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School Counselors have an ethical obligation to adequately support students with disabilities. The 2016 American School Counselor Association’s Ethical Standards for School Counselors provides guidelines in areas including advocacy, confidentiality, cultural competence, equitable access, support for underserved/at-risk populations and respect/dignity for students with disabilities. It is our legal and professional responsibility to advocate for students with disabilities. 

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School Counselors have an ethical obligation to adequately support students with disabilities. The 2016 American School Counselor Association’s Ethical Standards for School Counselors provides guidelines in areas including advocacy, confidentiality, cultural competence, equitable access, support for underserved/at-risk populations and respect/dignity for students with disabilities. It is our legal and professional responsibility to advocate for students with disabilities. 

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Council for Children with Behavioral Disorders

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To address students’ mental health needs, school counselors and other school-based student support staff can connect youth and their families to resources in the community. 

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To address students’ mental health needs, school counselors and other school-based student support staff can connect youth and their families to resources in the community. 

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Dear Parent,
If your child is referred to the school counselor, the very word “counseling” may make it sound like a mysterious process, but it is not. Counseling is a relationship built on confidentiality and trust—student trust, parent trust, teacher trust. Adequate information is the foundation of trust—all involved must have information about the limits and processes of counseling. The following information describes the overall process of counseling.How does a student receive counseling at school?: Students may be referred to the School Counselor (SC) for individual and/or small group counseling by their parents or guardians, school faculty, school staff, a concerned friend, or they may refer themselves. Once a referral is made the SC sets up a meeting with the referred student.Who provides the counseling at school?Counseling is provided by a state certified School Counselor (SC). The SC has a Master’s degree with an emphasis in School Counseling. School Counseling focuses on the academic development, Social/Emotional development, and career development of students.Is counseling required? It is your choice to give consent for your child to receive counseling.What will counseling for your child involve?Counseling may include small group or individual sessions. During the sessions, your child and a SC will work together to understand the problem, the present and future consequences, develop goals for change and a plan of action for change. How is information shared? Trust is the basis for effective counseling. The ethical guidelines of the American School Counselor Association emphasize the importance of confidentiality between school counselors and students at the same time recognizing the rights of parents. As a parent or guardian, you must trust that the SC will “take good care of” one of your most prized possessions. Your child must know and trust that, what is shared with the counselor will stay with the counselor unless he or she gives permission to share information or if the counselor suspects the child is in danger of being hurt by others, hurting himself, or hurting others. , Confidentiality: Trust and confidentiality work together. Counseling records do not become a part of the permanent record of the student except as required by school safety policy. A record may indicate that a student was seen by the School Counselor; however, the topics discussed are not included unless required by the school board safety policy. The requirements of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are enforced—information will not be released to anyone outside our school without your written permission. The SC may talk with the classroom teacher about how he or she can help your child in the classroom; however, specific information will not be shared.Possible outcomes: Through counseling, your child may be taught strategies to help him or her make more effective and healthier decisions, increase the ability to set and reach goals, build better relationships with others, and be more successful in school. We all must realize that changes take time; his or her problem did not develop overnight, nor will it disappear overnight. Counseling will be successful when students, school counselors, teachers, and family members work together. Cost:There is no cost to you for any of the counseling your child receives as a part of our district’s Comprehensive School Counseling Program. Please contact me if you want more information or have ideas about how we can better help you.

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More than 600,000 Texas public school students, about 11.3% of the overall student population, either didn't complete assignments or didn't respond to teacher outreach for some period of time this spring during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Texas Education Agency released a report Tuesday showing that higher percentages of low-income, Black and Hispanic students were not completing assignments or were not responsive to teacher outreach compared with higher-income, white and Asian peers. Texas collected the data from school districts in early May, and districts have until July 16 to update their numbers.

The report comes as Texas, like states across the country, puzzles through decisions on what the upcoming academic year will look like for students and staff. Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath has stressed that schools should be prepared this fall to address the effects of the "COVID slide," the likely academic backslide due to the pandemic.

After the pandemic forced all school buildings to shut down in April, Texas public schools reported losing contact with thousands of students, including some of their most vulnerable. Many students did not have access to the internet, while others, especially older students, went to work to replace income their families had lost during the economic decline.

According to the TEAreport, about 16.9% of Black public school students in Texas were not fully engaged with their schoolwork or teachers during the pandemic, the largest percentage of any racial or ethnic subgroup. And about 13.3% of Hispanic students were not fully engaged, the next largest percentage. Only 6.4% of white students were not fully engaged, according to the report.

And about 15.5% of economically disadvantaged students were not fully engaged during school closures, compared with less than 5% of higher-income students. The majority of Texas public school students are Hispanic and low-income.

The report shows that students in younger grades, especially pre-kindergarten and kindergarten, were less likelythan older studentsto complete assignments or be in touch with their teachers. The report breaks down the data by race, economic disadvantage and grade level, but not by school district or geographic region.

Texas charged local school districts with the difficult task of finding students who entirely disengaged from their teachers and administrators while school buildings were closed, including some who completed no assignments. The state advised districts to meticulously document the number of students who were rarely or never in communication with their teachers and arrange home visits to ensure students were safe.

As Texas civil courts resume evictions proceedings and some businesses shut down again, school officials are expecting to see more students in vulnerable situations, including living in hotels, one of the last resorts for families who cannot afford hefty deposits.

School districts are funded based on the number of students in their seats. This year, Texas fully funded districts as long as they promised they were teaching students remotely while their buildings were closed.

School districts will continue to receive funding for students they teach virtually in the upcoming school year, state officials announced last week. They can offer live video instruction for students and submit the number of students who show up to receive funding. Or they can provide students with prerecorded videos and worksheets and track students' daily progress if they submit a plan to the state and get permission.

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Warning of "COVID slide," Texas Education Agency reports 1 in 10 students have disengaged during the pandemic

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More than 600,000 Texas public school students, about 11.3% of the overall student population, either didn't complete assignments or didn't respond to teacher outreach for some period of time this spring during the coronavirus pandemic.

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The mental health of our children is a natural and important concern for us all. The fact is, many mental disorders have their beginnings in childhood or adolescence, yet may go undiagnosed and untreated for years.

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Child Mind Institute | Transforming Children’s Lives.

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The Child Mind Institute is an independent nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of children struggling with mental health and learning disorders.

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"We initially chose IRIS because of the past experiences and their credible research-based, high-quality modules that align with specific areas of growth and need to support a state-directed corrective action plan in our region."

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"We initially chose IRIS because of the past experiences and their credible research-based, high-quality modules that align with specific areas of growth and need to support a state-directed corrective action plan in our region."

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Lo sentimos, la página que usted busca no se ha podido encontrar. Puede intentar su búsqueda de nuevo o visitar la lista de temas populares.

Children who have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are plagued with unwanted thoughts, images or impulses that are difficult to suppress, causing them great stress and worry. These are called obsessions. To alleviate the anxiety caused by their obsessive thoughts, they perform repetitive, ritualized actions called compulsions. A child with OCD might need to line things up, touch things in a certain order when leaving the room or wash his hands repeatedly.

