ABOUT
What We Do
At CRIA, we provide flexible and practical mental health consultation to recreational summer camps, schools, and other youth-serving organizations.
We help organizations develop policy and strategies for prevention, support, and crisis management.
We facilitate dynamic trainings on trauma, mental health, and team development.
We educate and coach parents and caregivers.
We offer mental health education and support to youth and their families.
CRIA's STORY
CRIA (kree-uh) stands for Community Resilience in Action. Community resilience is the ability for communities to adapt to and manage adversity. When it comes to health, safety, and overall wellbeing, we need one another to survive and thrive!
CRIA strives to ensure that the entire village that helps to raise a child has the resources, support and tools they need to help raise healthy, resilient community members.
One of the earliest (and coolest) concepts that inspired CRIA was that of the Wood Wide Web. It's the concept that trees communicate to each other through their roots to share information about nutrients and other resources, helping one another to thrive, and in turn, helping the forest as a whole. Shouldn't our communities do that too?
Early into my work as a clinician, I noticed that while I was able to make a difference for some kids, entire communities were struggling to support the mental health of their young people on a much larger scale. Helping individuals would not be enough, and until communities and families had the right information, resources and tools, real positive change would be hard to maintain.
CRIA was founded in 2018, when I decided to take children’s mental health a step beyond the therapy office. Through professional development, community education, and consultation, we support schools, camps, families, and more in understanding and promoting youth mental health.
Other cool facts about our name:
- A cria is a baby alpaca or llama!
- The verb "criar" (pronounced kree-AR) in Spanish means to rear or raise, just like that village we aim to support!
KINDNESS
The backbone of our work is based in radical kindness. Our youth connect in grow in the context of security and kindness.
COMMUNITY
We believe "it takes a village to raise a child”, and that village needs support and education.
RESILIENCE
We focus on empowering and educating communities, so they are better resourced and equipped to support the mental health needs of all of their stakeholders.
Meet the Founder
Christine Mohle, LCSW
I am a therapist and licensed clinical social worker who specializes in working with children and adolescents. I believe that good mental health isn’t just cultivated in the therapy office. I empower families and communities to have a meaningful role in supporting youth mental health.
I've always loved children and their curiosity, humor, and brilliance. There was never a doubt that I'd be doing work with children. Since receiving my Master's Degree in Social Work from Rutgers University, I've spent time working in hospital, school, residential, and outpatient settings.
I work with children and adolescents in private practice, intensive in-community therapy, and school-based counseling.
I'm also a summer camp kid, and CRIA's first undertaking was to consult on issues related to mental health at my former summer camp. I got to combine my lifelong love for camp with my clinical knowledge, and this was the seed from which our organization sprouted.
I love working with organizations who are invested in raising a happier, healthier group of kids.
In my free time, I love to cook, spend time outdoors, practice yoga, laugh with friends and family, play and watch sports, jam out to some music, and spend time with my husband and two cats.
Chat with Christine
