My family and I live in San Antonio, TX and we have 5 kids and 4 cats.

I did not read through many of the resources before taking the quizzes, which got me poor results. My husband and I adopted two of our five children and I have been learning what I can to best support our collective mental health. In our family, three out of five kids have mental health related diagnoses. I’ve had to fight with our insurance to get them the care they need in times of crisis, even using my position (at the time) in the mental health department with the US Air Force to push for referrals to providers that could help. I’m

happy to report that we have had appropriate care since then, but it required physical access to secure locations in order to get it.

In my ongoing role as a mother of five children, knowledge of how to respond to traumatic experiences as well as how to work through old trauma is invaluable. Two of my children spent time in foster care and I’ve read a lot of perspectives on things that can support them. This is one more source of tools for my toolkit.

One tool I’ve found in my research is bilateral stimulation. It’s a tool I use when I feel anxious or stressed. I will tap on alternate sides of my body or listen to music in headphones that moves from ear to ear. The tapping method is one I used when my toddler was having a tooth pulled. It was a traumatic experience for me. Afterwards, I used the same tapping on my son and I am surprised to report he never really had an aversion to seeing the dentist after that experience. For music, I usually look up 8D playlists on Spotify, but there are specific bilateral stimulation ones too.

I also did not know how poorly the US stood up compared to other countries on issues like corporal punishment and child marriage (King-Guffey & Becker, 2022).

"Moral distress occurs when people are prevented from doing what they believe is right or ethical, due to institutional or other constraints" (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, n.d.).

Currently, I feel like I am in a ever flowing state of moral distress when I look at each new executive order, as people are being deported, and as a genocide is being carried out with my tax dollars.

Because I do not have a specific future role, I will be using this idea in my relationships as I support my husband and my partner as we experience this moral distress.

CDC. (2024, April 16). Cannabis and Brain Health. Cannabis and Public Health. https://www.cdc.gov/cannabis/health-effects/brain-health.html

King-Guffey, C., & Becker, J. (2022, September 13). How Do US States Measure Up on Child Rights? Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/feature/2022/09/13/how-do-states-measure-up-child-rights

Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. (2025). The ten stages of genocide. Holocaust Memorial Day Trust. https://hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/what-is-genocide/the-ten-stages-of-genocide/

Medvide, M. B. (2024). View of Teaching Cultural Competence and Social Justice in a Mental Health Counseling Graduate Course: Reflection and Review of the Literature. Bsu.edu. https://openjournals.bsu.edu/jsacp/article/view/3290/2136

National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (n.d.). Psychological First Aid Online. NCTSN Learning Center. Retrieved March 3, 2025, from https://learn.nctsn.org/course/view.php?id=596

National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). Seasonal Affective Disorder. Www.nimh.nih.gov; National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder

Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (2016). Counseling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. (7th ed). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

United Nations. (2024). The 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child | United Nations. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/delegate/35th-anniversary-convention-rights-child

As always, suicide, homicide, psychosis, substance abuse, child abuse, or elder abuse are flags that indicate outside professional help (and possible law enforcement notification) is required.

(Support Groups)

(210) 529-7365

Family Hospital at Bandera

(emergency)

(210) 332-5460

Hill Country Counseling and Associates

(210) 838-5514

Narcissist Survivor Group

(210) 920-8135

Being culturally competent as a white woman may include awareness of historic and ongoing injustice. Offering resources in different languages and respecting the religious beliefs of clients is also key. As a formerly religious person, I will need to hold space for the fact that many people find comfort and solace in their religion and it is not necessarily harmful to do so.

online therapy + LGBTQ support

(682) 204-4832

Ana Marcela Rodriguez

bilingual online therapy

(972) 715-1940

24 Hour Crisis/Mental Health

Substance Abuse Helpline

1-(800)-316-9241

(210) 223-SAFE(7233)