Obsessions Common in Kids With OCD

Contamination: Kids with this obsession are sometimes called "germaphobes." In schools, this plays out with kids worrying about other kids sneezing and coughing, touching things that might be dirty or getting sick in many different ways. This is the most common obsession seen in children.

Magical thinking: This is a kind of superstition, like "step on a crack, break your mother's back," taken to extremes. For example, kids might worry that their thoughts can cause someone to get hurt, or get sick. A child might think, "Unless my things are lined up in a certain way, mom will get in a car accident."

Catastrophizing: Some kids easily jump to the conclusion that something terrible has happened. For example, if her parents are five minutes late picking her up, a girl who is catastrophizing might tell herself that they've decided to abandon her.

Scrupulosity: This is when kids have obsessive worries about offending God or being blasphemous in some way.

What ifs: Kids may be plagued by a lot of different kinds of thoughts about bad things they could do. "What if I hurt someone? What if I stab someone? What if I kill someone?"

The "just right feeling": When OCD first develops, from about 6 to 9 years of age, kids may not know why they are doing something, but just that they need to do it until they get what we call the "just right feeling." So: "I'll line these things up until it just kind of feels right, and then I'll stop." And then over time - in the 9- to 12-year-old range - it evolves into magical thinking and becomes more superstitious in nature.

Behaviors You Might See in Students With OCD

Frequent requests to go to the bathroom: This could be to wash hands, if someone near the child was coughing or sneezing, or if she touched something that she perceives as contaminated. She could be washing items-pens, pencils, backpacks, books. It could also be an excuse to get out the classroom and just be away from everyone, and have some respite.

Constant reassurance-seeking: This takes the form of repetitive questions. "Are you sure that's the answer? Could you tell me again? Did you hear what I said?" Checking doors, windows, lockers, desks. Over and over and over again.

Getting stuck on tasks: Sometimes kids with OCD will need to finish something to completion, or understand it to completion, before they're able to move on. So if a child is working out what he did wrong on a math test, and the teacher says, "Now let's open the textbook and start a new chapter," he's not going to be able to shift gears.

Retracing: If a child leaves the classroom and worries that she left a pencil behind, she'll go back into the classroom and go to her desk and check. If she had a bad thought as she went through the doorway, she might have to "fix it" by going back through the doorway again saying a good word. If she had a bad thought when she went down a flight of stairs on the way to class, she might need to go back up that same stairway at the end of the period, even if it means being late to her next class.

Obsessive erasing: A child could be erasing a lot because the letters have to look perfect. Or he could have used a word that disturbs him. For example, if he has a fear of vomiting and he's written the word vomit, he might not be able to stand seeing that word, so he erases it. Kids start having erasers worn down to the metal. Teachers start to see holes in the paper. Words will be drawn over on the back of the page. A lot of different areas of writing become problematic.

Behaviors Often Confused With Another Disorder

Some behaviors associated with OCD are easy to confuse with ADHD, learning problems or being oppositional.

Distraction: If a child is busy thinking that if she doesn't turn the pen cap and count to four the right way then her mom is going to get sick, she's not going to be paying attention in class. And if her teacher calls on her to answer a question, her distraction might look like ADHD, but it isn't.

Slowness on exams, papers and tasks: Sometimes when kids take a long time, they're struggling with the perfectionism of needing to do things the right way. This could look like learning problems, or inattention, but it isn't.

Avoidance: Teachers might see a child who doesn't want to sit on the floor, or pick things up that touched the floor, or get his hands dirty in art class. He may avoid a lot of playground activities - kids with germ fears will view the playground the way some adults view the subway: it's gross. Why touch anything there?

Tapping and touching symmetrically: If a child sits down at her desk and she accidentally kicks the chair of the kid next to her with her right foot, she's going to have to then kick it with her left foot. That might look like somebody who's being oppositional, or somebody who's got too much energy, but actually it's OCD.

Complaints of anxiety and fatigue: There's one interesting theory that kids with OCD are smarter than other kids. And if you consider how much thinking they're doing, they're really using their brain more frequently than a lot of other kids are. But when that's coupled with a lot of anxiety, you can have a lot of fatigue. So it's common for kids with OCD to want to come home and take a nap after school.

How to Help Students With OCD

For children struggling with OCD, functioning in school can be complicated and very difficult. Here are some things you can do to help them, and the class as a whole, focus on learning:

Seating arrangement: If the school has noisy hallways, you might not want to have a child with OCD sit by the door. You might have her sit in the front, where she's less able to hear the noise and can stay more focused on her work. On the other hand, a child who has very observable symptoms, and doesn't want other kids to see her fidgeting with her hands, rocking or getting up a lot, might be better off closer to the door, toward the back of the room.

Extended time for tests and papers: If writing is a problem for a child who needs to find the perfect way to say something, he's going to need more time to finish those essay questions or papers.

Laptops for writing: If writing and rewriting/erasing is really problematic for a child, consider letting her use a laptop for taking notes, and having all assignments be typed instead of handwritten.

Private testing rooms: Research is quite clear that kids with OCD do better, are less overwhelmed and are more in control of their thoughts and their reactions if they're in a quiet place away from the other kids.

Skip reading out loud: Kids who feel they need to read perfectly may have to go back and reread sentences or whole paragraphs over and over to make sure they've got them right. So reading becomes a very laborious task, and reading in front of the class can become a nightmare. So if we know doing this is a problem for children, we can spare them.

Books on tape: If kids get so hung up reading that it takes forever, listening to the books can be a solution.

Break homework into chunks: If looking at a whole page of math makes kids feel overwhelmed and anxious - think of the potential for mistakes! - the problems can be broken up over four pages. It helps kids stay focused on doing the problems instead of worrying.

How to Minimize Behavioral Problems

Plan an escape route: Try working out a communication system so that if the student feels symptoms coming on, she can signal to you and leave the classroom, or go to a protected place in the classroom, without interrupting the class. It can prevent an embarrassing and disruptive blowup of symptoms in the classroom, and the other kids picking on or bullying her about it.

Be aware of triggering events: It's very important for teachers to know what kind of things might trigger the symptoms. Fatigue is a huge piece of OCD, and it can be exacerbated by medication. So it's important to know that if a child is drowsy in class, and maybe he's putting his head down, it's not because he's being oppositional or disrespectful, but because he's overwhelmed with fatigue.

Advance notice: Irritability and frustration are two of the longer-lasting things that kids with OCD are feeling on a daily basis. Changes in schedule can be very disruptive for a child with OCD, so it can be helpful for teachers to give advance notice of things. Kids who know what to expect are less likely to be thrown by the change.

Children with OCD are often teased and bullied because of their symptoms. Kids feel very uncomfortable about their rituals, knowing that they're being watched. It can be helpful to educate the whole class about what's going on, especially if a child is going to be in the same school for a number of years, and it can inspire a surprising amount of support from other children.

Peer understanding program: A peer understanding program includes a presentation in the classroom that explains (with the child participating) what OCD is. The child might say, "Listen, I have OCD. It's an anxiety disorder. It makes me think that my hands are dirty and I have to wash my hands a lot, so if you see me getting up and going to the sink to wash my hands, that's why." Psychologists can role-play with the teacher and child ahead of time, to anticipate questions his classmates might ask, and how to answer them.

