Building Strong Relationships between Mental Health Counselors & School

CounselorsElise Chupp, Jessica Johnson, & Ashley Foster

CPSY 605

School or Mental Health Counseling?

School Counseling

Everything school counselors do must pertain to school somehow

15-30 minutes

Varies

ASCA National Model

Temper tantrums

Preparing for college

Anger management

Mental Health Counseling

Mental health counselors have a wider variety of what they can do

50 minutes

Typically 1 time a week

Temper tantrums

Eating disorders

Anger management

School or Mental Health Counseling?

School Counseling

Career counseling

Organizational skills

Grief counseling

Relationships

Set and achieve goals

Academics

Study skills

Communication skills

Mental Health Counseling

Career counseling

Organizational skills

Grief counseling

Relationships

Set and achieve goals

Communication skills

School or Mental Health Counseling?

School Counseling

Express and identify feelings

Time management

Self esteem

Social skills

Stress management

Motivation

Mental Health Counseling

Express and identify feelings

Time management

Self esteem

Drug addiction

Social skills

Depression

Stress management

Motivation

Focus on Prevention

Difference between mental health counseling and school counseling.

Mental health counselors deal more with helping children and adolescents cope with existing problems.

School counselors seek to prevent problems before they happen. Their services should reach every student in the school (Sink & Edwards, 2008).

Focus on PreventionIssues that a school counselor addresses in the school:

Bullying prevention (including multicultural issues)

Violence prevention (dating violence, conflict resolution skills)

Substance abuse prevention

Drop-out prevention

Counselor Advocacy

Why does this concern you?

All counselors are supposed to advocate for their clients if necessary.

If you work with children and adolescents, it would be good for you to know what the school is doing in terms of prevention.

It may be very helpful for you to know what kind of programs are in place in the school that may help your client.

Importance of Collaboration

A systemic approach that involves multiple helping professionals is often needed

“Collaborative effort is intended to lessen the burden and liabilities of the educational system while improving the fragmented and incomplete delivery of services to school-aged children and youth”

(Brown, Dahlbeck, Sparkman-Barnes, 2006)

Why should I care about school

counseling and what school counselors do?

Need for MHP’sSome schools are contracting with mental health agencies

School counselors need to address needs of the whole as well as individuals

Although many school counselors may feel adequately trained to deal with the personal, social, and psychological needs, they may not be, or face limitations within their role

Important to have definitions of roles

Needs of students is increasing to outside of limitations within school counseling

Research has indicated that less than one-third of youth who are

candidates for mental health services receive the care they need (U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, 1999)

The Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health

Approximately 1 in 5 children/adolescents experiences signs and symptoms of a DSM-IV disorder during the course of a year

only about 5 percent of all children experience what professionals term “extreme functional impairment.”

Primary care and the schools are major settings for the potential recognition of mental disorders in children and adolescents

Receiving services, with both a diagnosis and impaired functioning:

70 % received services from the schools

40 % received services in the specialty mental health sector

16 % received services from the child welfare sector

11 % received services from the health sector

4 % received services from the juvenile justice sector(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999)

Understanding the School System

Outside mental health professionals need to thoroughly understand how schools operate and the restrictions schools have

Understand limitations within the school

When in the schools, be sure to know each person’s role

Open and thorough communication to ensure effective collaboration

How to Advertise

Make schools aware of the services you have to offer

Work with administrators, school counselors, and sometimes the school board or teacher’s union to explain benefits of services

References

Brown, C., Dahlbeck, D. T., & Sparkman-Barnes, L. (2006). Collaborative relationships: School counselors and non-school mental health professionals working together to improve the mental health needs of students. Professional School Counseling, 9, 332-335.

Gingerich, W., & Wabeke, T. (2001). A solution-focused approach to mental health intervention in school settings. Children & Schools, 23(1), 33.

Sink, C., & Edwards, C. (2008). Supportive learning communities and the transformative role of professional school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 12(2), 108-114.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999). Mental health: A report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: Author.