ARP Defense Answers_White,Kayla

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Chicago School of Professional Psychology *

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MP620A

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Psychology

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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1 ARP Defense Answers Applied Research Project Kayla White The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

2 1) What were the most helpful and difficult parts of the ARP Process? Explain why. The most helpful part of my ARP process was the feedback given from many teachers that I had over the course of creating my ARP. Example, I initially wanted to focus on just minorities and mental health within the minority community, but I had a teacher help me realized how narrow my project idea was. Mental health in the minority community is not talked about much and there is a negative stigma behind mental health in the minority community, but a teacher helped me realized that mental health is in all ethnicities. After hearing this feedback I decided to open my topic up and focused on mental health help/treatment in all ethnicities. Another examples is that I originally wanted to create a program for youth with mental health issues, but after talking with one of my teachers, he suggested I create a workshop because I would it would be more effective in helping youth with mental health issues instead of a program that is optional for youth. The most difficult part of the ARP process was creating the training itself. I personally never created a training, but I have created a program before (that is why I originally wanted to create a program). When creating my training, I had to think back to the previous trainings I have received in my professional development. I thought about what I thought was helpful/useful when I was attending a training, but also thought about what wasn’t useful to help me develop my training. I also called my boss who has created many trainings to give me advice on how to create a useful training that will be beneficial for the targeted audience. 2) The ARP Proposal mentions that, “This project is important because as stated above, mental health diagnosis is on the rise in youths ages 2-17 and it needs to be better addressed.” The age range noted is quite large, and can encompass a lot of different stages of childhood development. Please discuss the rationale for focusing on the age

3 range you chose for this project, how such an approach will be feasible for teachers working in general education classrooms to be adequately trained in, and how potential challenges pertaining to resources regarding teachers and mental health services for schools will be mitigated. The age range is quite large, but as stated in my ARP “Mental health issues are on the rise in which, 1 in 5 teens have a mental health disorder, approximately 6.1 million youths (ages 2-17) have been diagnosed with ADHD, 4.5 million youth (ages 3-17) have diagnosed behavior issues, 4.4 million youths (ages 3-17) have diagnosed anxiety, and 1.9 million (ages 3-17) have diagnosed depression” (Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health, 2020). When you look at the ages of mental health onset, it is in the youth ages and not adulthood. There are many different developmental stages in this time frame, but when broken down in age range it becomes understandable why the age range is used. For example, this training can be helpful in aiding in early intervention for young children who are experiencing mental health issues. Early intervention “increasingly shows that preventing and intervening early for young people with mental health problems, particularly depression and first onset psychosis, can dramatically improve immediate and long term outcomes” (Early Intervention, n.d.). The first 5 – 7 years of a child’s life are considered the molding years where experiences can affect their life decades later and their development overall. This training only focuses on children ages 5 years old to 13 years old (elementary and middle school ages). I want to focus on these ages because of early intervention, but also addressing any mental health issues before they enter high school, where more mental health issues could arise. Getting treatment early on can help the students have a better hold onto their mental health well- being and know how to address/seek help.

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4 Teachers working in general education classrooms to be adequately trained in mental health and early intervention via the Student Mental Health Certification online course that they will have to take in this training/workshop. Once they complete the training and the online course, they will be certified in student mental health and know how to address mental health issues/concerns in their students. Potential challenges pertaining to resources regarding teachers and mental health services for schools will be mitigated via the training. Teachers will be given a local mental health treatment facility that they will refer the students to and they will be given training on various topics (minor confidentiality, mental health overview, and referrals) to successfully be the mental health support system their students need for their mental health wellbeing. Teachers will know how to address mental health issues with their students and the student’s family and know how and where to refer the students for mental health services if need be. 3) The evaluation strategy of the project indicates that one form of evaluation will be to, “Throughout the school year once training is over and their skills are applied in their classrooms, then teachers must keep copies of each referral they have made with student’s names blackened out to maintain confidentiality and turn it in to me or a clinical psychologist monthly (at the end of each month).” Please discuss how the process of referrals is typically handled in a school setting, the rationale for including this process as part of the evaluation strategy of the training, and any potential ethical considerations related to this and how they might be addressed. In my ARP, one of the main goals after my workshop is to have teachers know how and where to refer students for mental health services. It would be ideal to see this happen via an increase in mental health treatment referrals for teacher’s students. Not only do teachers not know how to refer students to mental health services, but students also do not know where to seek treatment. In my ARP project, teachers will be trained on how to and where to refer their students for mental health training. Once teachers are able to obtain this skill, they will have to make referrals for their students who are seeking

5 mental health services to a local mental health treatment facility. The reason a local mental health facility will be used is because it is important for the students and families to have easy access to the treatment facility. It would not be beneficial for students to be referred to a mental health facility that is far from their home or school as accessibility would be an issues for them and they would not get the immediate help that they need. An example of the referral process is that, a teacher is noticing that a student is displaying some mental health issues, they are first to talk to the student and the parents about it. If mental health treatment is agreed upon, then there is a mental health referral form teachers will have to fill out that will describe who was referred, when, why, and where to student was referred to. Teachers will make three copies of the referral form. One copy for the student file at the school, a second one that will be given to the mental health facility, and third a blackened out copy for the training. As stated in my ARP, confidentiality is important as these students are minors and that is why the third copy will have the student’s name blackened out. The student’s name is not needed for the training, but the number of referrals that are made in that year is needed and important. 4) The links to the powerpoint presentations on student mental health training, confidentiality, and referrals were not able to be accessed or opened. Please explain what these items include, how they contribute to the training being provided with the workshop, and how such content aligns with helping ensure the expected outcomes of the training are met. The PowerPoint presentation on student mental health training is an overview of mental health in youth ages 2 – 14 years old. The PowerPoint goes into details of why this training is being done, the importance of it, how will it benefits teachers and students, how mental health ties into academic performance, how mental health ties into behavior

