WHO
Telling It meets with young people ages 7 through early adulthood in age-appropriate groups of no more than 15 youth. Keeping the groups relatively small means that the Telling It staff can pay close attention to each young person individually.
WHERE
Community centers, schools and juvenile detention centers. Telling It is invited to serve the youth of non-profit organizations such as SOS Community Services, schools such as Ypsilanti Community Middle School and centers such as the Washtenaw County Children’s Services Juvenile Detention Center.
WHEN
The weekly sessions run for 90 minutes starting with a snack and then moving into the activities. Sessions are usually at the end of the school day.
WHAT
The activities are playful and creative, designed to be fun and engaging. Each game and activity has a social emotional learning compponent designed to invite participation in the way each person is most comfortable. We know that the youth are the experts on how they feel and what they’ve experienced. We respect their autonomy. The program employs evidence based therapeutic expressive arts activities such as role play, music and visual arts that are culturally sensitive and trauma informed.
HOW
We start the session with a check in and then move quickly to a few Big Body Games that get everyone moving their bodies and making noise, which is important for our mental health and wellbeing. Games also level the playing field between the youth and staff. Then we move to a transitional activity that is more focused and will include skills useful for the main activity or that introduces concepts in the main activity.
The main activity may be role play, music, creative writing, visual art and often is a blend of a few of these creative modes of expression. Music is always a part of each session! Themes such as healthy relationships, setting personal goals, conflict resolution and self-regulation are explored using the expressive art forms.
The youth are invited to share their creativity and their stories as the session progresses culminating in a group reflection about what may have surfaced during the deeper activities.
WHY
The mental health of young people hit a crisis point in 2020 when COVID-19 impacted social emotional development. Emotional wellbeing has always been central to the mission of Telling It since its founding in 2002. However, with the uptick in social media use and the isolation that many experienced during the pandemic, Ypsilanti saw the completed suicide rates jump to the highest in the county for those under the age of 25 in the past five years.
THE TEAM
Expert facilitators equip young people with essential social emotional skills and mental health interventions. The Telling It team includes a team leader, licensed social worker, resident artists, social work interns, volunteers and undergraduate interns from the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University.
PARTICIPATION
Never mandated. Youth take a step back if a game or an activity is overwhelming. We want the youth to take care of themselves and be empowered in how much or little they participate. No one is ever isolated but choosing what and how to engage with us is foundational to best practices.
