Some of the biggest challenges faced by those with mental health issues, aside from the issues themselves, can be the stigma of mental health, as well as limited access to care due to location or finances. It’s a problem encountered time and again by April Miller, whose years of experience in the mental health field eventually inspired her to look for ways to expand the availability of services to those who might not otherwise receive them. 

Miller has called Statesboro home for most of her life, since her father’s work brought the family here when she was just 2 years old. After graduating high school, she went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology, followed by master’s and education specialist degrees in school psychology, all from Georgia Southern University, where she also met her husband, Denys. Though she had a clear vision of her future career as a school psychologist and was eager to begin that work, she recalls getting some advice from a mentor who suggested she take those plans in a slightly different direction — advice she brushed off at the time.

“When I was in the school psychology program, I had a professor pull me aside and tell me, ‘You should look into counseling.’ I dismissed that input, in all of my early-20s wisdom, because I really loved the school psychology program,” she said. “I loved the idea of really drilling down to what a child’s needs are and then advocating for each student’s best learning environment.”

However, it wasn’t long after she started working in that role that she began to realize the job wasn’t exactly what she had imagined, and she found herself longing to make deeper connections with those with whom she worked.

“I really wanted longer relationships with my students,” she said. “I wanted to be the one helping them make change in their lives, (but) as the school psychologist, that was not my role.”

Recalling her professor’s words from years ago, Miller applied for a counseling position with the Department of Juvenile Justice — and it was there that she found what she’d been looking for.

“For the first time, I was really able to experience being in a counselor/client relationship, working with clients to set goals, and seeing them actually make changes in their lives through our time together,” she said.

Though confident that counseling was the path she wished to follow moving forward, April found herself balancing these professional plans with her more personal ones, specifically as a wife and mother.  

“Around this time, Denys and I had our first child, and I chose to stop working full time and focus on our family as a full-time parent,” she said. 

She spent the next seven years at home, as she and Denys added three children to their family: Nathan, now 20; Luke, 18; and Austin, 15. But as they grew older and began school, she decided it was time to shift her focus back to the professional goals she had put on pause. She returned to Georgia Southern, graduating in 2014 with a master’s degree in counselor education, with an emphasis in clinical mental health, and after earning full licensure in Georgia as a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), she founded her own private practice, Brave Tomorrow Counseling and Consulting.

“When I started Brave Tomorrow, I thought if I could take insurance that I could see most people who would seek out services,” Miller said. “I quickly found that there are many, many barriers that prevent people from being able to obtain counseling services, (so) I began to intentionally work through Brave Tomorrow to meet these needs wherever possible.”

In an effort to overcome one major obstacle — financial concerns — Miller hired LAPCs, or Licensed Associate Professional Counselors, who have earned their master’s degrees and are able to provide counseling services for a reduced rate during the two years of supervised work required before becoming fully licensed. She also partnered with graduate-level practicum and internship students, offering even lower-cost options to clients. 

“I also found that transportation and scheduling and the ability to get to sessions at an office on a regular basis was a challenge for many clients, so I began reaching out to schools,” she said. “We started with a contract with one school in our county for me to come in and do counseling for four hours per week for students they identified, and the school covered those services at no cost to the student.”

In the years since, her office has served students from more than 10 schools in Bulloch County and the surrounding area. Still, despite the impact of these efforts, Miller knew many needs continued to go unmet, and she began to brainstorm other ways to bridge these gaps. She knew supplemental funding from outside sources like grants and donations could help, which eventually led to the creation of The Camilla Foundation. 

“Even with reduced rates, interns and sliding scales, there were still people who couldn’t access counseling services,” she said. “The foundation was born out of that desire to meet the needs of those who were falling through the cracks.”

Named in honor of Denys’ mother and April’s mother-in-law, the late Diane Camilla Teel Miller, Ph.D., The Camilla Foundation is a nonprofit organization aimed at removing barriers and providing access to mental health services, especially for children and youth in our community. Diane Miller was a family and consumer sciences instructor for much of her life, with a passion for creating spaces for healthy growth for individuals and families. Through her involvement with community groups, local agencies, universities and grant programs, she was dedicated to helping people work toward becoming the best version of themselves — a commitment carried forward by the foundation.

Since its incorporation in 2020, with the help of an executive board made up of dedicated members of the community, the foundation has worked to provide a safe space for young people, ages 3 to 17, to explore their emotions, develop coping mechanisms and improve their social skills, regardless of a family’s financial situation. Through this, the foundation aims to address the mental health needs of children and adolescents in the community who are grappling with issues such as anxiety, depression and trauma, with a particular focus on providing access to those who are uninsured or underserved. 

These services are further supported by highly trained clinicians who provide counseling and clinical supervision. Partnering therapists work with children individually or in group settings to address various mental health concerns, and the expertise of the foundation’s Registered Play Therapist Supervisor (RPT-S) is crucial in helping guide children through therapeutic play activities that promote healing.

As executive director of the Bulloch County Family Connection Collaborative, Catherine Hendrix has long been aware of the mental health struggles youth face, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now president of The Camilla Foundation, Hendrix brings years of experience in youth development and community engagement to the team, along with an extensive background in using data to improve outcomes for children and families.

“Our goal is not just to provide counseling but to empower youth with the tools they need to manage their emotions and build resilience before they face a crisis,” Hendrix said. “This work is deeply personal. I have seen firsthand how access to mental health resources can change, and even save, lives.”

One of countless stories that illustrate this impact is that of Sam (whose name has been changed to protect his privacy). Sam struggled with emotional expression and low self-esteem after being bullied at school. Through weekly counseling sessions, tailored specifically to Sam’s needs, he was able to learn effective coping skills and build stronger relationships with his peers. Over the course of his therapy, Sam blossomed into a confident, resilient individual.

 “Whether it’s helping a young child overcome anxiety or guiding a teen through social challenges, I am driven by the belief that every child deserves to feel seen, heard and supported,” Hendrix said. “Being part of The Camilla Foundation allows me to channel my dedication into meaningful action, and I am incredibly proud of the impact the organization is making in the lives of youth and families in our community.”

Both Miller and Hendrix stress that this work wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of the community and its support of fundraising efforts, including the foundation’s annual shooting clays event held each winter, as well as a gathering at the Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern this spring. In addition to individual donors, the foundation also receives funding through state and federal grants, all of which help support its mission: to provide hope, healing and restoration to children and families in Bulloch County.

With more than 1,000 hours of counseling and social-emotional programming already provided, The Camilla Foundation is helping change the lives of youth who might otherwise have nowhere to turn.

“Every child deserves to feel seen, heard and supported,” Hendrix said. “We’re here to provide that support, and we’re incredibly proud of the impact we’ve had so far.”

Protecting children's mental health

Mental health is a huge issue across all age groups and stages of life. Our mental and emotional well-being impacts everything we do on a daily basis — how we accomplish tasks, solve problems, relate to others, regulate our behaviors/moods, make life choices, our physical well-being. For children, this is magnified for several reasons:

1. They don’t have primary control over their lives. Typically, someone else tells them what to wear, what to eat, what their plans are, where to go to school, who they can hang out with, who they are going to live with, and on and on. While this is protective overall, children can often feel anxious/irritated/frustrated with this lack of control in their lives. 
2. They have less-developed language skills. Most of the time, we expect others to engage with us with language, to explain their thoughts or tell us about their feelings. Doing this requires the ability to translate feelings and abstract concepts into words. This is a skill that develops over time, all the way through adolescence and into early adulthood. Even as adults, there are times that it is difficult to find the words for the intense feelings we may be experiencing; this is magnified for children. 
3. They have less-developed cognitive awareness. That is, less ability to understand and think about their thoughts and feelings. Self-awareness is one of the last cognitive skills we develop; it may not be fully developed for some people until their early or mid-20s. When we ask children, “Why did you do that?” or “Why are you crying?” or “What were you thinking?” we are often asking them questions that are beyond their ability to answer. They do not have the physical, cognitive ability to answer these questions. So, when children begin to experience big, intense emotions, they often show up in behaviors that they may not understand. This lack of understanding and awareness makes it more challenging for children and youth to gain control of their emotions and behaviors. 

All of these things combined create situations where children are having big, intense emotions with little ability to understand and express and control them. Often this leads to outbursts of behaviors or feelings that can have significant consequences — trouble in school, conflicts with peers, withdrawing, conflicts with adults, behaviors that hurt themselves or someone else, suicidal thoughts, running away and so forth.

—April Miller, EdS, LPC, RPT-S, CPCS