A buddy system: A buddy is like a peer coach who sits next to the child and prompts him to keep up with note taking and staying on task. It can be great for the buddy, to foster a sense of confidence and pride and to be able to help someone in need, and great for fostering friendship.

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Lo sentimos, la página que usted busca no se ha podido encontrar. Puede intentar su búsqueda de nuevo o visitar la lista de temas populares. Children who have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are plagued with unwanted thoughts, images or impulses that are difficult to suppress, causing them great stress and worry.

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The mental health of our
children is a natural and impor-
tant concern for us all. The fact
is, many mental disorders have
their beginnings in childhood
or adolescence.

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Childhood schizophrenia is an uncommon but severe mental disorder in which children interpret reality abnormally. Schizophrenia involves a range of problems with thinking (cognitive), behavior or emotions. It may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that impairs your child's ability to function.

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Childhood schizophrenia - Symptoms and causes

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This severe mental disorder in children involves hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking and behavior that can impair the ability to function.

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Working to deliver a better special education service

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At a glance

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public schools to provide special education services to eligible students.

IDEA covers 13 disability categories.

Not every student who struggles in school qualifies.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires public schools to provide special education and related services to eligible students. But not every child who struggles in school qualifies. To be covered, a child's school performance must be "adversely affected" by a disability in one of the 13 categories below.

1. Specific learning disability (SLD)

The "specific learning disability" (SLD) category covers a specific group of learning challenges. These conditions affect a child's ability to read, write, listen, speak, reason, or do math. Here are some examples of what could fall into this category:

SLD is the most common category under IDEA. In the 2018-19 school year, around 33 percent of students who qualified did so under this category.

2. Other health impairment

The "other health impairment" category covers conditions that limit a child's strength, energy, or alertness. One example is ADHD, which impacts attention and executive function.

3. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)

ASD is a developmental disability. It involves a wide range of symptoms, but it mainly affects a child's social and communication skills. It can also impact behavior.

Various mental health issues can fall under the "emotional disturbance" category. They may include anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and depression. (Some of these may also be covered under "other health impairment.")

5. Speech or language impairment

This category covers difficulties with speech or language. A common example is stuttering. Other examples are trouble pronouncing words or making sounds with the voice. It also covers language problems that make it hard for kids to understand words or express themselves.

6. Visual impairment, including blindness

A child who has eyesight problems is considered to have a visual impairment. This category includes both partial sight and blindness. If eyewear can correct a vision problem, then it doesn't qualify.

Kids with a diagnosis of deafness fall under this category. These are kids who can't hear most or all sounds, even with a hearing aid.

The term "hearing impairment" refers to a hearing loss not covered by the definition of deafness. This type of loss can change over time. Being hard of hearing is not the same thing as having trouble with auditory or language processing.

Kids with a diagnosis of deaf-blindness have both severe hearing and vision loss. Their communication and other needs are so unique that programs for just the deaf or blind can't meet them.

10. Orthopedic impairment

An orthopedic impairment is when kids lack function or ability in their bodies. An example is cerebral palsy.

11. Intellectual disability

Kids with this type of disability have below-average intellectual ability. They may also have poor communication, self-care, and social skills. Down syndrome is one example of a condition that involves an intellectual disability.

12. Traumatic brain injury

This is a brain injury caused by an accident or some kind of physical force.

13. Multiple disabilities

A child with multiple disabilities has more than one condition covered by IDEA. Having multiple issues creates educational needs that can't be met in a program designed for any one disability.

Having a disability is not enough to qualify for special education. The disability has to have an "adverse effect" on a child's education.

Key takeaways

Each of the 13 disability categories in IDEA can cover a range of difficulties.

Dyslexia, dyscalculia, and written expression disorder fall under the "specific learning disability" category.

"Other health impairment" can cover ADHD.

About the author

About the author

Andrew M.I. Lee, JD is an editor and attorney who strives to help people understand complex legal, education, and parenting issues.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Rayma Griffin, MA, MEd has spent 40 years working with children with learning and thinking differences in the classroom and as an administrator.

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See a list of the 13 IDEA disability categories. Find out which disabilities can qualify kids for special education.

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Both Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans can offer formal help for K–12 students who are struggling in school. They’re similar in some ways but very different in others. This chart compares them side by side to help you understand the differences.

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Both Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans can offer formal help for K–12 students who are struggling in school. They’re similar in some ways but very different in others. This chart compares them side by side to help you understand the differences.

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Both Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans can offer formal help for K-12 students who are struggling in school. They're similar in some ways but very different in others. This chart compares them side by side to help you understand the differences.

A blueprint or plan for a child's special education experience at school.

A blueprint or plan for how the school will provide support and remove barriers for a student with a disability.

To get an IEP, there are two requirements: A child has one or more of the 13 disabilities listed in IDEA. The law lists specific challenges, like learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, and others. And the disability must affect the child's educational performance and/or ability to learn and benefit from the general education curriculum. The child must need specialized instruction to make progress in school.

To get a 504 plan, there are two requirements: A child has any disability. Section 504 covers a wide range of different struggles in school. And the disability must interfere with the child's ability to learn in a general education classroom. Section 504 has a broader definition of a disability than IDEA. (It says a disability must substantially limit one or more basic life activities. This can include learning, reading, communicating, and thinking.) That's why a child who doesn't qualify for an IEP might still be able to get a 504 plan.

There are strict legal requirements about who participates. With a few exceptions, the entire IEP team must be present for IEP meetings. The team must include:

The rules about who's on the 504 team are less specific than they are for an IEP. A 504 plan is created by a team of people who are familiar with the child and who understand the evaluation data and special services options. This might include:

* The child's parent or caregiver

* General and special education teachers

* The school principal

* The child's parent or caregiver

* At least one of the child's general education teachers

* At least one special education teacher

* A school psychologist or other specialist who can interpret evaluation results

* A district representative with authority over special education services

The IEP sets learning goals and describes the services the school will provide. It's a written document. Here are some of the most important things the IEP must include:

There is no standard 504 plan. Unlike an IEP, a 504 plan doesn't have to be a written document. A 504 plan generally includes the following:

* Specific accommodations, supports, or services for the child

* Names of who will provide each service

* Name of the person responsible for ensuring the plan is implemented

* The child's present levels of academic and functional performance - how the child is currently doing in school

* Annual education goals for the child and how the school will track progress

* The services the child will get - this may include special education, related, supplementary, and extended school year services

* The timing of services - when they start, how often they occur, and how long they last

* Any accommodations - changes to the child's learning environment

* Any modifications - changes to what the child is expected to learn or know

* How the child will participate in standardized tests

* How the child will be included in general education classes and school activities

When the school wants to change a child's services or placement, it has to tell families in writing before the change. This is called prior written notice. Notice is also required for any IEP meetings and evaluations. Families also have "stay put" rights to keep services in place while there's a disagreement about the IEP.

The school must notify families about an evaluation or a "significant change" in placement. Notice doesn't have to be in writing, but most schools do so anyway.

