Learning with Rochelle DePriest, LCSW

Program Liaison at Community Mental Health Fund in Jackson County Missouri

By Robin Ramsey

Robin Ramsey is a senior at the University of Missouri-Kansas City obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism and a minor in French. She is interning with the RaisingKC Podcast at UMKC. After she graduates, she hopes to travel and strengthen her French-language skills. 

How does Learning help an adult connect with a child? A child learns self-regulation, (the ability to understand and manage reactions to feeling, thoughts and behaviors) as learns how to deal with life, frustration, cope with stress…when things don’t go right, how to go with the flow.

In this interview, Rochelle  discusses the importance of learning how to identify and communicate our emotions.  She shares personal stories and describes the people that listened to her in childhood and the lessons those connections taught her.

What to do:

• Use empathy to teach children how to connect their feelings into words. For example, label their emotions and feelings  as  angry, embarrassed, sad, happy, grateful, etc. Once children understand that emotion, they can learn how to respond and behave when experiencing those feelings. 

Why it matters:

• When you learn to label your  feelings, you are learning about yourself. It is really important for people to have core personal values. Learning what actions make you feel good vs. bad impacts your decision-making skills later on in life.

One big takeaway

• As parents and adults, we need to learn how to cope with our own emotions so that children can learn from us.