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New pilot program helps students master mental health
BY JACKIE BUSSJAEGER REGIONAL STAFF WRITER
WHITE BEAR LAKE — Good mental health is important to leading healthy and successful lives, but we often don’t learn how to take care of our mental health until well into adulthood. In a nation that has seen increasing violence and self-harm among children, addressing mental health among youth is more important than ever.
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A new nonprofit called Inner Genius is hoping to make a difference by testing a new pilot program in White Bear Schools this month. The program, titled Mental Emotional Mastery, will challenge a class of fifth graders at Matoska International IB World School to learn about their emotional and mental wellness and explore healthy ways to manage emotions.
The pilot was designed by Shannon McCarty and Nycole Fry, who both have children in the school district. McCarty is a chiropractor who owns Soul Chiropractic in White Bear Lake. She has also studied neuropsychology and brings a strong scientific perspective to the program.
“We feel that a lot of our increased violence and self-harm is due to intense feelings and thoughts in the kids with no understanding what it is and what to do,” McCarty said.
Fry is an artist who has spent seven years working on art therapy programs with incarcerated individuals. In her conversations with incarcerated students, she has heard again and again that one of the things people wished they had was some kind of program in schools that helps address unspoken emotional distress, especially for children who come from difficult home situations.
“That was what really sparked my interest to dig deeper into it,” Fry said. She also studied social science, and said she enjoys learning about human behavior. The goal with Mental Emotional Mastery is to give students the tools and language they need to properly process emotions and learn to manage them by encouraging mindfulness and engaging the senses.
“It’s therapeutic form of art, where we really tap into their emotions and encourage creative expression,
