According to a press release from the California Department of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond plans to recruit 10,000 clinicians to fill the mental health needs of California students. The plan calls for investing up to $25,000 per applicant in scholarships for future clinicians.
Locating 10,000 clinicians in mental health in California alone is a tall task, let alone hiring them to work in the public schools. Recent internet articles have indicated that a shortage already exists for mental health professionals. And this shortage doesn’t take into account how the Great Recession affected mental health workers already. According to a recent article from LinkedIn, the existing risk of secondary trauma, burnout, and other factors lead to mental health workers leaving their jobs. “When normal coping mechanisms break down, mental health workers (just like all human beings) often experience a “fight or flight” response. Simply stated, some may stay on the job and “fight” it out. Others shut down, burn out, and take “flight” by looking for less stressful employment.”
Hiring 10,000 clinicians is a positive yet challenging project. But it can be accomplished over time, using the following strategies:
1) Make schools a productive place for mental health clinicians to work. From my 20 years of experience in working with school-based mental health, I know that schools are a tough place for a counselor. They can be overworked, drawn into crisis management more than therapy, and lack support from school personnel. The school district and the Department of Education need a grassroots approach at the school level. This approach achieves buy-in from staff that the clinician is there to advance mental health. Moreover, resistance from teachers in having students taking out of class to receive therapy needs to be resolved. The benefit of healthy students needs to be prioritized over missing class time.
2) Use existing mental health agencies to provide school-based care. Historically, school districts with students having Medi-Cal referred students to the nearest county or county-contracted agency for services. But if the school districts fund the mental health agencies with Educationally Related Mental Health Services (ERMHS) for these students (since many of them qualify for special education), the shortage can be quickly resolved now while hiring continues.
3) Build in a system of pre-clinicians to assist in the workload. To achieve the 10,000 clinicians, the school needs a tiered approach. First, hire as many clinicians as possible (without draining other community programs). Second, develop relationships with Master’s level graduate programs to sponsor and supervise student interns. Graduate students can provide behavioral management services on their own and counseling under supervision. These students then learn the system and later can become future clinicians. Including psychiatric nursing programs in this phase can also help.
4) Use parent advocates as part of the “10,000 clinicians”. School-based mental health is only as good as the support and education the student receives at home. Clinicians can work with the student, but they still will face problems and barriers with their families. Parents are resistant to participate but can be encouraged through parent advocates or parent partners. Having these paraprofessionals with lived experience improves parent engagement and outcomes for the children.
Hiring 10,000 clinicians won’t be easy, but it can be done, with enough knowledge, planning, and community involvement.
Praxes provides consulting in school-based mental health programs. 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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