Sept. 01--Sue Rys, a school psychologist for the East Greenbush Central School District, can have an agenda for the day that includes testing, meetings and sessions with students all laid out.
But it's often subject to change as she meets the needs of kids who come to her in crisis.
"The school's primary focus is to help the student be successful in school, so if it's a big mental health problem, we'll do the school piece and try to scaffold that student so they can get through the school day," Rys said.
Studies show at least one in five children and adolescents have a mental health disorder, according to the National Mental Health Information Center, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The job of the school psychologist, social worker and guidance counselor has grown more demanding as student needs have changed. Mainstreaming has led to a more diverse student population with greater psychological, educational and social needs. Better diagnosis of mental health issues like depression means more students on the caseload. And when a tragedy occurs in the community, such a teen suicide, fatal car accident or even a fire that displaces families, the school becomes the central point for healing, a job that was once picked up by places of worship and neighborhoods.
"One of the reasons why it's important to have the capacity to provide mental health services in schools is because every community has a school," says Kathy Cowan, director of communications for the National Association of School Psychologists.
"It is a place where most children are. It is a place where most families are comfortable. ... Teachers are trained to care about their students, and it's a place where learning is the focus. A lot of what happens through a crisis experience is a learning opportunity as well, and a lot of healing takes place from maintaining a sense of normalcy, from giving kids the opportunity to express themselves in a positive way. What better place to do all that than the school? It builds a sense of community and, in general, community is a protective factor."
Given students spend about 30 hours of their week within the school walls, teachers and school mental health workers stand on the front lines for many mental health problems.
Schools report seeing more issues with stress and anxiety among students. The economy and high unemployment rates sometimes translate into more tension at home, which student carry with them to school. The good news is that kids and parents are more attuned to those issues than before and can bring them to the attention of the psychologist or social worker.
Facebook, for all the criticism it gets when it comes to teens, has become an added tool for the school staff. Many students feel more comfortable sharing their feelings in cyberspace, and Rys and others in her position will have parents and students reach out with concerns about something they've seen online.
"We try to work together with the people who know the student best to really determine the scope of the problem," Rys said. "Was it a bad day? Was it an overdramatic statement?"
Teacher training has also become a key component of the school mental health worker's job, says Catherine Ricchetti, social worker at Pine Bush Elementary School in the Guilderland Central School District.
In addition to regular meetings with other staff members on students of concern, the psychologists and social workers help teachers understand how mental health issues may present themselves in the classroom and how to best address the student.
For example, Ricchetti says, a traumatized student may become fearful of a teacher who innocently raises his or her voice. A student who is anxious might need extra structure because that structure is comforting when other parts of his or her life are in flux.
And sometimes, when emotional troubles become classroom problems -- like a student who becomes disruptive -- Ricchetti said she'll hold a meeting with the student and friends or even the entire class to talk through the issues, much like a family in counseling would.
Social workers and psychologists also serve students with spectrum-based disorders, such as autism. Their role is often one of early intervention. Ricchetti works with students with autism to help develop their social skills, so they can form and maintain good relationship with their peers. An autistic student, she says, may need a few lessons in reading body language.
She's worked with kids who have autism and similar issues on how to tell when it's time to end a conversation, and how, if they feel like singing a song, it may be best to do that in their thoughts.
She, and other mental health workers, may refer such students to support groups within the community, where they can be around children dealing with some of the same issues.
"We have a resource list that we're constantly adding to," Rys said. "It's a big team approach."
Jennifer Gish can be reached at 454-5089 or jgish@timesunion.com.
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