Tired of seeing disruptions in support for mental health students, this area has changed its approach

By Rupen Fofaria, EdNC

Lauren Cappola knows she sounds repetitive, but she is compelled to ask the same question of her colleagues across the state: How do children relate to their desired mental health services? As chief counselor for the Harnett County School and former counselor, he realized the need for mental health services was clear, but there were still many obstacles. School services are not available in your area, most school families do not have transportation or insurance. He says: “I keep feeling that way. "We see a lot of hiring from outside the workforce, which is a barrier for us because there aren't many companies to deal with so we have to stay in some catch."

Its contracts with importers operate in other locations, such as the Transylvania Region. But Harnett is bigger, with business and housing scattered. The school system has not been successful in this model, Cappola said. He told a colleague in a neighboring Lee County who developed a system level system within his center that he could offer these services outside of school.

Jermaine White, deputy superintendent for student work, said, “I'm really excited, and I feel like, why can't we try it? ".

The result is a team of five mental health professionals working together with school students to provide mental health services that only two years ago could not be reached. Student guidance, student therapy, and teacher knowledge have increased, White said, and the area continues to grow at an alarming rate - with the recent addition of a technology consultant.

Step One: Manage money and staff problems

Programs began in the school year 2019-2020, shortly before COVID-19. At the time, the visual barriers were the staff guiding the students in their direction.

"There will be a lot of mental health needs for our students, but then there will be no therapists or the right providers for them," said Jessalyn Pedone, a mental health professional. of the same said. As a result, there are many children who do not get the message they want. "

Some have behavioral problems at school. Others have begun to separate. Some have stopped attending school altogether.

Pedone said, "We all work overtime trying to help them and support them as best we can." "But I think it's sad that there is not much we can do."

When the district decided to create an internal team, two problems arose: finding the staff and paying them. White had to be creative with the budget. He didn't want to start a new team with grant money because he was worried about keeping it. Instead, he found vacancies that the district didn't need to fill and reallocated those dollars for the mental health support team. When the district asked Pedone to join the team for the 2019-20 school year, he took the opportunity. As a social worker, she was trained and licensed to offer personalized therapy and trauma support. But ethical rules prevent school social workers from offering all their skills to students. However, following the Lee County model, when Harnett County Schools established the team, the pedestrian's role as a social worker was restructured as a mental health specialist, enabling her to provide all the services she is certified for. . .

Find talent outside the county 

When Pedone and a former district staff member started the project, Cappola and White worked to expand the team.

In all states, public schools do not meet the recommended limits for social workers, counselors and school psychologists. Historically, part of the problem has been lack of money. The other side, White said, is finding local talent. The district hired Christi Lowe from the Virginia area and Jenae Cox from a mental health center serving at a school in Orange County. Initially, the area hired Lowe and Cox as social workers. None of them knew about the event when it was hired.

But Lowe is already stumbled upon by the code of conduct, the number of students he enrolls in and other institutions that have not yet received treatment that harms Cox. Lowe says: “You see the need every day, and I say I can do it, but I can't. "So it's exciting to be able to join the team and to be able to do that."

Cox added, "I am one of the contract contractors working at the school, so we are more focused on getting that over than helping. Having clients and making sure I have great case, but can not work well, I want something different. They gave me a chance here. Thank God."

Last year, Lowe and Cox joined Pedone to form a team of professionals, with Heather Baumhauer providing mental health support and Amanda Sambets as coordinator. They were all in different main schools, while the three experts divided the area into three parts and the other floated. Each professional serves seven to nine schools. What a job

Social workers and counselors identify students who may be seeking employment and refer them to a mental health support team as soon as the parents agree on treatment. The team, which included a moral support manager, decided at Friday's meeting whether to accept the case or not.

The support system of the program includes such things as access and authority. If students, for example, have insurance that covers care and transportation to get there, they may be good people who want to support them. The district also serves students whose needs exceed the size of the group program. "But if a student is not prepared for a trial, that doesn't mean you have to let them go," Pedone said. "We have a lot of understanding, so we want to make sure we give them all the guidance they need, helping them reach their destination."

When the team decides to judge, professionals find a good time, non-teaching time, to meet the student at school or through a video conference. Make family life easier. Cappola said, "Some parents take half a day or a full day to get a good workout, so kids lose a lot of direction if they go to a weekly treatment appointment," Cappola said. "Now we can print that out, and then go back to class."

Teachers also interact more with professionals, which helps build relationships. This partnership has helped build acceptance when training professionals, White said. “I think when you sit down and listen to each and every one of our employees talk about it, there’s an interest behind it that makes a difference,” he said. "You can't just go hungry and do it well, because it would be useless and you wouldn't really do it."

Apply the art treatment to the next wise person

White hired Sambet before the school year and got it at Wake County Public Schools, where he taught special needs children. However, before moving to North Carolina, Sambets lived in New York City, where he obtained a patent. You talk a lot about art like therapy or music as a treatment. “Art therapy” is something different. It is a clinical examination and treatment of students by an artist. Sambets and kids interact as they draw, applying colors and textures to canvas as they draw stories, ideas and effects on their heads. The support group says that art therapy has been another support, and especially for young students who may not have a language for what is happening to them, they have given a special role. Sambets are very careful with the student drawing, seeing things like the sharpness of the maximum number in a triangular shape and using a large vertical angle. All of this tells you what is happening to the child in mind. He said, "From there I can develop a treatment plan." "Something will come up and I can say, well, that's what we need to work on."

Sambets also do team exercises. Last month, for example, he teamed up with one of the Family Coalition experts to organize a program for pain relief for students at a local bilingual school during the month of Hispanic Heritage. He helped the students create goblin drawings. Leprechaun indicates a high emotional state and the procedure usually involves placing a garment of color in one layer within six weeks. These students practiced art for two weeks. North Carolina has not yet recognized art therapy as a competent profession, but mental health support teams have found ways to use Sambet technology in a variety of ways to help students.