Keeping your specialization (Mental Health Counselor) area in mind, provide exam
ID: 3445109 • Letter: K
Question
Keeping your specialization (Mental Health Counselor) area in mind, provide examples of how you might increase the cultural appropriateness of a counseling theory, technique, or intervention at an agency, practice, or school so that they promote the optimal health and well-being of sexual minorities.
In your analysis of the counseling role, think of the purpose it serves in carrying out an organization's mission in prevention, education, conflict resolution, intervention, consultation, and advocacy. Use the Huffpost article, "Jamie Hubley, G*y 15-Year-Old Ottawa, Canada Teen Commits Suicide, Cites Depression, School Troubles," (SEE ARTICLE BELOW) to support your strategies and ideas.
QUEER VOICES
10/17/2011 11:37 am ET Updated Feb 02, 2016
Jamie Hubley, G*y 15-Year-Old Ottawa, Canada Teen Commits Suicide, Cites Depression, School Troubles
Jamie Hubley, a g*y 15-year-old from Ottawa, Canada, committed suicide on Friday.
The 10th grade student documented his life, including his depression and the hardships of being a g*y teen, in a blog, reports the Ottawa Citizen.
The blog, called “You Can’t Break... When You’re Already Broken“ featured posts with numerous references to and photos of self harm and cutting, pictures of guys kissing and mentions of wanting a boyfriend, and bleak, ominous messages like “Sometimes I wish the breeze would just take me with it,” “The only thing worse than being hated is being ignored. At least when they hate you they treat you like you exist,” and “Suicides is always an option.”
Other posts revealed how difficult school was for Hubley:
“I hate being the only open g*y guy in my school… It f***ing sucks, I really want to end it. Like all of it, I not getting better theres 3 more years of highschool left, Iv been on 4 different anti -depressants, none of them worked. I’v been depressed since january, How f***ing long is this going to last. People said “It gets better”. Its f***ing bull****. I go to see psychologist, What the f*** are they suppost to f***ing do? All I do is talk about problems, it doesnt make them dissapear?? I give up.”
His last post, which he wrote on Friday, paints a heartbreaking portrait of a boy looking for — and ultimately unable to find — acceptance:
Im a casualty of love.
Well, Im tired of life really. Its so hard, Im sorry, I cant take it anymore.
First Id like to mention my friends Nancy, Abby, Colleen, jemma, and Kasia
Being sad is sad : /. I’v been like this for way to long. I cant stand school, I cant stand earth, I cant stand society, I cant stand the scars on my arms, I cant f***ing stand any f***ing thing.
I dont want my parents to think this is their fault either… I love my mom and dad : ) Its just too hard. I dont want to wait 3 more years, this hurts too much. How do you even know It will get better? Its not.
I hit rock f***ing bottom, fell through a crack, now im stuck.
My favorite singers were lady gaga , Adele , Katy perry, and Jessie james, Christina aguilara and most of all I think KASIA!!! I LOVED Singing, and she helped me a lot : ) Im not that good at it though :”/, Im going to miss you guys
(well You know who you are, But to the people who didnt like me (many) A big f*** you, Go ride a unicorn. But w/e I love you anyway.)
Remember me as a Unicorn :3 x) MAybe in my next life Il be a flying squirreel :D
Il fly away.
“From the outside, he looked like the happiest kid. He was always smiling and giving everybody hugs in the halls,” said Steph Wheeler, a close friend of Hubley’s.
“I just remember him wanting a boyfriend so bad, he’d always ask me to find a boy for him. I think he wanted someone to love him for who he was,” she said.
A Facebook page dedicated to Hubley has been set up and students are planning a memorial performance in his honor.
Hubley’s death comes just weeks after American teen Jamey Rodemeyer committed suicide after being bullied for being g*y.
While many, including Lady Gaga who has called for bullying to be made illegal and Dan Savage who began the It Gets Better campaign, are working to help g*y teens, sadly, it’s obvious there remains much work to be done.
Update on October 18 at 8:54am ET: Hubley’s father, Ottawa city councillor Allan Hubley, released a statement last night saying that his son was bullied in school and that his family believes it was a factor in his suicide. Discussing a “Rainbow Club” that Jamie tried to start at his high school to promote acceptance of others, Allan Hubley said:
“The posters were torn down and he was called vicious names in the hallways and online... We will not say that the bullying was the only reason for James’s decision to take his own life but it was definitely a factor...We hope from our tragedy others will become more active in stopping this cruelty towards children.”