How to resolve disputes

IDEA gives families several ways to resolve disputes (usually in this order):

Section 504 gives families several options for resolving disagreements with the school:

* Mediation

* Alternative dispute resolution

* Impartial hearing

* Complaint to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR)

* Lawsuit

* Mediation

* Due process complaint

* Resolution session

* Civil lawsuit

* State complaint

* Lawsuit

And if you need help navigating special education law in your state, consider reaching out to your local Parent Training and Information Center. The people there can answer questions and give practical advice on issues specific to your area.

Do you want to learn more about how IEPs and 504 plans compare? Watch as an expert explains the differences between them.

About the author

About the author

The Understood Team is made up of passionate writers and editors. Many of them have kids who learn and think differently.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Andrew M.I. Lee, JD is an editor and attorney who strives to help people understand complex legal, education, and parenting issues.

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IEP vs. 504 Plan: What's the Difference?

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Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 plans are similar but different. See how they compare in what they provide and the processes and laws involved.

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Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs

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More than half of the college students who visited their campus counseling centers during the 2015-16 academic year reported symptoms of anxiety, according to a survey by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors.

This marks the seventh year in a row that anxiety has been the top complaint among students seeking mental health services. This year, 51 percent of students who visited a counseling center reported having anxiety, followed by depression (41 percent), relationship concerns (34 percent) and suicidal ideation (20.5 percent). Many students reported experiencing multiple conditions at once.

Since 2009, when anxiety overtook depression as the No. 1 concern among college students, the number of students experiencing anxiety has steadily increased.

This survey was conducted between September 2015 and August 2016. In total, 529 counseling center directors representing that many institutions responded to the survey, with an even split between public and private institutions. The majority of respondents came from four-year colleges, but community colleges, professional schools and art schools were also included.

In an effort to reflect the makeup of their student bodies, counseling centers have diversified their clinical staff members. Of new hires, 62.2 percent are white, 15.3 percent black, 7.5 percent Latino and 10 percent Asian. This compares to current clinical staff, who are 70.9 percent white, 10.1 percent black, 7.3 percent Latino and 7.9 percent Asian.

"Student populations have become more diverse," said Micky Sharma, president of the AUCCCD and director of counseling and consultation services at Ohio State University. "Counseling services work to create a staff that represents their student bodies."

At Ohio State, for example, the counseling center now offers clinical services in nine different languages to meet the needs of their international students, who make up about 12 percent of the student body, Sharma said.

Regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, "anyone could show up with anxiety or depression or a relationship issue," Sharma said. "A university counseling center is charged with providing help for everybody."

Another key finding in the survey is that 41.6 percent of counseling centers hired additional staff members in the last academic year, compared to about 26 percent in 2011 and 36 percent in 2016.

College counseling centers continue to grow to match the demands of their students, according to David Reetz, the lead researcher and coordinator for the 2016 survey and director of counseling and psychological services at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

"More students are seeking services because we continue to be more and more aware that a student's health and well-being have a lot to do with their success in their academic programs and the quality of their student life experience," Reetz said.

In fact, of the students surveyed, about 72 percent who used counseling services said it helped their academic performance in some way.

As more students continue to seek out mental health services and campus counseling centers try to keep up with new hires, the question of student wait times becomes key.

For the first time, this year's survey asked counseling center directors about average wait times for students based on the number of business days between when the appointment was scheduled and when it occurred.

The survey team found that, on average, students waited between six and eight business days for counseling services. However, as might be expected, institutions with a lower ratio of professional staff to students saw shorter wait times.

Reetz noted that the wait-time average is a "tricky number," given that some students opt to schedule their first appointment farther out to accommodate their own schedules.

"Students don't necessarily want to be seen right away," Reetz said, adding that, generally, "the more staff a center has, the shorter that wait time is between initial contact and first appointment."

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Anxiety and depression are the primary concerns for students seeking counseling services

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Survey of campus counseling centers finds increased demand for services, as well as additional positions and more diversity in hiring.

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Other Mental Health Resources:

Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office: 325-655-8111

San Angelo Police Department: 325-481-2696

MHMR Suicide Prevention/Crisis Prevention Hotlines: 325-653-5933; 1-800-375-8965

24 hours a day

Crisis Intervention Unit: 325-658-3921

ASU Helpline at 325-486-6345. Help is available 24/7.

Local Facilities:

Rivercrest Hospital-1636 Hunters Glenn: 325-949-5722

Shannon Behavioral-2018 Pulliam Street: 325-659-7300

Shannon Hospital-120 East Harris Street: 325-653-6741

Community Hospital-3501 Knickerbocker Road: 325-949-9511

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2-1-1 Texas | 2-1-1 Texas - Connecting People and Services

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2-1-1 Texas | Texas Health And Human Services Commission

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Children & Teens | National Institute on Drug Abuse

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Get the inside information on how different drugs can affect the brain and the body and what you can do to get involved. For more resources, see the NIDA for Teens website.

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Overview

Alcohol poisoning is a serious - and sometimes deadly - result of drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. Drinking too much too quickly can affect breathing, heart rate, body temperature and gag reflex. In some cases, this can lead to a coma and death.

Alcohol poisoning also can occur when adults or children accidentally or intentionally drink household products that contain alcohol.

If you think that someone has alcohol poisoning, get medical attention right away.

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Symptoms

Alcohol poisoning symptoms include:

Confusion.

Vomiting.

Seizures.

Slow breathing, which is fewer than eight breaths a minute.

Breathing that's not regular. This is when there is a gap of more than 10 seconds between breaths.

Skin that looks blue, gray or pale.

Low body temperature, also known as hypothermia.

Trouble staying conscious or awake.

When to see a doctor

It's not necessary to have all the above symptoms before seeking medical help. A person with alcohol poisoning who has passed out or can't wake up could die.

Alcohol poisoning is an emergency

If you think that someone has alcohol poisoning, seek medical care right away. This is true even if you don't see the usual signs.

Here's what to do:

Call 911 or your local emergency number right away. Never assume the person will sleep off alcohol poisoning.

Be prepared to give information. If you know the kind and amount of alcohol the person drank, and when, tell hospital or emergency staff.

Don't leave an unconscious person alone. Because alcohol poisoning affects the way the gag reflex works, someone with alcohol poisoning may vomit and choke and not be able to breathe. While waiting for help, don't try to make the person vomit because that could cause choking.

Help someone who is vomiting. Try to keep the person sitting up. If the person must lie down, turn the head to the side to help prevent choking. Try to keep the person awake.

Don't be afraid to get help

It can be hard to decide if you think someone is drunk enough to need medical help. But it's best to take action right away rather than be sorry later. You may worry about what will happen to you or a friend or family member, especially if underage. But the results of not getting help in time can be far more serious.

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Causes

Alcohol in the form of ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, is in alcoholic beverages. It's also in mouthwash, some cooking extracts, some medicines and certain household products. Ethyl alcohol poisoning generally results from drinking too many alcoholic beverages in a short period of time.

Other forms of alcohol can cause toxic poisoning that requires emergency treatment. They include:

Isopropyl alcohol, which is found in rubbing alcohol, lotions and some cleaning products.

Methanol or ethylene glycol, which is a common ingredient in antifreeze, paints and solvents.

