At The Hive With Mr. Rogers

A partnership between the Grossman Family Counseling Center and the Fred Rogers Institute enriches Stage Rage and therapeutic approaches for adolescents in urban school settings.

Fr. Paul Taylor, O.S.B., Ph.D., President of Saint Vincent College, posed an interesting question to Ivan Lamourt, Psy.D. ’82. Could the timeless wisdom of Fred Rogers be applied to Stage Rage, the drama/therapy Spring Phase project that helps adolescents process trauma and other tough circumstances in their lives? “Absolutely it could,” Dr. Lamourt reasoned, which is how the Stage Rage-The Fred Rogers Effect, a partnership between The Fred Rogers Institute and the Grossman Family Counseling Center at St. Benedict’s Prep, was born.      

Established in 2003 at Saint Vincent College, The Fred Rogers Institute supports educators, counselors, social workers and other professionals in their practice of service to families and children. Fred Rogers was the producer, writer and host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, the beloved educational children’s series that aired on public television for more than 30 years. The Institute advances Fred Rogers’ legacy of kindness and empathy, as well as his commitment to children’s wellbeing through conferences, symposiums, fellowships and other initiatives.     

Dr. Lamourt, Senior Associate Headmaster of Human Services and Counseling, became The Fred Rogers Institute McGinley Fellow in 2023.  He said the School embraced the opportunity to utilize lessons espoused by Mr. Rogers in Stage Rage because the values are universal. “We may focus on urban, adolescent males,” he explained. “But the principles Fred Rogers brought into people’s homes — forgiveness, compassion and love — are all things we work on in Stage Rage.”

Stage Rage receives financial support from The Fred Rogers Institute     

The fellowship includes generous funding to underwrite supplies, curriculum and operational costs of the program, which was established by Dr. Lamourt and Director of Theatre Patricia Flynn H’95 with a grant from Arts Horizons in 2015. Through the fellowship, Grossman Family Counseling Center team members Charlsey Sheib, M.A., and Bhavika Patel, M.A., provide additional supports in their respective roles as school psychologist and counselor. The duo are also research assistants on Stage Rage-The Fred Rogers Effect, using their expertise and knowledge to determine its relevance in helping adolescents understand and express emotions in functional ways.     

Drawing on the Institute’s extensive Fred Rogers Archive, Ms. Sheib planned the Stage Rage curriculum that utilizes empirically supported therapeutic techniques and Fred Rogers’ empathetic approaches, and she designed the study that measures its impact. Ms. Patel is the source of accompaniment for Gray Bees as they progress through the five-week intensive. She provides individual therapy as students process trauma and emotional distress, and coordinates scheduling of Stage Rage performances with their wellbeing in mind. Six months after the program concludes, Ms. Patel conducts follow-up interviews with participants to assess its longer-term impact.     

On the surface, the Fred Rogers-Stage Rage mashup might seem incongruous, especially to skeptical teenage males who’ve been carrying emotional burdens for a long time. Once they delve into the curriculum, the parallels become apparent. “A lot of people know the [optimistic] persona of Mr. Rogers,” explained Ms. Sheib. “But he was also heavily bullied as a child. He had a deep depression. It might not be the same exact experience as our kids, but the feelings and emotions are the same.”     

“I’m surprised at how quickly the kids latched on to it,” added Dr. Lamourt. “Teenagers who hold on to secrets feel incredibly alone, and it’s difficult for them to trust people. Mr. Rogers matters, and all the things he talked about go hand-in-glove with what we do. It’s another way to help the kids understand that they are not alone.”

Initial study results indicate significant reduction in emotional distress    

Quantitative measures are used to assess the impact of Stage Rage-The Fred Rogers Effect. Pre-Stage Rage and directly after the active portion of the program, the team administered the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-3), a comprehensive assessment that informs understanding of emotions and behavior of children and adolescents, and the Beck Scales of Depression. Students were also asked to complete the Adverse Childhood Experience Checklist. Ms. Sheib and Ms. Patel also conduct follow up assessments several months later to measure changes in students’ mood and behavior. To date, the study has amassed nearly two years of data; the six-month follow up with Stage Rage 2024 participants will be conducted in November. Dr. Lamourt presented initial findings from Stage Rage 2023 when he delivered the keynote address at the Institute’s 2024 Work of Fred Conference in June.     

The one year of data (see chart above) pointed to a significant reduction in students’ emotional distress at the end of the project and in a follow-up assessment several months later. The BASC-3 for instance, showed pre-Stage Rage, an average T-score of 61.75 for the cohort. T-scores measure the behavioral and emotional functioning of children and adolescents through a series of scaled questions ranging from, “I hate school,” to “When I get angry, I want to hurt someone,” and “I feel life isn’t worth living.” The at-risk range for youth is a T-score between 60 and 69, so the 61.75 score indicated a need for therapeutic intervention. Post-Stage Rage, the T-score of 2023 Stage Rage participants fell 6% to 57.7, out of the at-risk range, and the follow up assessments six months later documented a drop in average T-score to 49.36, or a 14% improvement in students’ emotional wellbeing. “It’s really encouraging,” said Ms. Sheib, noting that many of the seniors in the Stage Rage 2023 cohort were continuing to receive therapeutic help in college. While the team is reviewing data submitted by 2024 participants, they are also planning separate Stage Rage-The Fred Rogers Effect project is in the works for the Girls Prep Division for 2025.     

Dr. Lamourt sees therapeutic applications and possibilities beyond St. Benedict’s. “Adults and educators get upset when a kid puts their head down in their classroom. But that kid doesn’t have the language to speak about their emotions. I think this study shows that you can use the principles of Fred Rogers to inform a therapeutic process with adolescents with the focus of getting them to be more functional in school. It’s tremendous and something that no one has ever done before.”