Embedded Files
Purpose
Purpose
The purpose of this module is to explore the role for occupational therapy by exploring the professionals that are typically on school mental health teams and learning one effective model of service provision.
Retrieved from: TOT 1: Key Collaborators (2019)
Many different professionals provide school-based mental health services. Some of the key players have historically been school social workers, school counselors, and school psychologists. In addition to the providers in the school building, sometimes people from outside the building come into the school to provide additional services. It is not uncommon for some community mental health workers, who are often trained as counselors or social workers, to see students during the school day.
Retrieved from: TOT 1: Key Contributors (2019)
Journal Post:
Journal Post:
Take some time to research the different professionals listed above. Then, go to your personal journal and describe the role you think the providers play (or could play) in the provision of mental health services. Comment on how you think occupational therapy might add value to the services provided by these professions. Give an example of how an OT would collaborate with one or more of the different professionals. Finally, make a list of other individuals (professionals or lay people) who should also be considered when providing school-based mental health. Consider other school personnel, medical personnel, and community member.
Group Discussion Post:
Group Discussion Post:
Review the Weist et al (2012) article. Then, go to your Group Discussion board, locate the "Challenges" discussion and reply to the Introduction thread. Everyone should create a post regarding your reaction to the Weist article. If you are currently practicing, please also comment on the challenges (if any) you see in your own practice setting. Read each other's posts and comment on a few.
In this article, I found the most astonishing, but also the least surprising challenge to be the funding of mental health services within the school systems and in the communities. I found it so interesting that the competition between the mental health providers made the tensions higher and the students then in turn were affected because the providers were not sharing information. I think it is crazy that the high levels of competition between the workers was an issue at all. I also found that the HIPPA and FERPA regulations have prevented shared information between the community and the school’s mental health programs. I understand that people like their privacy, but I also think if there is an issue with a child that does not want to seek services in the school, the schools should still be required to have the knowledge and understand of what might potentially be going on with a student in their school. I think the ability to share that information could put warning flags on children that are at higher risk for bullying, violence, or outbursts within the school system. While mental health affects the person who is dealing with a condition, it also affects those around them. In a school setting, that includes other students, who can become victims of bullying or abuse due to unmonitored mental health of students.
Another challenge that is striking to me is the lack of consistency within the training of the mental health professions. I think it is very surprising, that, in a country where mental health is so prevalent, there is not a standard training to deal with specific ways to handle a situation. Other professions, such as occupational therapy and physical therapy are required to pass a generalized certification exam to enter the field. Mental health professionals should have the same requirements in order to work in their specific fields. I understand the argument that all mental health cases are unique and cannot be treated in a procedural manner, but I do believe there should be a consistency between states, counties, and schools for how mental health is treated. Overall, I believe the article targeted some major issues within the mental health system and need to be addressed in order to promoted better health for all.
Wraparound services have been proposed by policy makers, researchers, and clinicians as an effective way to reduce the likelihood of fragmented mental health services for children and youth.
Watch or listen to the Overview of Wraparound from the National Wraparound Initiative website. The webinar can be found on this page: http://nwi.pdx.edu/previous-nwi-webinars/
Retrieved from: TOT 1: Key Contributors (2019)
Group Discussion Post:
Group Discussion Post:
After you have completed the webinar, go to your Group Discussion board and locate the "Opportunities?" discussion. Reply to the introduction post.
In your reply discuss your reaction to the webinar. Everyone should consider how OT professionals might be involved in Wraparound services. You can speak to school OTs and OTs that work in other settings. If you are practicing, please comment on whether Wraparound services exist in your setting and whether or not you are involved in them. If you are involved in them, please describe how. Next, read each other’s posts and comment on a few.
I found this webinar to be extremely helpful to my understanding of what Wraparounds mission is within the field of mental health. I found it to be a sufficient amount of information to make me understand what they were targeting and how they implemented their strategies into their program.
The Wraparound program works hard to incorporate the same effectiveness that mental health institutes can provide, but they work to keep the children in their homes at more effective costs. The Children have seen better outcomes and less crisis due to the Wraparound idea that children can produce the same outcomes in their own homes or in facilities for shorter amounts of time. I believe occupational therapists can play a critical role across four phases of effort: Engagement and team preparation, Initial plan development, Implementation, and Transition. The OT can provide support and help with both the transitions into the program, as well as out of the program and back into their normal routines. The concept of having an OT on staff during a Wraparound is critical to smooth transitional periods, engagement in activities, planning, and implementation. The OT can help provide a side of the medical team that maybe other areas of medicine do not particularly focus on. OT’s are typically more holistic when it comes to treatment, so to have a member of the team who is thinking of the other problematic areas can be very beneficial to the child’s success. Between school and home, children do not spend much of their time in other locations. By providing OT services to both the home and the school settings, the child can hopefully achieve better and more successful transitions and spend their time more efficiently. By providing an OT, the student can learn strategies and skills to enhance their performance in both settings. Hopefully they can then begin to work on other important skills, such as relationship building in the schools with their peers or working on organizational skills in their home and school lives. I think the OT’s could also be a critical part of the training team for other providers to help see the treatment through an OT lens. I think the more OT influence there is, the easier the transitions can be for the child and the more engagement that can take place during wraparound sessions for better outcomes.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse