In Quick Takes, experts offer strategies for talking with kids about a variety of stresses they face growing up — from day-to-day personal challenges to global crises. To view videos, click on the image. To download transcripts, click on links below.
Quick Takes
July 8, 2021
Building Resilience a Day at a Time
We have daily opportunities to foster resilience. Jeanne Blake and Dr. Paula K. Rauch, Massachusetts General Hospital, discuss how simple practices build resilience. Watch our interview (4 minutes). Or, read the transcript.
July 5, 2022
How Children Carry Memories Forward
Jeanne Blake talks with Dr. Paula K. Rauch, child psychiatrist at Mass General Hospital, Dr. Archana Basu, a clinical psychologist at Mass General Hospital and 105-year-old Ruth about children carrying their pandemic experiences into their lives. (Watch our interview: 5:05 minutes) Or, read the transcript.
March 26, 2022
The War in Ukraine: Talking With Kids
Jeanne Blake talks with Dr. Paula K. Rauch, child psychiatrist at Mass General Hospital, about strategies for talking with kids about global crisis. (Watch our interview: 9:50 minutes) Or, read the transcript.
February 15, 2022
How Ongoing Conversations Build Resilience
Jeanne Blake talks with Dr. Paula K. Rauch, child psychiatrist at Mass General Hospital, about the importance of helping kids talk about their pandemic experience – during and, importantly, after the pandemic. (Watch our interview: 8:51 minutes) Or, read the transcript.
September 7, 2021
Why the Ability to Listen is a Superpower
Part II
Dr. Leslie Klein Garvin, Director of Counseling and Middle School Counselor at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., viewed our teen video with middle school students. Jeanne Blake talks with Dr. Klein Garvin, about the students’ response, and why being present and listening to kids is so powerful. Watch our interview (3:34 minutes). Or, read the transcript.
September 7, 2021
Why the Ability to Listen is a Superpower
Part I
As children of all ages navigate uncertainty, there’s a proven way caring adults can offer support. Jeanne Blake talks with Dr. Leslie Klein Garvin, Director of Counseling and Middle School Counselor at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C., Dr. Kerry Ressler, Chief of the Division of Depression and Anxiety Disorders at McLean Hospital, and Kercine Elie, mother of three, about why the ability to listen is a superpower. Watch our interview (4:10 minutes). Or, read the transcript.
July 30, 2021
Preparing Kids for Transitions Ahead
As children head back to school, we can help prepare them to meet this transition – and others – with confidence. Jeanne Blake speaks with Dr. J.J. Jenkins, a child psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Alicia Mezzoni, a teacher from Dracut, Massachusetts. Watch our interview (2:47 minutes). Or, read the transcript.
July 28, 2021
A Teacher's Perspective
Jeanne Blake and Alicia Mezzoni, a teacher from Dracut, Massachusetts, discuss the pandemic from Alicia’s point of view as an educator and mom – and her hopes and concerns about the upcoming 2021 school year. Watch our interview (3:50 minutes). Or, read the transcript.
August 5, 2021
The Delta Variant: Talking with Kids
As the Delta variant surges, we face uncertainty rather than the eagerly anticipated re-entry. Jeanne Blake talks with Dr. Paula K. Rauch, a child psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and 14-year-old Megan, featured in the teen video, about how processing kids’ pandemic experiences, thus far, will help them face current and future uncertainties. Watch our interview (5:54 minutes). Or, read the transcript.
July 29, 2022
U.S. Congressman's Personal Story
U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton shares candidly about his own mental health and his efforts to launch the new 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. (Watch our interview: 18:13 minutes) Or, read the transcript.
September 2, 2022
Back to School: A Focus on Mental Health
Ben Handrich, School Counselor at South Salem High School in Salem, Oregon, and Chris Moore, School Psychologist and K-12 Social-Emotional Health Coordinator for Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Salem, Oregon - share their concerns and hopes for the coming school year. (Watch our interview: 12:58 minutes) Or, read the transcript.
July 8, 2021
Talking About Your Family's Safety Rules
Jeanne Blake and Dr. Paula K. Rauch, Massachusetts General Hospital, discuss how families can talk about their choices around safety rules as the world opens up again. Watch our interview (3:37 minutes). Or, read the transcript.
November 14, 2022
Kids, Mental Health and Marijuana
Jeanne Blake and Dr. Kevin Hill, Director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Assoc. Professor, Harvard Medical School, talk about what parents and kids need to know about marijuana. (Watch our interview: 5:03 minutes) Or, read the transcript.
March 15, 2021
Talking About the Light at the End of the Tunnel
With vaccines available we hear a lot about the light at the end of the tunnel. Blake Works’ founder Jeanne Blake and Dr. Paula K. Rauch, Massachusetts General Hospital, discuss the importance of talking with children about this important transition. Read the transcript.
February 10, 2021
Trauma or Hard Time?
The word “trauma” is often used to describe the emotional impact of the pandemic. Blake Works’ founder Jeanne Blake and Dr. Paula K. Rauch, Massachusetts General Hospital, discuss the difference between having a hard time and experiencing trauma. Read the transcript.