For over 26 years, Fostering Success has been a lifeline for foster children in Southwest Florida. Based in Naples, the nonprofit organization is dedicated to providing foster youth with a sense of stability, encouragement, and opportunity—things every child deserves but not all receive. Through a wide range of programs that focus on education, enrichment, and essential needs, Fostering Success helps children build brighter futures. Their mission is clear: to provide strategic education and enrichment opportunities that enable foster children to reach their full potential.

“Every child deserves the chance to thrive, and we provide the resources and support that allow foster youth to dream bigger and achieve more,” said CEO Ann Hughes.

The organization’s work begins early, with programs aimed at the youngest children in the system. The Ready for Kindergarten program places preschool-aged foster children in high-quality early learning centers, laying the groundwork for long-term academic success. For school-aged youth, Fostering Success offers academic mentoring that matches students with tutors throughout their educational journey. While the national high school graduation rate for foster children is just 50 percent, the impact of this program has been remarkable—every senior enrolled in Fostering Success’s tutoring program graduated.

As students move beyond high school, the organization continues its support through annual scholarships, helping young adults attend college or technical school. For those aging out of the foster care system, often without the safety net of a family, the organization offers its Thriving After Care initiative. This program equips young adults with essential life skills such as budgeting, cooking, applying for jobs, building a resume, and finding housing. It provides guidance during what is often one of the most vulnerable transitions in a young person’s life.

Fostering Success knows that meeting only educational needs is not enough. The organization also addresses basic necessities, supplying foster families with critical items like diapers, beds, school uniforms, clothing, and backpacks. This support helps relieve the financial burden on foster families and ensures the children are safe, comfortable, and ready to learn.

Equally important are the programs that nourish the emotional and creative development of foster youth. Through its Heartstrings Arts & Music program, Fostering Success gives children the opportunity to explore music, art, dance, and theater. These experiences offer an outlet for self-expression and healing, while also bringing joy into their lives. Athletic programs further enhance a child’s growth, allowing them to participate in sports they may have never had access to before. These activities help children gain confidence, make friends, and experience a sense of belonging.

As the school year comes to a close, Fostering Success shifts into summer mode with camps designed to keep children engaged, active, and inspired. These camps allow kids to explore new interests in a safe and supportive environment.

The impact of Fostering Success is made possible by the compassion and generosity of the community. As a privately funded nonprofit, the organization relies on donations and volunteerism to sustain its programs. From tutoring and mentoring to donating school supplies and hosting fundraisers, there are countless ways individuals can get involved and make a difference.

3050 Horseshoe Drive North
Unit 260, Naples, FL 34104
For additional information, call
239-262-1808 or visit https://fosteringsuccess.net

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Massive Brain Rewiring

Adolescence, which spans from ages 10 to 24, is a time when the brain undergoes massive changes. By the end of adolescence, your child’s brain has been upgraded and overhauled. It’s the emotional part of their brain that first receives this overhaul before the part that is responsible for planning, decision-making, and having perspective. This explains why your teen’s emotions often appear chaotic and explosive.

We all have emotions, and most of the time, they are appropriate for the situation. Your job is not to make your teen’s emotions disappear. Your job is to sit with them as they ride the wave of those emotions – listening, offering empathy, and letting your teen set the terms of engagement.

The process of separation-individuation

Adolescence is a time when teens build an identity that is distinct from their parents. Your teen might start to not want to be around you. Or they might even go so far as to criticize the way you dress. These are all normal signs of healthy adolescent development. As your child figures out who they want to be, they will push against who you are as a person.

So, how do you handle this time when your teen thinks everything you say and do is annoying? Don’t personalize it, and don’t hold a grudge! It’s not about you and the outfit you chose that day. Try to refocus the conversation or give your teen some space. Playfulness and humor can also be extremely helpful. Teens have the best sense of humor. Next time your teen criticizes your outfit, play along. Say something like, “I know, it’s the worst. Maybe you could give me some styling advice.”

Increased Risk-Seeking

Due to the massive brain rewiring happening during adolescence, teens are more drawn to novel and exciting experiences. The availability of dopamine in the brain increases during this time. Dopamine is the reward chemical in our brain and makes us experience positive feelings. So novel and exciting experiences start to feel really good to your teen. Because the braking power of the brain is not fully in force yet, we see increased risk-taking.

As a parent, you can support your teen by having conversations about the risks of certain behaviors (i.e., reckless driving, drug/alcohol use) and setting reasonable expectations. Open communication is key. Your teen needs to know that if they are in a dangerous situation, they can call you for help, and you will respond without judgment. Finally, find safe ways to allow your teen to experience new and exciting experiences. Small, frequent, and safe opportunities reduce the need for your teen to seek out dangerous experiences with life-altering consequences.

The post The Brains of Tweens and Teens: 3 Ways to Support Their Emotional Well-being appeared first on SWFL Family.

Play therapy is a modality in which trained clinicians use the therapeutic powers of play to help children with their mental health needs. Play is a child’s natural language. It is how children express their innermost thoughts and feelings. Words do not always come easily to children because the language part of their brain is still developing. It would be extremely challenging for a child to sit across from a therapist and verbally express everything they are thinking, feeling, and experiencing. But if you put that same child in a room with toys and creative materials, they will show you through their play what is happening in their inner world.

How Does Play Therapy Work?

You might wonder: Why can’t I just do play therapy with my child at home?

Several things set “playing at home” and play therapy apart. First, the therapeutic relationship sets the foundation for all future work. Play therapists must establish trust and a sense of safety with the child. Would you express your innermost thoughts and feelings to a stranger if you did not trust that person? Likely not. Play therapists build trust in a variety of ways, including showing empathy; accepting the child without conditions; and being genuine, warm, and friendly. As trust begins growing, the child can then begin feeling safe enough to express themselves.

