A South Florida nurse is trading scrubs for storybooks to help children and families confront emotional trauma and spark conversations about mental health, starting one page at a time.
Breaking the stigma early
Michelle Valcourt, a mom and registered nurse, began her career treating children deeply scarred by trauma. Now, she uses research and techniques learned from that experience to attack one of the biggest challenges facing mental health care advocates.
“Parents have a very hard time recognizing that their child might need that kind of help,” Susan Holtzman, President and CEO of NAMI Miami-Dade County, said. “It’s an uncomfortable recognition for a lot of people.”
The stigma attached to seeking mental health care is close to Valcourt’s heart.
“In our culture, the Haitian culture, they just brush it off,” she said. “You’ll be okay.”
To help turn the page, she decided to write fictional stories with plots so real children reading could benefit.
“I thought if I have something for these kids like a foundation for kids when they’re younger it will make an impact when they become an adult,” Valcourt said. “(Then) we won’t have so (much) unhealed trauma (in) adults.”
Stories rooted in real struggles
While brainstorming what to write, Valcourt leaned on personal experiences.
“My first job was a mental health nurse and I worked in a population with kids,” she said. “Some of the kids were seven-years-old. They were pulling out knives on their parents or they have a court case against them or they’re being raised around drugs. You hear them pouring out their heart like, oh I want my Mommy. I want my Daddy. I don’t want to be in foster care. I wish this. I wish that. So it was like wow. If these kids have some sort of guidance or someone positive around them or someone they could speak to, they may not have went that route.”
So in between shifts at a South Florida hospital, Valcourt pours her heart into writing. On each page, she injects strategies to open doors for children battling trauma.
“Jeremiah’s Journey” involves a boy battling anger who learns to manage thanks to advice from grown-ups and support from peers.
“He used breathing techniques,” Valcourt said. “He was able to ‘woosah’ (and) count to seven to distract his mind from being angry.”
“Mya’s Positive Mindset: A Story on How to Overcome Sadness” reflects the struggles Valcourt overcame.
“My mom and dad divorced when I was younger,” she said. “I didn’t have anyone to talk to. So, I did feel I wouldn’t say depressed but I was a little sad. But this story was showing Mya that even though mom and dad are not together (she still has) the opportunity to be with dad. Dad still picks you up after school. Dad still takes you to the park. He’s still involved. So yes, they’re not together. But you can look at the bright side of situation.”
Building foundations for the future
The books’ intentions attack what the National Alliance on Mental Illness considers a crisis: teens and youth silently suffering.
“That is the biggest obstacle,” Holtzman said.
Page by page, Valcourt hopes to make a difference in young lives. However, the way mental health care advocates see it, Valcourt is already making Miami proud.
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