Explanation / Answer
The purpose of the School Mental Health series is to provide system of care communities with information on developing sustainable school mental health programs. The series focuses on strategies to consider in working with community mental health agencies, both public and private, and provides options for consideration in building school mental health programs that serve children and youth with serious mental health needs. The system of care initiative is Federally funded as the Children’s Mental Health Initiative (CMHI), through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Mental Health Services. The purpose of the CMHI is to develop and build comprehensive community mental health services for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances and their families. System of care grants support the development and expansion of a coordinated system of care that integrates mental health services in the home, schools, and the community. System of care partnerships often include community mental health providers and local schools working to develop and implement a coordinated, comprehensive, culturally and linguistically competent plan of services, programs, and activities that focus on building supports that are readily available in the school, home, and community. The system of care initiative focuses on a service delivery approach that builds partnerships to create a broad, integrated process for meeting the multiple needs of children and families. This approach is based on the following core values: ¡ Family driven ¡ Youth guided ¡ Cultural and linguistic competence ¡ Individualized and community based ¡ Evidence based These core values are embedded in the system of care philosophy and shape the approach to individualized supports and services. System of care supports and services are: “1. Family driven and youth guided, with the strengths and needs of the child and family determining the types and mix of services and supports provided. 2. Community based, with the locus of services as well as system management resting within a supportive, adaptive infrastructure of structures, processes, and relationships at the community level. 3. Culturally and linguistically competent, with agencies, programs, and services that reflect the cultural, racial, ethnic, and linguistic differences of the populations they serve to facilitate access to and utilization of appropriate services and supports and to eliminate disparities in care.” (Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health, n.d.) ii School Mental Health Sustainability: Funding Strategies To Build Sustainable School Mental Health Programs According to the Child Welfare League of America, a centralized focus of systems of care is on building the infrastructure needed to result in positive outcomes for children, youth, and families (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2008). Partnerships with local schools can be a key feature of the system of care infrastructure and a means for developing convenient access to mental health services and supports. The purpose of building school mental health programs is to develop a coordinated, comprehensive plan of evidence-based programs, activities, and services that address the various mental health needs of students, provide student/family supports and resources, and promote positive learning environments for all. This series will focus on some key questions to consider in building sustainable comprehensive school mental health programs: 1. Why school mental health? What is the connection to system of care initiatives? 2. What are the challenges faced by school and mental health agency partnerships? 3. How do system of care community leaders work with community agencies/organizations to overcome challenges in developing a sustainable school mental health program? 4. What are some of the lessons learned from communities with experience in sustaining school mental health programs? School Mental Health Sustainability: Funding Strategies To Build Sustainable School Mental Health Programs Page 1 What Are the Challenges to School and Mental Health Agency Partnerships? System of care approaches should ideally be designed to fit into a broader and systemic plan for the school and community. This is critical to a successful school mental health strategy and contributes to the successful achievement of the primary goal of schools, that of promoting learning and achievement of students (CSMHA, 2007). Schools and mental health agencies have a shared purpose to support children and youth in their development toward successful lives. Schools focus on factors affecting academic achievement and mental health agencies work toward improving behavioral health outcomes in home, school, and community settings. Although schools and mental health agencies have complementary missions, goals, and objectives to meet the needs of children and youth, they may speak different “languages” in articulating their work, e.g. counseling may have a different definition for a social worker, guidance counselor and/or mental health counselor. School and mental health agencies that have developed a common mission, goals, and objectives have worked together to create integrated programs and procedures to meet the needs of children, youth, and families in their schools and communities. These efforts have not been without challenges, as both schools and mental health agencies are faced with the realities of developing and implementing programs with decreased funding and fewer professional staff while continuing to address administrative mandates. Communities that join their resources to build successful programs and services to meet the needs of children and youth will find that they can be successful in meeting the responsibilities of both education and mental health agencies. Partnerships formed between schools and mental health agencies must consider the differences in cultures to successfully work together to create a shared vision and mission in developing comprehensive school mental health programs/services. Some of the typical differences between school culture and mental health culture that will be discussed are terminology, confidentiality and information sharing, professional culture, perceptions of each other, diagnostic process, service provision, licensure requirements, continuing education, and funding. 1. Terminology a. Counseling – Educational vs. Mental Health Therapy ¡ Educational Counseling – Services provided for students to address personal/social skills, behavioral skills, and education/academic and career development issues. Educational counseling may be delivered in individual or group settings. ¡ Mental Health Therapy – Therapeutic treatment of an acute or chronic issue, to address psychological, emotional, or behavioral difficulties and/or disabilities. Mental health therapy may be delivered in individual, family, or group settings. SERIES 2 Page 4 School Mental Health Sustainability: Funding Strategies To Build Sustainable School Mental Health Programs SERIES 2: What Are the Challenges to School and Mental Health Agency Partnerships? information necessary to provide emergency treatment and they may report child abuse or neglect as required by state law, court orders, and subpoenas (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment 2007). Permitted disclosure under Federal drug and alcohol law requires written authorization and may disclose client information when a signed authorization contains these eight elements: ¡ Name/designation of persons authorized to disclose information ¡ Name/designation of persons or organization authorized to receive the information ¡ Patient’s name ¡ Purpose of disclosure ¡ Specifics as to what information is to be disclosed ¡ Patient’s signature and the date ¡ Statement of individual’s right/procedure to revoke authorization ¡ Expiration data or event c. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act governs access to and release of educational records by public and private schools that receive Federal funding. A student’s education record is defined as records, files, documents, and other materials containing information directly related to a student that are maintained by a school or a person acting for the school (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). Parents (natural parent, guardian, or person acting as parent in absence of natural parent) control third-party access to their children’s educational records. Parents have the right to review their children’s education records, including any health-related information contained in the education record. Education records do not include notes made by a school professional such as a school psychologist or guidance counselor that are in the professional’s sole possession and not revealed to any other person except a substitute. Authorizations to release educational records must ¡ Specify the records to be disclosed ¡ State the purpose of the disclosure ¡ Identify the party or class of parties to whom disclosure is to be made ¡ Be signed and dated by the parent School Mental Health Sustainability: Funding Strategies To Build Sustainable School Mental Health Programs Page 5 SERIES 2: What Are the Challenges to School and Mental Health Agency Partnerships? Permitted disclosures include: ¡ Court orders and subpoenas ¡ Disclosures to other school officials/teachers within the school who have a “legitimate educational interest” ¡ A student’s financial aid application ¡ A health or safety emergency if knowledge of information is necessary to protect the health or safety of student or others In order to facilitate family-driven, youth-guided, culturally and linguistically competent service planning, it is important that school and mental health professionals have a clear understanding of the confidentiality requirements of both agencies and that accurate information on regulations be shared with family members. 3. Professional Culture – Schools focus on student achievement and outcomes, including those measured by grade-level and subject-area assessments, advancing from grade to grade, and rates of high school completion and post-high school education/training/employment. Mental health professionals focus on assessment and treatment goals, objectives, and outcomes. Both desire to obtain the best outcomes for the children, youth, and families they serve. It is important for system of care partners to understand the vision and mission of both cultures and develop a common vision to support the development of a school mental health program that will serve the best interests of all students, schools, and community agencies. 4. Perceptions of Each Other – As schools begin development of a school mental health program, there is often a misperception of the roles/responsibilities of the school mental health counselor and the school guidance counselor. Schools and mental health agencies need to clarify and define the roles and responsibilities early in the process of development in order to use the counselor skill set best suited for the school mental health program. Below are typical definitions of guidance vs. mental health counselors. a. Guidance counselors have typically provided individual, group, and parental counseling related to educational needs. In some settings, guidance counselors have advanced counseling skills and have obtained state/national certification or licensure as a professional counselor and can provide therapeutic counseling services. In these instances, a guidance counselor may have developed mental health programming in a school and may provide individual, group, or family therapy on site at school. b. Mental health counselors have earned their education—master’s and/or doctoral degrees— from accredited colleges/universities, and are licensed clinical counselors who are trained in provision of mental health treatment. The mental health counselor may have specialized skills in a treatment area such as family therapy. School mental health counselors provide the same type of services on site at school that they would have provided in a clinical setting. Page 6 School Mental Health Sustainability: Funding Strategies To Build Sustainable School Mental Health Programs SERIES 2: What Are the Challenges to School and Mental Health Agency Partnerships? 5. Diagnostic Process – A screening and assessment is usually provided to students and families entering the mental health agency. Typically, the assessment entails many aspects of a student’s life, including social, emotional, physical, alcohol/drug, school (attendance, grades), relationship (peers, family), and past history (family, abuse, neglect, trauma, depression, anxiety, developmental) components; values and beliefs; and current/past coping strategies. The student/parent goals and objectives for treatment are determined, and the counselor (along with the youth and family and the treatment team) develops a draft treatment plan. A Diagnostic Statistical Manual diagnosis may be assigned by a psychiatrist. The treatment team will discuss the diagnosis with the student/ parent, and propose a plan of services and supports to be provided at school and in the community. It is important to note that approximately 50 percent of the students receiving mental health services will not qualify for IDEA services, and will not have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). To the extent that services and supports are related to the student’s educational goals, the IEP team will be involved in formulation of the treatment plan. It is also important to note that in system of care communities, the treatment team usually consists of a mental health professional, other individuals requested by the family to be present, appropriate school personnel related to the student’s educational needs, and possibly a care coordinator or wraparound facilitator. 6. Service Provision – Based on the student’s mental health treatment plan, and IEP plan when appropriate, the treatment team determines the schedule of services and supports needed for the student/parent. Traditional clinical sessions in an agency or clinic setting are usually 50 minutes in length. Mental health treatment triage teams meet quarterly or more often to assess student progress, and treatment plans are updated to address current needs. Typically the IEP team does not meet quarterly except under special circumstances; however, a representative of the IEP team may meet with the mental health triage team as needed and/or requested. 7. Licensure Requirements for Counselors – All states in the United States, except California, license professional counselors. The state counselor licensure boards administer the application processes and procedures that have been established by law in each state. The state licensure boards determine the requirements for sitting for any examination. State requirements vary from state to state. Counselors must obtain various types of supervision to obtain and maintain their licensure. 8. Continuing Education – States require continuing education for continuation of national and/or state licensure, and counselors must obtain a specified number of credits per year to maintain their license. 9. Funding – Prior to school mental health program development, it is important for system of care leadership (typically the principal investigator and/or project director, to begin conversations early with the mental health agency to discuss the specifics of developing a school mental health program, and determine the type of services the agency can offer to the school mental health program. School Mental Health Sustainability: Funding Strategies To Build Sustainable School Mental Health Programs Page 9 SERIES 2: What Are the Challenges to School and Mental
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