Meet The Comedian Who Is Helping Teens Deal With Their Emotions
Have you seen the amazing teen mental health videos Hari Kondabolu made with the Child Mind Institute?
Hari Kondabolu Wants To Help Youth Understand Their Mental Health
I love teenagers. I love comedy. But I never would have guessed that one of my favorite comedians would start making mental health videos for teenagers. Yet that is exactly what happened when the Child Mind Institute paired up with Hari Kondabolu to make an amazing series called Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids.
I first learned about Hari Kondabolu’s work through his frequent collaborations with W. Kamau Bell, who I interviewed last year. Here are some places you may know him from:
The Netflix food competition show “Snack vs. Chef”
His comedy specials “Warn Your Relatives” and “Vacation Baby”
The signed poster my son Cole had on his bedroom wall all through high school
The New York Times says “Hari Kondabolu is one of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today,” and the Portland Mercury says “Scary smart and scathingly funny, the charming Hari Kondabolu’s one of the best stand-up comedians working today. He’s also one of the most relevant, with his hilarious comedy closely tied in to today’s not-so-hilarious headlines. You will go to this and you will laugh and you will laugh some more and then you will think about it for days afterward.”
When Child Mind Institute worked with Hari, they created a collection of free, evidence-based video and print resources that caregivers and educators can use to teach their kids critical mental health and coping skills.
The series focuses on five clinically proven mental health skills:
Understanding Feelings
Understanding Thoughts
Mindfulness
Relaxation Skills
Managing Intense Emotions
High School Videos
Each video has a skill sheet associated with it, and a written Implementation Guide for educators who want to use these videos in the classroom.
UNDERSTAND FEELINGS: Learn that better understanding and recognizing their emotions can be an important first step toward healthy coping and deeper relationships.
RELAXATION SKILLS: HOW TO COPE WITH STRESS & ANXIETY: Your kids will learn specific relaxation skills, such as paced breathing, that they can use when experiencing intense or uncomfortable emotions.
UNDERSTANDING THOUGHTS: Your kids will learn about connections between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and how they can change thinking patterns to make them more helpful.
MANAGING INTENSE EMOTIONS: Your kids will learn to recognize and manage intense emotions without giving in to the urge to act in impulsive ways that can make problems bigger.
MINDFULNESS FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: Your kids will learn how paying attention to the present moment can increase self-awareness, improve decision-making and make it easier to deal with uncomfortable emotions.
Middle School Videos
Each video has a skill sheet associated with it, and a written Implementation Guide for educators who want to use these videos in the classroom.
MANAGING INTENSE EMOTIONS: Your kids will learn to recognize and manage intense emotions without giving in to the urge to act in impulsive ways that can make problems bigger.
UNDERSTAND FEELINGS: Learn that better understanding and recognizing their emotions can be an important first step toward healthy coping and deeper relationships.
UNDERSTANDING THOUGHTS: Your kids will learn about connections between their thoughts, feelings and behaviors and how they can change thinking patterns to make them more helpful.
RELAXATION SKILLS: HOW TO COPE WITH STRESS & ANXIETY: Your kids will learn specific relaxation skills, such as paced breathing, that they can use when experiencing intense or uncomfortable emotions.
MINDFULNESS FOR MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS: Your kids will learn how paying attention to the present moment can increase self-awareness, improve decision-making and make it easier to deal with uncomfortable emotions.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: Related Articles In Teen Health Today
Reminder: This is a great time to preorder TALK TO YOUR BOYS, the book I cowrote with Joanna Schroeder! Preorders mean a lot in the book publishing world.
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We love Hari! Healthy Minds, Thriving Kids was created in partnership with Governor Gavin Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. ❤️
Hari is one of my favorite Wait Wait comedians. How wonderful for him to invest his time in such a worthy project. Thanks for sharing.