The new question about school mental health programs A few years ago, it wasn’t uncommon for school administrators to question whether schools should get involved in the mental health of their students. Today, with the skyrocketing rates of anxiety, depression, school refusal, and suicides among children and teens, the question is no longer whether to […]
Special education was intended to help a small percentage of students who have disabilities that significantly impair learning and make it impossible for them to succeed in a general education classroom. Providing IEP classifications to every struggling student, even when they don’t meet the criteria for classification, is a disservice to students and also puts […]
Welcome to our podcast: Conversations About Student Mental Health. I’m Chris Leonard, Clinical Social Worker working with adolescents for over 25 years. In this podcast, I talk with school administrators, educators, clinicians, and parents to open a dialogue that will help the growing number of students struggling with mental illness. Chris: In our most recent episode, […]
By Christopher J. Leonard, MSW, LCSW, M.ED. If you have not yet heard that there is a mental health crisis in America, you have not been paying attention. But because you have been paying attention, you know that this crisis is having a significant impact on school-aged children and adolescents. Studies suggest that more than […]
By Zack Schwartz, MSW, LCSW, PsyA | Director of Thrive Services 10 Warning Signs of School Refusal School refusal in children and adolescents is a significantly growing issue that impacts not only the student but the entire family, school personnel, and mental health professionals working with the student. Although school refusal may appear to be […]