Binge drinking

A major cause of alcohol poisoning is binge drinking. This is when a male rapidly consumes five or more alcoholic drinks within two hours or a female consumes at least four drinks within two hours. An alcohol binge can occur over hours or last up to several days.

A person can consume a fatal dose of alcohol before passing out. Even when the person is unconscious or stops drinking, the stomach and intestines continue to release alcohol into the bloodstream, and the level of alcohol in the body continues to rise.

How much is too much?

Unlike food, which can take hours to digest, the body absorbs alcohol quickly - long before most other nutrients. And it takes a lot more time for the body to get rid of alcohol. Most alcohol is processed by the liver.

The more you drink, especially in a short period of time, the greater your risk of alcohol poisoning.

Here's what one drink means.

Beer: 12 fluid ounces (360 milliliters) with about 5% alcohol.

Malt liquor: 8 to 9 fluid ounces (240 to 270 milliliters) with about 7% alcohol.

Wine: 5 fluid ounces (150 milliliters) with about 12% alcohol.

Liquor such as gin, rum, vodka or whiskey: 1.5 fluid ounces (45 milliliters) of an 80-proof drink, which has about 40% alcohol.

But the amount of alcohol in one drink may be much higher than those in the list above. For example, some craft beers may have four times the amount of alcohol that's in a regular beer. Alcohol content is displayed on the label. Or you can ask the server about alcohol content. Be aware of the alcohol content of what you're drinking and adjust how much you drink based on this knowledge.

Mixed drinks may contain more than one serving of alcohol.

Risk factors

Several factors can increase your risk of alcohol poisoning, including:

Your height and weight.

Health conditions that affect how your body processes alcohol.

Whether you've eaten recently.

Whether you've had alcohol along with other drugs, including medicines you take for health reasons.

The percentage of alcohol in your drinks.

How fast and how much alcohol you drink.

How your body processes alcohol.

Complications

Severe complications can result from alcohol poisoning, including:

Choking. Alcohol may cause vomiting. Because it depresses the gag reflex, this increases the risk of choking on vomit if a person passes out.

Stopping breathing. Accidentally inhaling vomit into the lungs can lead to a dangerous or fatal interruption of breathing, also known as asphyxiation.

Severe loss of fluids. Vomiting can result in severe dehydration, which happens when the body doesn't have enough water and other fluids. This can lead to dangerously low blood pressure and a fast heart rate.

Seizures. The blood sugar level may drop low enough to cause seizures.

Hypothermia. The body temperature may drop so low that it leads to cardiac arrest.

Unusual heartbeat. Alcohol poisoning can cause a heartbeat that is not regular. It can even cause the heart to stop.

Brain damage. Heavy drinking may cause brain damage that can't be reversed.

Death. Any of the issues above can lead to death.

Prevention

To avoid alcohol poisoning:

Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so in moderation. For healthy adults, that means up to two drinks a day for males and one drink a day for females. When you drink, enjoy your drink slowly.

Don't drink alcohol along with certain medicines. Some medicines can cause harmful effects when taken with even small amounts of alcohol. And certain health conditions may mean it takes less alcohol than expected to reach the level of alcohol poisoning. Ask your health care provider if these risks apply to you.

Don't drink on an empty stomach. Having some food in your stomach may slow the process of absorbing alcohol somewhat. But it won't prevent alcohol poisoning during binge drinking.

Communicate with your teens. Talk to your teenagers about the dangers of alcohol, including binge drinking. Evidence suggests that children who are warned about alcohol by their parents and who report close relationships with their parents are less likely to start drinking.

Store products safely. If you have small children, store alcohol-containing products, including cosmetics, mouthwashes and medicines, out of their reach. Use childproof bathroom and kitchen cabinets to prevent access to household cleaners. Keep toxic items in your garage or storage area safely out of reach. Consider keeping alcoholic beverages under lock and key.

Get follow-up care. Ask about follow-up care for alcohol poisoning. Meeting with a health care provider, particularly an experienced chemical dependency counselor, can help prevent future binge drinking.

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This condition is due to drinking large amounts of alcohol in a short time. It is serious and can be deadly. Here's what to do in an emergency.

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Children's Advocacy Center of Greater West Texas, Inc.

The mission of the Children's Advocacy Center of Greater West Texas, Inc. is to ensure that every child in our community has a safe and nurturing home.

Our Programs

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Family Enrichment Services

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Partner Programs

Concho Valley Family Alliance

CAC Events

The Children's Advocacy Center of Greater West Texas hosts several events and fundraisers throughout the year, all purposed to better serve our families and strengthen our community! For more information on any of these events, please call 325-653-4673.

Women of Hope Inaugural Membership Drive

Membership is open at all times
Call for Meeting Times & Location

Interested in becoming an ambassador of hope for children and families in our community? We have an opportunity for you! Call for meeting times and more information.

Parents as Teachers Group Connections

December 12, 2019
6:00-7:00 PM (Come & Go)
317 Koberlin Street

Come celebrate Christmas with us at a fun holiday come-and-go event! Join us as we decorate Christmas ornaments and discuss the importance of time spent together as a family, along with refreshments and your chance to win a fun door prize!

To RSVP or for more information, contact Marcy at mash@cacgreaterwtx.org or 325-653-4673.

CASA Volunteer Training

January 6-15, 2020 (Mondays & Wednesdays)
5:30-9:00 PM

In 2018, 56 children entered the foster care system each day.

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) speak for the best interests of abused or neglected children whose home will be determined by a court of law. The CASA volunteer stands beside the child to provide hope and help guide the child to a safe and permanent home.
Volunteer your time to change a child's life!

Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse Training

January 30, 2020
6:00-7:30 PM
317 Koberlin Street

Join us for a free community training to learn about child abuse, how to recognize physical and behavioral abuse, and how to make a child abuse report. Dinner will be provided.

To RSVP or for more information, contact Melody at mjeter@cacgreaterwtx.org or 325-653-4673,

Champagne & Diamonds

February 14, 2020
The Cactus Hotel

Community Involvement

Children's Advocacy Center promotes a culture of care throughout the year with community events that provide prevention, awareness, and education for children and families in the community. Together, with our community partners, we all play an important role in protecting children and strengthening families.

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Children's Advocacy Center of Greater West Texas | Home

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The mission of the Children's Advocacy Center of Greater West Texas, Inc. is to ensure that every child in our community has a safe and nurturing home. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Family Enrichment Services Child Fatality Review Team Concho Valley Family Alliance The Children's Advocacy Center of Greater West Texas hosts several events and fundraisers throughout the year, all purposed to better serve our families and strengthen our community!

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DISPATCH NON-EMERGENCY

(325) 657-4315

SAPD INFORMATION LINE

(325) 657-4411

DESK DUTY OFFICER
(Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM)

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CONTACT US ›

Special Notice Regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19): March 13, 2020
In an effort to reduce the risk of unnecessary exposure of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to our officers and citizens, effective immediately:

A) The Department's Online Reporting feature will become mandatory for certain crimes until further notice (This does not apply to crime in progress).

