Most of us have leans when it comes to papers we read. Those leans are typically political.
When it comes to papers sharing vital MH info & stats- as long as they appear pragmatic & try to help, the lean of the paper hopefully matters to you very little. I try to share from papers from all sides of the political aisle so we can get a broad perspective.
This recent article from WaPo is abt as comprehensive a summary of the nation’s shortage of school MH professionals (& as a result programming) of any I have read in yrs!
I tried to boil down the most impt stats & facts shared, into the following slides➡️. Bottom line is, we have a MAJOR shortage of MH professionals at schools in this country. They’re drowning in case load, & there’s an awful downstream effect that’s happening.
Remember growing up, & there was simply: “guidance counselors” & you didn’t want to be the kid who was called down over the loud speaker or w a knock on your classroom door? Now, schools have staffs of Psychologists, Therapists, & Social Workers…but the numbers across schools in the US are woefully insufficient. Check the stats they provided.
The downstream: at a time when suicidal ideation is UP, coming out of the p@ndem1c, & only going to rise bc stress/trauma are cumulative when we don’t know how to release & rewire them from our system, schools can’t keep up w the demand – & that’s of the kids IN crisis!
As someone who runs an org where we partner w schools on programming, that’s only the tip of the iceberg. That’s kids in crisis! What abt all the other kids in schools who are struggling who there are no resources for – not even check-ins.
We don’t pretend to have all the solutions, but that’s why we have Directors in schools who work on: professional development w teachers, town halls w parents, assemblies & workshops w students, & provide tools for common language like the SameHere Scale to identify (non diagnostic) how one’s MH is fluctuating, & STARR (Stress & Trauma, Active Release & Rewiring) Exercises, so that everyone has tools. We need EVERY school stakeholder to be educated…to be peer support…to be able to help one another.