The California Department of Education is calling for more mental health counseling at schools. To have value to the schools, parents, and students, the services must be effective and efficient. The challenge of recruiting, hiring, and training staff is only one of the obstacles. Accessing, receiving services, and integrating the counseling with the student’s family also need to be done.
Effective and efficient school-based mental health requires a collaborative approach. This exists from the mental health provider through to the school and their personnel. The first step is to get the school or the district’s buy-in to mental health services. Many school administrators are resistant to offering these services. Lack of space for confidential services, objections to taking students out of class for therapy, and other barriers exist. To provide effective and efficient services, the mental health advocate needs to explain the cost-benefit of mental health services. Schools receive funds based on attendance. When students do not function, they do not attend a class which reduces the school’s reimbursement. Since mental health is a key component of lack of attendance, school administrators need to see the rewards to their school. Also, shuffling a student from one school to another doesn’t alleviate their mental health difficulties. Administrators need to develop trauma-informed campuses where students are not punished for mental health behaviors but directed to proper services.
The next step is to educate the staff at school about the rationale for these services. Youths with academic, behavior and attendance problems have a higher likelihood of also experiencing mental health problems. Students reporting severe mental distress were four times as likely to report low academic self-efficacy and twice as likely to report delayed study progress compared to students reporting few or moderate symptoms of mental distress. Teachers already know the signs and symptoms of students with behavioral problems; this is what they are good at. Providing them a mechanism to refer youths for services ensures access to the youth.
The mental health agency also needs to accurately predict the number of staff for school-based mental health services. Projecting the number of referrals, the length of stay in treatment, and the percentage of students dropping out of services are all variables that create a staffing pattern. Plus working with a school requires collegial relationships with principals, counselors, and school staff. The mental health professional needs to consider themselves as part of the school team.
Lastly, school-based mental health services need family involvement. This participation may not occur at the school, but the mental health professional should include the parents or caregivers in the student’s progress. No therapy for a child that does not involve their parents will succeed; effective and efficient treatment occurs when the family participates.
Praxes provides consulting to school districts on implementing school-based mental health services. For more information, please contact us.
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PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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