They are as follows; theft, simple assault, garage burglary, criminal mischief/vandalism, harassment, lost property (firearms excluded), identity theft, and debit card/credit card abuse. Please visit http://www.sanangelopolice.org/coplogic for a detailed list of instructions as well as a list of crimes that are not reportable online.

B) Drivers involved in vehicle crashes with NO INJURY and NO DISABLING DAMAGE (On private or public property) should exchange Driver License information, license plate and vehicle information, insurance information, and complete the Driver's Crash Report (TxDOT Form CR-2: Compatible with Internet Explorer and some versions of Firefox and Safari. Chrome and Edge are NOT compatible. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader).
NOTE: If the form does not load in your web browser you can right-click the link > Save Link as... > select a folder on your pc and save the form. Once the download completes you will locate the file where it was saved and open it directly with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Video Example: How to File an Online Report File an Online Driver's Crash Report (TxDOT Form CR-2: Compatible with Internet Explorer and some versions of Firefox and Safari. Chrome and Edge are NOT compatible. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
In additionepartment's Records Section, Alarm Services Office, and employment/volunteer fingerprint services are not available for in-person transactions. Alarm Permit Applications and Renewals will be processed by mail only until further notice.
Remembering the Past. Looking to the Future.
San Angelo is located in West Central Texas between the Texas hill country to the southeast and the rolling plains to the northwest. Around the end of the Civil War, settlers began moving West in search of their fortunes. Realizing its need to protect these citizens from Indians, the government began to establish forts on the frontier. Fort Concho was established in 1867 at the union of the three rivers in West Central Texas. The fort was home to mounted cavalry, infantry, and the famous Black Cavalry whose members were respectfully called "Buffalo Soldiers" by the Indians. A small village by the name of Santa Angela came to life just across the river. As the village grew into a community, it became a trade center for the many farmers and ranchers who had settled in the area. In 1889, the Indians moved westward and the soldiers followed, abandoning Fort Concho. With the agriculture and trade base, Santa Angela later became what is now San Angelo.

The San Angelo Police Department has enjoyed a long history, dating back to the turn of the century. In 1947, the City of San Angelo elected to assume civil service status for its police department. This status still stands today. The Office of the Chief of Police is an elected position whose term is four years. Our current police chief is Frank Carter. He was elected in May 2016. The San Angelo Police Department is currently authorized by city ordinance to employ 175 sworn officers. As of March 2020, the Department employed 159 sworn officers.

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DISPATCH NON-EMERGENCY (325) 657-4315 SAPD INFORMATION LINE (325) 657-4411 DESK DUTY OFFICER (Monday - Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM) (325) 481-2696 CONTACT US › Special Notice Regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19): March 13, 2020 In an effort to reduce the risk of unnecessary exposure of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to our officers and citizens, effective immediately: A) The Department's Online Reporting feature will become mandatory for certain crimes until further notice (This does not apply to crime in progress).

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Healthy relationships for young adults can be confusing. Love is more than just the way you feel, and we’re here to help.

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TOM GREEN COUNTY SHERIFF'S CRISIS INTERVENTION UNIT

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We are now accepting applications for Our Spring Training Class. Classes Start on February 22,2020 and run through March 28, 2020.

our new phone number is
Office ​325-227-8753
Fax 325-703-2015

.We are volunteer based, civilian first responders, that are called out at the request of law enforcement to the scene of a crime or crisis to assist victims.

​
The CIU Office is located at 17 S. Chadbourne Suite 102, San Angelo, TX 76903. Our office hours are from
8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday. Volunteers are available 24/7. You can call us at
325-227-8753. Your call is very important to us so, if we are unable to answer your call, please leave a brief message with your name and phone number and we will get back to you.

If you need assistance immediately call
​ ask for dispatch and have the on call volunteer paged.
Services:

On-scene assistance at a crime or accident scene 24 hours per day

Explain and assist with application for Emergency Protective Order, in cases of Family or Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking (must be done before suspect is arraigned by magistrate)

Accompaniment for victims at Emergency Room, Law Enforcement, and Court

Referral of victims to appropriate area agencies for housing, medical, transportation, food, utilities, and clothing

Inform victims of their rights and Crime Victims' Compensation

Assistance with Crime Victims' Compensation application and services

Liaison between victim and law enforcement on status of case

Office maintained for walk-in victims at

17 S. Chadbourne, Suite 102

Transport of victims to Family Shelter, Salvation Army, etc.

Cell phones for victims to dial 911

Assist officer in death notification and help survivor cope with trauma

Limited funds for victim assistance (emergency shelter, transportation, food, etc.)

Victims of violent crimes who make a report to the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office are subsequently contacted by phone, mail, or in person.

The CIU informs victims about procedures, community resources and programs that may be available to assist them during the aftermath of a crime.

Victims of violent crimes are usually eligible for financial assistance through Crime Victims' Compensation Fund for expenses such as medical bills, counseling, lost wages, funeral expenses and other crime related expenses.

The funding for Crime Victims' Compensation Fund is derived from court costs generated by criminal convictions - without costs to taxpayers.

CIU staff will be happy to assist you in completing an application and expediting the process.

The Tom Green Sheriff's Crisis Intervention Unit was formed in 1999 with a grant from VOCA (Victims of Crime Act). The administration at the Tom Green County Sheriff's Office noted that a large number of victims were not able to access services. By being allowed to respond to the scene, we are able to get information and resources to those victims that might otherwise not receive the assistance they need. Stewart Dickson and Steve Mild saw a similar program in Midland and wrote the grant to get a Crisis Intervention Unit started in Tom Green County. In 1999, Rita Guthrie was hired and built an amazing program that has helped thousands of people over the years and is much needed in today's society.

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Tom Green County Sheriff's Crisis Intervention UNit

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We are now accepting applications for Our Spring Training Class. Classes Start on February 22,2020 and run through March 28, 2020. our new phone number is Office ​325-227-8753Fax 325-703-2015 .We are volunteer based, civilian first responders, that are called out at the request of law enforcement to the scene of a crime or crisis to assist victims. ​ The CIU Office is located at 17 S.

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We can all help prevent suicide. The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States.

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The 988 Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States. We're committed to improving crisis services and advancing suicide prevention by empowering individuals, advancing professional best practices, and building awareness.

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Anyone could be struggling with suicide. Find more specific resources below.

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First, you'll hear an automated message featuring additional options while your call is routed to your local 988 Lifeline network crisis center.

We'll play you a little music while we connect you to a skilled, trained crisis worker.

A trained crisis worker at your local center will answer the phone.

This person will listen to you, understand how your problem is affecting you, provide support, and get you the help you need.

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Skip to main content We can all help prevent suicide. The 988 Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States. 988 ¡Los servicios de texto y chat de 988 Lifeline ya están disponibles en español!

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Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

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Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act, and helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.

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The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the lead federal agency for research on mental disorders

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Do you want to stop hurting yourself? Learn about self-injury and how you can feel better without harming yourself.

What is self-harm?

Self-harm can be a way of dealing with deep distress and emotional pain. It may help you express feelings you can't put into words, distract you from your life, or release emotional pain. Afterwards, you probably feel better-at least for a little while. But then the painful feelings return, and you feel the urge to hurt yourself again.

