Dealing with chronic skin conditions can take their toll mentally on anyone, but put yourself in the shoes of a child who may not have the same life experience as you do to cope. Stick in the dreaded school bullying, and you can have a major storm on your hands as parents or caregivers. My guest today covers specific things to look for and DO when tackling mental health for children with skin rashes. Today's guest, Dr. Nicole Beurkens, is a licensed clinical psychologist with advanced degrees in psychology, education, and nutrition. She is a leading holistic child psychologist and has dedicated her 25-year career to providing parents with research-based strategies that get to the root of children’s attention, anxiety, mood, and behavior challenges so they can reach their highest potential. She runs a multi-disciplinary evaluation and treatment clinic and is a best-selling author, published researcher, award-winning therapist, media expert, and experienced mother of four. Join us as we discuss how to best SUPPORT mental health holistically for children and teens with chronic skin conditions. If you've found that counseling or at-home therapy work has helped your family in dealing with a chronic condition, what specifically helped the most? Let me know in the comments! In this episode: Why it's a BIG mistake to NOT talk about skin conditions with your kid (especially if it makes your child feel "different") Steps to empower your child if they have a skin condition Criteria of red flags to know that there's something wrong or signs that there could be an issue at school How to get your child talking (without feeling ashamed) about bullying or other problems they face Benefits of having your child talk to someone other than you (or another parent or caregiver) Quotes “A lot of times kids are bringing those things to us not because they want us to in and play superhero and call everybody's mom, and fix it... they're telling us because they need us to be with them in how they're feeling about it. They need to not be alone in how they're feeling.” [17:30] “...The reality is that most children, the vast majority will not initiate telling a parent or teacher or caregiver that it's going on because they are ashamed, because they're embarrassed because they don't know how to talk about that. So it is up to US as the adults in these kids' lives to raise these issues and to watch for the signs.” [10:16] Links Find Dr. Nicole Beurkens online Get Dr. Beurkens's FREE Top 10 Nutrients Guide Follow Dr. Beurkens on Instagram| Facebook Order Dr. Beurkens's book: Life Will Get Better