6 later on in life, the ethical considerations of my ARP, and the cultural considerations of my ARP. The PowerPoint on confidentiality addresses confidentiality in minors and their rights of disclosing their information to their parents and the mental health treatment facility through the referral process. Another piece of information that is discussed in the confidentiality PowerPoint is that the legal age to consent for mental health services is the age of 18 years old. Because this ARP works with youth ages 2-14, the student’s parents must also consent to mental health treatment before the student is referred to mental health services. The students are able to consent to mental health treatment, but ultimately, their parents have the final say due to age. The last piece of information that is discussed in the confidentiality PowerPoint is that many students do not want their mental health well-being discussed with their parents due to various reasons, but because your students are minors, their mental health well-being must be discussed with their parents. If parents are not made aware of any mental health issues their children have, then the risk of not proper treatment or early treatment will occur and this can cause further negative issues such as behavior, academic, drug usage, and more. Parents must be a part of the mental health well-being discussion of their child and the referral process. The referral PowerPoint covers the steps of how to successfully refer a student to mental health services. The first stage is before you refer, which discusses how it is important to list identified symptoms or signs that is of concern to the teacher. The second stage is talking to the students and parents. In this stage, talk to the parents if there are any cultural or beliefs that you should be made aware of when it comes to mental

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7 health. Pose the question: Instead of saying “your child needs psychological help”, say “from what I have observed in the classroom, it looks like your child (or say the child’s name) would benefit from counseling/therapy services. Back up your question with reasons how the child will benefit. (e.g. Grades will improve, physical behavior will improve, motivation will improve, etc.). Give parents comfort words. (e.g. I am here to support you and your child in their mental health well-being and I only want the best for him/her). Answer any questions parents have and if you do not have the answer, then tell them that you will research for the answer and will get back to them tomorrow or the next following school day. Lastly, give the parents and student time to process the information you have given them and tell them that no referrals will be made until parents give the green light. The third stage is the actual referral where a referral will only be made once parents and student consent to it. The steps to a successful are: 1) Student must be present with teacher when making the referral. 2) Call a mental health clinic that is in the same community as their school or home (easy access). 3) Tell the receptionist on the phone that you want to make an appointment for a student who is currently with you. 4) Student and or parent (if present) will have to the receptionist. 5) Once appoint is made, fill out the paper referral slip to keep in the students folder in the main office. (Keep track of all referral that was made). The fourth stage is the after referral where teachers follow up with the student 1-3 days after their appointment and inform the student and parents that you are always available for future support and can continue to follow up. These three PowerPoints contribute to the training because they training the teachers on minor confidentiality, how to make a successful referral, and give teachers an overview of mental health in youth ages 2-14 years old. Each PowerPoint contains

8 information that is needed to develop skills that teachers need to be an effective mental health support system for their students. 5) The training materials of the project include a link to a training course for student mental health certification. Please discuss the rationale for using this course as part of the workshop, and explain how the participants in the workshop will effectively meet the requirements to participate in and be licensed via the training provided. The student mental health certification is used in this training because of the information is covers and the successful rate of using this certification course. The online course goes over nine area of competency which are: depression, anxiety, IEP and program development, behavior modification, suicide, ADHD, traumatic brain injury, OCD, and ODD. This certification will allow teachers to “provide support and resources to families and students to enhance their school experience, safety, and learning outcomes. This certification will also equip teachers with the confidence to identify students potentially struggling with mental health issues, improve sense of security in the classroom, improve student outcomes, behavior and learning, and provide credibility and recognition for staff, school and district” (Student Mental Health, 2020). The reason I chose to use this certification online training course is because it is already accredited, has been used already for training school staff, occupational therapists, school nurses, and much more, which shows significant effectiveness in a classroom setting. For teachers to effectively meet the requirement to participate in and be licensed for the certification is that they must have two years’ experience working in a field that treats or supports individuals with cognitive disorders (which general education teachers or special education teachers will have) and must have earned 14 hours of continuing education that directly relate to cognitive disorders within the last two years (which most general education teachers have). If teachers are unsure if they have the 14

9 hours, there is a link that they will be given and they can check to see if they have the 14 hours within the last 2 years that they can be applied to this certification. If teachers do not have the hours, then they must obtain these hours first and can participate in this training the next upcoming year. This training is not a one-time opportunity, as teachers will have each year to participate.

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10 References Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health. (2020, June 15). Retrieved August 03, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html Early intervention. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2021, from https://www.mherc.mb.ca/page.php?id=13 Student Mental Health. (2020, May 07). Retrieved October 11, 2020, from https://ibcces.org/student-mental-health/

ARP Defense Answers_White,Kayla

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