By way of introduction, I am a full-service family doctor from Courtenay BC who really likes youth. I have had a Mindfulness practice for the past 12 years and have been facilitating adult mindfulness groups for 5 years. I also serve as Chair for a large multidisciplinary community-based committee that work with youth in the Comox Valley and in 2022 will be the Medical Director of Foundry Comox Valley.
Over my 31-year practice I have delivered lots of babies and have noticed that as these children grow up there has been a marked increase in anxiety and other mental health issues. I felt a strong need to help these young people develop skills to navigate their challenges, hopefully helping to prevent the need for further psychiatric care. Mindfulness had been so helpful for my own journey, and I remember wishing that I had learned to live this way at a younger age.
I was fortunate enough to meet Drs. Vo and McDermid at a Mindfulness summit in February 2020, shortly after I started training with them. Initially it was to be in-person but of course the pandemic struck. I was so grateful for their teaching and mentoring and the opportunity to watch and learn as this program shifted to an online platform. My training and time were covered by the Rural Education-Action Plan (REAP) funding available through the Rural Coordination Centre.
I quickly discovered that the biggest teachers in the class were the youth! I felt so privileged to be with these young people as they showed up with vulnerability and a willingness to try new things every week. It consistently blew me away how quickly they “got things”.
The first MARS-A program was offered in the Comox Valley in the spring of 2021. We aligned with the fledgling Foundry Comox Valley and looked to physicians and other professionals for referrals. We soon discovered that the high school counsellors were our greatest source for referrals and feedback regarding the offering. The Practice Support program through Doctors of BC provided funding for MOA time, paid for another physician facilitator to be present and covered administration time for myself. As all these pieces fell into place, we came to the realization that each of these organizational elements contributed to the overall success of the program.
After the intake process we had 13 youth signed up - we usually had 11 attend each week. As a group, we worked hard to foster engagement using texting through an EMR, the online group tool Padlet and mixed media in the Zoom room. We found it possible to develop relationships on the online platform and this seemed to be most important in continuing engagement. In each class we had 3 adults with mindfulness practices to enable break out rooms or phone calls in cases where youth were having difficulties.
Each week we were blown away by the youth continuing to show up and try things. One week the home practice was to take a picture of something you were grateful for and share in the Padlet. I was drawn to tears when on a difficult day at work when suddenly 5 kids shared a picture.
Facilitating MARS-A has given me an opportunity to get in front of youth with a proven program to support them in learning to live with the ebbs and flows of life. Our next steps will be to offer the program again, hopefully in person, in early 2022. I am so grateful for this ability to be with youth in this way.
***To read more about Dr. McLaughlin’s mindfulness work with teens, read her report for the General Practice Services Committee***
