Page 14 - Scene Magazine January 2024 4901

Education Scene
BY ANGELA DEAL, LMSW Director of Youth Services
Youth have experienced sever-
al hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. 67% of students have noted schoolwork is more difficult, 55% report emotional abuse occurring in their home, 11% experienced physical abuse, and 24% reported there was not enough food to eat during the pandemic (Mental Health America 2023). Youth were separated from friends and social connections, they experienced a lack
of structure and routine, and more and more of their lives moved online. Fam- ilies dealt with financial stressors, and many experienced the grief of losing
a loved one. All of which have had a detrimental effect on their mental health and ability to function in their daily lives. Currently, over 2.7 million youth are experiencing major depression on
a severe scale (Mental Health America 2023) in addition to anxiety, attention difficulties, and behavioral issues. It
has never been more vital for youth to receive much needed emotional and behavioral support in a manner that’s accessible and consistent.
School based therapy services were provided long before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they’ve become heavily relied upon in recent years given the additional challenges and limited resources facing youth. The way school districts implement school-based mental health services can vary. Schools may choose to hire school-based therapists
The primary goal of school-based therapy is to expand access to mental health services to those who are not otherwise able to access therapy in the community. Whether it is due to trans- portation or scheduling barriers, an unwilling guardian, or fear of disclosing the need for therapy many teens can bypass those barriers and initiate services at their school. In most situations parents are included at the onset of treatment and throughout the therapeutic process. How- ever, in limited circumstances, youth 14 years of age or older can access services entirely on their own when a situation
or contract with community partners to provide these services. Services can dif- fer in frequency, scope, and presentation; however, the common thread is “access friendly,” on-site treatment for youth experiencing mental/behavioral health
at home requires confidentiality. For example, a youth is deemed a minor in treatment if he/she has requested therapy to address the occurrence of abuse or neglect and does not feel safe commu- nicating their participation in therapy to his/her parent.
School Based Therapy Services
Additional benefits to having a therapist embedded within your child’s school building are the improved col- laboration between school personnel and mental health therapists, reduced stigma toward accessing mental health services, and real time crisis manage- ment support. Oftentimes, therapy
is requested to focus on behavioral outbursts, poor school performance, declined academic benchmarks, etc. However, school-based therapists
work to identify the underlying factors contributing to the youth’s poor perfor- mance and can act as a bridge between the student and the school in communi- cating how best the school can support the youth. A surprising occurrence within schools is the increased accep- tance of therapy and openness between students regarding their participation
in therapy. Youth are sharing with one another the benefits of meeting with their therapist and recommending therapy to friends as needed. Due to the accessibility of the school therapist, students have been known to walk their friends down to meet the school-based therapist as an encouragement to start therapy themselves. In some schools’ youth are willing to sit alongside their peers in therapeutic groups and find relief in their personal struggles as
they identify shared experiences with others. These are all beautiful exam- ples of the ways in which therapy is becoming normalized in schools. At a time in which the challenges are at an all-time high, school-based services have been indispensable in addressing the increased mental health needs of our youth.
THIS EDITORIAL BROUGHT TO YOU BY SUMMIT POINTE
(269) 966-1460 • 4-Hour Helpline 1-800-632-5449 • Summitpointe.org 175 College St., Battle Creek MI 49037
struggles. Therapy services are provided by Master prepared clinicians and mirror the type of therapy received in a commu- nity location. These additional thera- peutic supports are above and beyond the school’s typical school counseling services and are a welcomed support for both students and school personnel.
14 SCENE 4901 I EDUCATION ISSUE