Self-harm includes anything you do to intentionally injure yourself. Some of the more common ways include:

Cutting or severely scratching your skin

Burning or scalding yourself

Hitting yourself or banging your head

Punching things or throwing your body against walls and hard objects

Sticking objects into your skin

Intentionally preventing wounds from healing

Swallowing poisonous substances or inappropriate objects

Self-harm can also include less obvious ways of hurting yourself or putting yourself in danger, such as driving recklessly, binge drinking, taking too many drugs, or having unsafe sex.

Why people self-harm

Injuring yourself is often the only way you know how to:

Cope with feelings like sadness, self-loathing, emptiness, guilt, and rage

Express feelings you can't put into words or release the pain and tension you feel inside

Feel in control, relieve guilt, or punish yourself

Distract yourself from overwhelming emotions or difficult life circumstances

Make you feel alive, or simply feel something, instead of feeling numb

Whatever the reasons for self-harming, it's important to know that there is help available if you want to stop. You can learn other ways to cope with everything that's going on inside without having to hurt yourself.

Why people cut or self-harm: In your own words
"It puts a punctuation mark on what I'm feeling on the inside!" "It's a way to have control over my body because I can't control anything else in my life." "I usually feel like I have a black hole in the pit of my stomach, at least if I feel pain it's better than feeling nothing." "I feel relieved and less anxious after I cut. The emotional pain slowly slips away into the physical pain."
Consequences of cutting and self-harm

The relief that comes from cutting or self-harming is only temporary and creates far more problems than it solves.

Relief from cutting or self-harm is short lived, and is quickly followed by other feelings like shame and guilt. Meanwhile, it keeps you from learning more effective strategies for feeling better.

Keeping the secret of self-harm is difficult and lonely. Maybe you feel ashamed or maybe you just think that no one would understand. But hiding who you are and what you feel is a heavy burden. Ultimately, the secrecy and guilt affects your relationships with friends and family members and how you feel about yourself.

You can hurt yourself badly, even if you don't mean to. It's easy to end up with an infected wound or misjudge the depth of a cut, especially if you're also using drugs or alcohol.

You're at risk for bigger problems down the line. If you don't learn other ways to deal with emotional pain, you increase your risk of major depression, drug and alcohol addiction, and suicide.

Self-harm can become addictive. It may start off as an impulse or something you do to feel more in control, but soon it feels like the cutting or self-harming is controlling you. It often turns into a compulsive behavior that seems impossible to stop.

The bottom line is that cutting and self-harm won't help you with the issues that made you want to hurt yourself in the first place. No matter how lonely, worthless, or trapped you may be feeling right now, there are many other, more effective ways to overcome the underlying issues that drive your self-harm.

With over 25,000 licensed counselors, BetterHelp has a therapist that fits your needs. It's easy, affordable, and convenient.

Online-Therapy.com is a complete toolbox of support, when you need it, on your schedule. It only takes a few minutes to sign up.

Teen Counseling is an online therapy service for teens and young adults. Connect with your counselor by video, phone, or chat.

How to stop cutting and self-harm tip 1: Confide in someone

If you're ready to get help for cutting or self-harm, the first step is to confide in another person. It can be scary to talk about the very thing you have worked so hard to hide, but it can also be a huge relief to finally let go of your secret and share what you're going through.

Deciding whom you can trust with such personal information can be difficult. Choose someone who isn't going to gossip or try to take control of your recovery. Ask yourself who in your life makes you feel accepted and supported. It could be a friend, teacher, religious leader, counselor, or relative. But you don't necessarily have to choose someone you are close to. Sometimes it's easier to start by talking to someone you respect-such as a teacher, religious leader, or counselor-who has a little more distance from the situation and won't find it as difficult to be objective.

When talking about cutting or self-harming:

Focus on your feelings. Instead of sharing detailed accounts of your self-harm behavior focus on the feelings or situations that lead to it. This can help the person you're confiding in better understand where you're coming from. It also helps to let the person know why you're telling them. Do you want help or advice from them? Do you simply want another person to know so you can let go of the secret?

Communicate in whatever way you feel most comfortable. If you're too nervous to talk in person, consider starting off the conversation with an email, text, or letter (although it's important to eventually follow-up with a face-to-face conversation). Don't feel pressured into sharing things you're not ready to talk about. You don't have to show the person your injuries or answer any questions you don't feel comfortable answering.

Give the person time to process what you tell them. As difficult as it is for you to open up, it may also be difficult for the person you tell-especially if it's a close friend or family member. Sometimes, you may not like the way the person reacts. Try to remember that reactions such as shock, anger, and fear come out of concern for you. It may help to print out this article for the people you choose to tell. The better they understand cutting and self-harm, the better able they'll be to support you.

Talking about self-harm can be very stressful and bring up a lot of emotions. Don't be discouraged if the situation feels worse for a short time right after sharing your secret. It's uncomfortable to confront and change long-standing habits. But once you get past these initial challenges, you'll start to feel better.

Not sure where to turn?

If you're not sure where to turn, call the S.A.F.E. Alternatives information line in the U.S. at 1-800-366-8288 for referrals and support for cutting and self-harm. For helplines in other countries, see "Get more help" below.
In the middle of a crisis?
If you're feeling suicidal and need help right now, read Suicide Help or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the U.S. at 1-800-273-8255. For a suicide helpline outside the U.S., visit Befrienders Worldwide.

Tip 2: Identify your self-harm or cutting triggers

Understanding what triggers you to cut or self-harm is a vital step towards recovery. If you can figure out what function your self-injury serves, you can learn other ways to get those needs met-which in turn can reduce your desire to hurt yourself. Self-harm is most often a way of dealing with emotional pain. What feelings make you want to cut or hurt yourself? Sadness? Anxiety? Anger? Loneliness? Shame? Emptiness?

If you're having a hard time pinpointing the feelings that trigger your urge to cut, you may need to work on your emotional awareness. Emotional awareness means knowing what you are feeling and why. It's the ability to identify and express what you are feeling from moment to moment and to understand the connection between your feelings and your actions. Feelings are important pieces of information that our bodies give to us, but they do not have to result in actions like cutting or self-harming.

The idea of paying attention to your feelings-rather than numbing them or releasing them through self-harm-may sound frightening to you. You may be afraid that you'll get overwhelmed or be stuck with the pain. But the truth is that emotions quickly come and go if you let them. If you don't try to fight, judge, or beat yourself up over the feeling, you'll find that it soon fades, replaced by another emotion. It's only when you obsess over the feeling that it persists.

Tip 3: Find new coping techniques

Self-harm is your way of dealing with unpleasant feelings and difficult situations. If you're going to stop, you need to have alternative ways of coping so you can respond differently when you feel like cutting or hurting yourself.
If you self-harm to express pain and intense emotions, you could: If you self-harm to calm and soothe yourself, you could: If you self-harm because you feel disconnected or numb, you could: If you self-harm to release tension or vent anger, you could:
Substitutes for the cutting sensation

Use a red marker pen to draw on your skin where you might usually cut.

Rub ice cubes over your skin where you might usually cut.

Place rubber bands on your wrists, arms, or legs, and snap them instead of cutting.

