Lack Of Academic Support Within Psychiatric Rehabilitation Programs

My pursuit of becoming a School Counselor led me to apply to the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland, College Park. I am a former student at University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. After graduating and teaching for two years in Prince George’s County Public Schools, I discovered my true passion lies not only in the classroom and students’ academics, but playing a pivotal role in the growth of their career, social, and personal development. Although I am no longer teaching full-time at the moment, my interaction with students from diverse backgrounds left an indelible responsibility to continue making a difference in our students. The objectives and mission of the School Counseling Master’s Program at University of Maryland can best help my goal of becoming an effective counselor and leader who is an agent of change to students and service the mental and emotional well-being of the younger generation.

“Nearly 5 million children in the U.S. have some type of mental illness” (Goldberg). It is agreeable that there are many young children that deal with mental illness every day. Schools should be concerned for every student’s well being. Moreover, mental health is a part of a person’s overall “well being.” Therefore, schools need to make the mental health of students a stronger focus and implement plans to keep students mentally well and educated. To help create a positive, mental health aware environment where students feel open to seek help, high school students should be educated on how to be mentally healthy, be given a safe place to seek help, and be encouraged to monitor and maintain their mental health. Mental illness and mental health care need to be a more eminent priority in our society, starting with high schools.

Imagine living with a mental illness that affects your everyday life but has no physical aspects to it. Waging a war within your own head and not being able to control your own thoughts or feelings. Millions of adolescence throughout the United States are currently sick, living with a mental illness with no idea how to treat it, or even the idea they are sick. Mental Health services on campus may be the answer to treating the diseases many children are suffering from.

Wellness Recovery Action Plans are effective for adolescents who have experienced emotional difficulties from mental illnesses. Wellness recovery action plans (WRAP), is a prevention and wellness process that anyone can use because it is self-designed. It is used to initiate recovery, these are ways for people who are trying to overcome mental health issues and fulfill their lifelong dreams and goals (Copeland, 2012). WRAP is an evidence based practice that is used extensively by adolescents in all kinds of circumstances. Health care professionals utilize this practice to address adolescent’s mental health issues. There has been a rapid growth in using this intervention in the U.S., the results have contributed to the evidence base for peer-led

For my informational interview I interviewed Hasty Elementary School Counselor Candace Thurman. Mrs. Thurman earned her B.A. in Psychology from Salem College and a MA Ed.S in Mental Health Counseling from Gardner Webb University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and a Licensed School Counselor. Her maternal grandfather suffered from mental illness and was homeless. Seeing the impact his condition had on him as well as her family compelled her to choose a career in mental health. Mrs. Thurman worked in the middle school setting for 11 years. This year is her first year in an elementary school.

In the United States the Mental Health Care field is one of the most underserved areas of healthcare. The mental healthcare field faces many challenges to the proper treatment of patients from both a societal and professional standpoint. From a societal perspective a negative stereotype is associated with patients seeking psychiatric care. Patients seeking care are often labeled as defective or damaged. Add in the complication that most patients with mental illness appear to be normal, accepting that someone is ill without outward symptoms can also be difficult for a society to understand. From a professional perspective the challenges within the mental health care industry include personal prejudice, staffing issues, and problems with coordinating care. The combination of these factors has a direct negative impact on the willingness of individuals suffering from mental illness in seeking the care needed to treat the symptoms of mental illness.

There has been a decade-long spike in the awareness of mental illness and suicide ideation among teenagers and young adults. Accordingly, researchers have determined, based on the results of numerous studies and trials, that there exists the possibility of dramatically reducing mental illness, suicides and suicidal behavior, thereby raising the potential of promoting overall wellness among young people. Many political leaders and mental health professionals, encouraged by the results of the studies, have asked school administrators and community leaders to enact awareness and prevention programs in their jurisdictions, while requesting that program leaders take responsibility for program results (e.g., No Child Left Behind, 2002).

There are many students who strive to go into the field of counseling. This comes to only those who have worked hard and shown a great deal of dedication. In this paper I will address several questions that are relevant to the agency I have picked, which is called Teen Challenge. I will first address the history of the agency, then I will address questions, such as who does the agency serve? How do they determine who is eligible for services? How is the agency funded? How do clients learn about the services that the agency offers? How do most clients get to the agency? I will then compare and contrast this agency with the drug replacement therapy technique along with Cognitive

2) Consider the mental health service that you are affiliated with. Name the service. From your perspective, reflect upon and summarize the involvement of service participants at the individual, program, and organizational levels. Be specific and include concrete examples of involvement (or lack of involvement) at each level

The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark founded Newark’s first Mt. Carmel Guild, which provides mental health, spiritual and physical support to individuals who rely on public services. (cite) They run 43 different programs in Bergen, Essex, and Union County with a mission to aid in the rehabilitation of individuals from who suffer from on array of different mental illnesses, however, it is their adult group homes that gives great insight on what program qualities can make a difference when working in a social work field, in both a positive and negative aspect. Their adult group homes do well in holding the same overall agency vision- which include a life of dignity, healthy overall relationships, that the institution respect

Before the age of eighteen nearly a fourth of all young persons will deal with mental illness (Shirk and Jungbluth 217). Only around a third of these children will receive professional treatment (United States Public Health Service qtd. in Shirk and Jungbluth 222). Because of the risk of suicide in mentally ill young people, it is crucial that mental health services are readily available to our youth in school settings. Therefore, schools should administer mandatory mental health screenings because mental illness often affects academic performance, and the majority of young persons that commit suicide have a treatable illness.

Client-centred Case Consultation primary goal is to develop a plan for dealing with the clients difficulties

“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” -Malcolm X. It can be said without a doubt that media plays a massive role in how society views certain things. A negative media portrayal ultimately leads to negativity and stigma towards whichever group. One of the groups that is severely impacted by these dismissive representations is mental illness. The portrayal of mental illness in mass media as violent, amusing, or downright “nuts”, is inaccurate and vilifying, but can be resolved by the inclusion of mental health specialist in program planning.

The school system uses the FRC Coordinator, School Based Social Worker, Family Therapist, Behaviorist, and Mentors to implement interventions to achieve the goals that’s established by each student/family. These professionals bring their own distinctive understanding and expertise to the school system while servicing the students and their families. These professionals address students’ mental health concerns, behavioral concerns, while offering positive behavioral support, academic and classroom support, consultation with teachers, parents and administrators as well as individual/group therapy. Implementing interventions addresses the social issues that affects the students’ wellbeing, accomplishing the FRC’s mission, improving

The counselor needs to examine the environmental factors that have been occurring and see how it causes the client to grow mentally, physically and emotionally. It’s really important for the counselor to communicate with other institutions, schools to understand what’s going on in the community and use this as a major