Advice for a youth after prison

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Advice for a youth after prison

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If your son or daughter has recently been involved in juvenile detention or a detention center, it's very important for you to take action immediately. The first three months of your child leaving the facility is critical, because it's during these three months that they're going to be able to change their behavior the most. It's important to recognize that often times adolescents are afraid, and if they've just gotten out of Juvenile Hall or if they've just gotten out of the detention center, they're gonna be very scared about their future. That fear is normal. It's normal for children to have this fear. How they choose to deal with it often makes the difference between them getting better or them getting more involved in dangers. If your son is going to be able to talk about that fear, and if your son is gonna be able to express that fear to you, he's much better off. It's important to recognize that sometimes fear can become a way of rebelling, so we sometimes see the fear manifested as anger and retaliation against you. Recognize that sometimes when your child may be retaliating against you or retaliating against society, that they really are expressing a fear about the world. Kids become overwhelmed by the future, questions about what's gonna happen to them, especially if they've been incarcerated or have been in detention. It's important for you to reassure your children; let them know that this does not have to mean the rest of their future. Get them involved in extracurricular activities. Get them involved in school. Regardless of their level of learning, learning is a great way to get out of that type of lifestyle. It's also very important for your children to volunteer, get involved with other peers, get involved with the community that's gonna support their transition and their process. The time of transformation is important. Be aware of the friendships, be aware of the connections that your son will make, and know that getting back into community, those relationships in community can be the greatest deterrent to a revolving door in a detention center.

View Jorge Partida, PsyD's video on Advice for a youth after prison...

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Jorge Partida, PsyD

Psychologist

Dr. Jorge Partida is a Psychologist, Green Advocate and Indigenous Healer. He was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to Chicago at nine years of age. Dr. Jorge has been a consultant on many national and international projects in the areas of education, health, diversity and spirituality.  Dr. Jorge has worked with local and national governments to coordinate services for those most impacted by poverty, war and displacement.  He has worked in Liberia Africa in the repatriation of boy soldiers and has worked to form “intentional communities” in poverty impacted countries of Latin-America.

Dr. Jorge is the author of The Promise of The Fifth Sun and A Week of Awakening.  His writing integrates psychology with native healing traditions to form an easy to use self-help approach.  Dr. Jorge has designed and facilitated healing workshops that incorporate ritual and practice. 

Dr. Jorge has served as Director of the PsyD program at John F. Kennedy University and as Deputy Director of Behavioral Health with the San Francisco Department of Public Health.  Today, Dr. Jorge is the Executive Director of the United States Green Building Council-Los Angeles (USGBC-LA).  He believes that the discussion of sustainability provides a platform to address today’s most complex issues. 

For more than twenty years, Dr. Jorge has presented mental health segments on television and radio. He has worked with many networks, including Univision, Telemundo, HITN-TV in Spanish and CBS, UPN, NBC and PBS in English. 

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