, that she was a very sweet person. This time, that’s not at all what we heard. Instead, all of her teachers expressed serious concern about our little girl’s happiness and state of mind. She also suggested that we call JF&CS to set up counseling.
That first call with JF&CS gave us hope. On the other end of the phone was a warm, caring person who was really committed to making the process easy for us. She listened to our concerns and connected us with a special counselor – one that was pretty perfect for our daughter and for us.
It wasn’t immediate and there are still challenging times, but we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our daughter has someone she trusts with her feelings – who understands how she’s feeling. More importantly, her therapist doesn’t finish her sentences or tell her how she should be feeling (things we struggle with as her parents). We also feel like we have a partner in raising our daughter – someone who can guide us and who understands that parenting is really hard work.
Sometimes we all need a little help. We’re grateful JF&CS is here for us.
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