Second, toys in a play therapy room are specifically chosen from several categories to empower a child to express a wide range of thoughts, feelings, and desires. Each toy in the play therapy room has a purpose.

Third, how the play therapist engages with the child during a session is based on the evidence-based theory that the therapist was trained in. So, what the therapist says, how toys are used, and what interventions are used are all based on the theory that the play therapist adheres to. Play therapy is more than just asking a child to draw what they are feeling or playing a game. Purpose and rationale exist behind every action.

5 Benefits of Play Therapy

Finally, you might wonder: Why would my child need play therapy and how can it help them?

Play therapy has many benefits for children struggling with emotional or behavioral challenges, including, but not limited to, grief and loss; divorce and family dissolution; academic and social difficulties; developmental, physical, and learning disabilities; anxiety disorders; obsessive-compulsive disorders; depression; attention deficit hyperactivity; autism spectrum; oppositional defiant and conduct disorders; anger management; and crisis and trauma. Benefits include helping children to:

1. Express their thoughts and feelings;
2. Regulate their emotions and manage stress;
3. Build self-esteem;
4. Develop healthy relationships with peers and adults; and
5. Explore and work through difficult topics like grief and trauma in a way that is more comfortable than traditional talk therapy.

Interested IN LEARNING more?

Check out the following resources:

• Association for Play Therapy’s Parent Corner
• Connected Path Counseling

The post 5 Ways Play Therapy Can Help Your Child appeared first on SWFL Family.

1. Area of Specialty

Question for the potential therapist: What is your specialty?

As much as they want to be, therapists are not capable of treating every diagnosis and mental health challenge that exists. For example, providing therapy to children is much different than providing therapy to adults. Treating ADHD is much different than treating complex trauma, for example. Each requires different levels of training and experience. If you are trying to find a therapist for your child, it is important that they specialize in working with children. There is also a difference between providing play therapy and being a Registered Play Therapist™. Becoming an RPT™
requires significant training, education, and supervision above and beyond the typical mental health licensure process. It is important for you as the parent/guardian to understand in what ways the potential therapist is qualified to help your child.

2. Credentials

Question: What are your credentials?

Therapists have all sorts of letters after their name, which can become confusing. To break it down here is what they mean:

RCSWI, RMHCI, RMFTI – these designations mean the person achieved their master’s degree in a mental health field and is a Registered Intern working towards licensure, which in Florida is a minimum of two years and requires a specific amount of client contact hours and supervision with a qualified supervisor.

LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker), LMHC (Licensed Mental Health Counselor), LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family
Therapist) – these designations mean the person is at least two years past their master’s degree and has met the requirements stated above to become a licensed mental health professional in Florida. 

Additional designations: If there are additional initials after someone’s licensure initials it most likely means that the person has additional credentials from an outside organization. For example, RPT™ stands for Registered Play Therapist and is a credential that is offered through the Association for Play Therapy. 

3. Therapeutic Approach

Question: What is your therapeutic approach with clients?

This is important. Every therapist has a different therapeutic approach. Some therapists take a more behavioral approach, meaning they are focusing on behavior change within your child. Some therapists take a more
relational approach, meaning they focus on the therapeutic relationship as the change agent. Therapists also use different theories to guide their work, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, Psychoanalytic, Person-Centered. There are too many theories to list here. But understanding what approach the prospective therapist uses will help you to determine if they are a good fit for your child. I tell parents all the time, you know your child best and will know when you find the right therapist for them. 

Interested in learning more?

Connected Path Counseling
www.connectedpathcounseling.com

The post How to Choose a Mental Health Therapist for Your Child appeared first on SWFL Family.

• Three Square Meals With Cabin Mates. Sitting around the table three times a day is something I only dream of doing with my kids. The conversations shared, the laughs exchanged, and the memories made around a table are priceless. Without phones, social media, or documenting the meal for the world to see, these meals just have to be experienced.

• Exciting Activities. Where else can you zip line through the trees, shoot a rifle, ride a horse,

 •Traveling Everywhere on Foot. Camp is a little like Andy Griffith’s Mayberry; everyone knows everyone and there are great conversations to be had as you pass your neighbor when you travel through your day. If trees could talk, oh the stories they would tell of the laughter, joy, and inside jokes that echo beneath their lofty branches. No need for cars, cell phones, or texting. Anyone you need is just a few steps away.

• Connecting with Nature. The physical benefits of being outside are obvious, but children are happier and healthier when they experience the outdoors. Free play in natural areas enhances children’s cognitive flexibility, problem-solving ability, creativity, self-esteem, and self-discipline.

• Rainy Day Boredom. Technology has pro-vided a quick-fix for bore-dom, but without technol-ogy at camp, our campers learn to problem solve, get creative, and use their imaginations. When a rainy day cancels their activity period, they find new ways to smile, laugh and play – without looking for a solution on the Internet.

• Family. Living in a cabin unit, campers feel part of a close-knit community that accepts them and loves them just they way they are. The cabin unit – your family at camp – nur-tures the innate need in every one of us to belong and be a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Separation makes the heart grow…

 After weeks away from home, my kids always come back a little bit wiser, braver, and taller than when they left. At camp, they’ve had the opportunity to interact with positive role mod-els who have taken time to listen, talk, relax, reflect, and think through daily life with them. My kids have learned to work selflessly within a group, to responsibly make their own choices, to discover, grow, fail, succeed, mature, and gain independence. The life skills they take away from camp are necessary tools on their path to healthy, productive lives.

Reprinted with permission from Camp Director Melissa Fitzgerald of Camp Highlander, N.C. For more information about Camp Highlander, go to camp highlander.com.

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