Help offers from Bremen estimate that the number of children and adolescents who visited a therapist in the past year has increased. (Andreas Arnold / dpa)
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Isolation and the involuntary withdrawal into the domestic are a burden for children and young people. Exact numbers of how many of them have seen a therapist in the past year because of mental illness are not yet available. The assessment of the various offers of help in Bremen suggests an increase.
Kathrin Moosdorf, the managing director of the child protection association, is alarmed. In the past year, the number of families in which a child’s well-being is assumed to be at risk did not increase. Moosdorf suspects, however: “The children are seen less, this is the only way we can explain the numbers.” Because leisure activities and lessons are no longer available, there are fewer opportunities to approach the children. “We also see medical professionals sounding the alarm. It’s not just about psychological well-being, but also about physical integrity, ”says the managing director.
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Alex Scott from the Bremen boys’ office has a similar impression. Due to the pandemic, there are special emergencies. Above all, it is about violence within families. “It can also be sexual violence,” says Scott. Because schools are closed and extracurricular activities are prohibited, the children and young people lack a shelter. In addition, access to offers of help is more difficult. “Usually we go to schools and introduce ourselves.”
Anja Lose from the Bremen family network also sees the pandemic as a burning glass. “When there is a crisis, those families always lose out who are not doing well even in times of crisis,” says Lose. In a conversation it is often the case that the parents first report worries such as financial difficulties and then the topic of stress is addressed. A mixture of cramped living space, pressure at work, a lack of structure and financial hardship. “During the talks it turns out that all the pressure leads to conflicts in the families,” says Lose.
Reacted early enough
Bernd Schneider, spokesman for the social affairs department, explains the non-increasing number of child welfare risks differently: “The families are probably more stable than we thought,” says Schneider. The authority was not made aware of increased dangers. “It also shows that we reacted early enough to the families who were at risk,” he says. However, the department could not make any statement about the individual health of children and young people: “We only have serious cases that involve the risk to children and young people.”
The child protection association is responsible for the “number against grief”, and it also works with teachers. “As far as we could see, many children have grief and problems,” says Moosdorf. The expressions differ from person to person, some become loud and aggressive, others withdraw and become silent. “It is important that the adolescents know that they can seek help. Children’s rights continue to exist even during a pandemic, “says Kathrin Moosdorf.
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Alex Scotts from the boys office sees another source of emotional tension. “What young people also suffer from, of course, is the lack of contact with their peer group,” he says. Online offers are no substitute. Anne-Lina Mörsberger from the Bremen Chamber of Psychotherapists is also critical of the almost exclusive contact via the Internet. “If the young people do not receive any real feedback, but only compare themselves online via Instagram, symptoms such as eating disorders can be exacerbated,” she says.
Mörsberger himself has a private psychotherapy practice. Your subjective feeling: The pandemic is affecting young people. The second wave and the second lockdown even more than the first. “The feeling that no one knows how long it will all be going to wear them down,” she says.
Down to business
Offers of help in Bremen
“All people should Be particularly careful these days and listen to children when they need someone to talk to, ”says Kathrin Moosdorf from the Kinderschutzbund Bremen. There are professional offers of help in Bremen, both by telephone and in person. The following websites provide information on direct contact points.
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