After reviewing the Map of Forces Affecting Education site, I found myself going back and forth to the "Sick Herd" driver. Not to be morbid, but here I continued to land and open the trend that identified the rise in youth obesity and the need for mental health care among our school age children.
I can tell you first hand that I have seen the population of children at our school who need and take advantage of mental health services rise to a point that the school system now partners with New River Mental Health to provide a program and service delivery that we note as "In-school therapy." The idea being that students who are either in need of care, be it court appointed or school or home initiated, can receive services at school instead of visiting a psychiatrist's or psychologist's offices. Some of the major reasons for setting these up at school are that transportation can be a hardship on the family or the more popular 3:30 slots are often times taken when a parent tries to request an appointment; all of these remedied by providing in-school therapy.
Serving the child at school provides a "safe place" for the child to discuss issues with their therapist. However this program is not free of its dilemmas. Things such as space and time away from class instruction have become hurdles that have had to be dealt with. Not to mention issues surrounding confidentiality.
Think about this for a moment; twenty years ago the idea of counseling children within the school setting was not even considered. Sure we had guidance counselors but their job at that time was to guide students into making career goals and good life habits. Now we use them to as clearing houses for community agencies such as New River Mental Health.
Research shows that children do better in school when their basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter, are met. The notion of providing the mental health support ensures that the school system really is attempting to educate "the whole child."
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I can relate to your post. For the past few years, Bristol has had a Safe Schools / Healthy Students grant that has provided lots of counseling opportunities, both in the schools and with partner agencies. As you stated, there are pros and cons to such an arrangement. Overall, I think it has been very helpful for student populations. I was surprised at the number of children who have been helped by these services.
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