Effectively managing school refusal (also known as school avoidance or school phobia) takes a consistent, coordinated effort between the parents and the school. It may also require help from outside mental health resources. In this article, we’ll address common mistakes as well as more effective school refusal intervention strategies for both schools and parents.
Mental Health in Education Blog
PODCAST: Strategies for Handling School Avoidance
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. In this episode, I will […]
PODCAST: The District’s Role in Addressing Mental Health in Schools
Welcome to our podcast, Conversations About Student Mental Health. I’m Chris Leonard, clinical social worker, working with adolescents for over 25 years. The purpose of this podcast is to talk with school administrators, educators, clinicians, and parents, to open a dialogue that will help the growing number of students struggling with mental illness. In this […]
School-Based Mental Health Interventions for Students: When & How to Act
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 […]
End of School Year Reflection
By Lori Phelan, MSW, LCSW, Thrive Certified Clinician™ As graduation is approaching, we are reminded of the end to the school year and the beginning of summer. Many of our students are excited and happy about moving forward into unchartered waters, while others may be ambivalent during this interlude. It’s not only a break from […]
Understanding Childhood Trauma
By Phaedra Dunn, LSW, Sage Certified Clinician™ What is Trauma? Trauma can be defined as a person experiencing or witnessing a deeply distressing or disturbing event or repeated events that may involve death, threatened death, serious injury, or a threat to someone’s physical safety, or others and may involve fear, helplessness, feeling powerless and having […]