Professional treatment for cutting and self-harm

The help and support of a trained professional can help you work to overcome the cutting or self-harming habit, so consider talking to a therapist. A therapist can help you develop new coping techniques and strategies to stop self-harming, while also helping you get to the root of why you hurt yourself.

Remember, self-harm doesn't occur in a vacuum. It exists in real life. It's an outward expression of inner pain-pain that often has its roots in early life. There is often a connection between self-harm and childhood trauma. Self-harm may be your way of coping with feelings related to past abuse, flashbacks, negative feelings about your body, or other traumatic memories-even if you're not consciously aware of the connection.

Finding the right therapist

Finding the right therapist may take some time. It's very important that the therapist you choose has experience treating both trauma and self-injury. But the quality of the relationship with your therapist is equally important. Trust your instincts. Your therapist should be someone who accepts self-harm without condoning it, and who is willing to help you work toward stopping it at your own pace. You should feel at ease, even while talking through your most personal issues.

Warning signs that a loved one is cutting or self-harming

While cutting and self-harming occurs most frequently in adolescents and young adults, it can happen at any age. Because clothing can hide physical injuries, and inner turmoil can be covered up by a seemingly calm disposition, self-injury in a friend or family member can be hard to detect. In any situation, you don't have to be sure that you know what's going on in order to reach out to someone you're worried about. However, there are red flags you can look for:

Unexplained wounds or scars from cuts, bruises, or burns, usually on the wrists, arms, thighs, or chest.

Blood stains on clothing, towels, or bedding; blood-soaked tissues.

Sharp objects or cutting instruments, such as razors, knives, needles, glass shards, or bottle caps, in the person's belongings.

Frequent "accidents." Someone who self-harms may claim to be clumsy or have many mishaps, in order to explain away injuries.

Covering up. A person who self-injures may insist on wearing long sleeves or long pants, even in hot weather.

Needing to be alone for long periods of time, especially in the bedroom or bathroom.

Isolation and irritability. Your loved one is experiencing a great deal of inner pain-as well as guilt at how they're trying to cope with it. This can cause them to withdraw and isolate themselves.

Understanding why your loved one cuts or self-harms

Because cutting and self-harm tend to be taboo subjects, many people harbor serious misunderstandings about their friend or family member's motivation or state of mind. Don't let these common myths get in the way of helping someone you care about.

Four myths about cutting and self-harm

Myth 1: People who cut and self-injure are trying to get attention.
Fact: The painful truth is that people who self-harm generally hurt themselves in secret. They aren't trying to manipulate others or draw attention to themselves. In fact, shame and fear can make it very difficult to come forward and ask for help.

Myth 2: People who self-injure are crazy and/or dangerous.
Fact: It is true that many people who self-harm suffer from anxiety, depression, eating disorders, or a previous trauma-just like millions of others in the general population. But that doesn't make them crazy or dangerous. Self-injury is how they cope. Sticking a label like "crazy" or "dangerous" on a person isn't accurate or helpful.

Myth 3: People who self-injure want to die.
Fact: When people self-harm, they are usually not trying to kill themselves-they are trying to cope with their problems and pain. In fact, self-injury may be a way of helping themselves go on living. However, there is always the risk of a more severe injury than intended and, in the long-term, people who self-injure have a much higher risk of suicide, which is why it's so important to seek help.

Myth 4: If the wounds aren't bad, it's not that serious.
Fact: The severity of a person's wounds has very little to do with how much they may be suffering. Don't assume that because the wounds or injuries are minor, there's nothing to worry about.

Helping someone who cuts or self-harms

Perhaps you've noticed suspicious injuries on someone close to you, or that person has admitted to you that they're cutting. Whatever the case, you may be feeling unsure of yourself. What should you say? How can you help?

Deal with your own feelings. You may feel shocked, confused, or even disgusted by self-harming behaviors-and guilty about admitting these feelings. Acknowledging your feelings is an important first step toward helping your loved one.

Learn about the problem. The best way to overcome any discomfort or distaste you feel about self-harm is by learning about it. Understanding why your loved one is self-injuring can help you see the world through their eyes.

Don't judge. Avoid judgmental comments and criticism-they'll only make things worse. Remember, the self-harming person already feels distressed, ashamed and alone.

Offer support, not ultimatums. It's only natural to want to help, but threats, punishments, and ultimatums are counterproductive. Express your concern and let the person know that you're available whenever they want to talk or need support.

Encourage communication. Encourage your loved one to express whatever they're feeling, even if it's something you might be uncomfortable with. If the person hasn't told you about the self-harm, bring up the subject in a caring, non-confrontational way: "I've noticed injuries on your body, and I want to understand what you're going through."

If the self-harmer is a family member, prepare yourself to address difficulties in the family. This is not about blame, but rather about communicating and dealing with problems in better ways that can benefit the whole family.

Authors: Melinda Smith, M.A., Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., Lawrence Robinson, and Jennifer Shubin

References

Whitlock, J. (2010). Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescents. PLOS Medicine, 7(5), e1000240. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000240

Whitlock, J., Muehlenkamp, J., Eckenrode, J., Purington, A., Abrams, G. B., Barreira, P., & Kress, V. (2013). Nonsuicidal Self-Injury as a Gateway to Suicide in Young Adults. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(4), 486-492. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.09.010

Morgan, C., Webb, R. T., Carr, M. J., Kontopantelis, E., Green, J., Chew-Graham, C. A., Kapur, N., & Ashcroft, D. M. (2017). Incidence, clinical management, and mortality risk following self harm among children and adolescents: Cohort study in primary care. BMJ, 359, j4351. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j4351

Aylett, E., Small, N., & Bower, P. (2018). Exercise in the treatment of clinical anxiety in general practice - a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 559. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3313-5

Conditions for Further Study. (2013). In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. American Psychiatric Association. https://dsm.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.5555/appi.books.9780890425596.ConditionsforFurtherStudy

Self-Harm - Includes treatment and things you can do to help yourself. (Royal College of Psychiatrists)

How Can I Stop Cutting? - Strategies for resisting the urge to cut. (TeensHealth)

How Can I Help a Friend Who Cuts? - Guide for teens who are concerned about a friend. (TeensHealth)

Hotlines and support

In the U.S.: S.A.F.E. Alternatives (Self-Abuse Finally Ends) - Organization dedicated to helping people who self-harm, with a helpline at 1-800-366-8288.

UK: Mind Infoline - Information on self-harm and a helpline to call at 0300 123 3393 or text 86463.

Canada: Kids Help Phone - A helpline for kids and teens to call for help with any issue, including cutting and self-injury at 1-800-668-6868.

Australia: Kids Helpline - A helpline for kids and young adults to get help with issues including cutting and self-harm. Call 1800 55 1800.

India: Helpline (India) - Provides information and support to those with mental health concerns in India. Call 1860 2662 345 or 1800 2333 330.

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anxiety Self-harm can be a way of dealing with deep distress and emotional pain. It may help you express feelings you can't put into words, distract you from your life, or release emotional pain. Afterwards, you probably feel better-at least for a little while.

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Sir: In this era of exponential growth of the "metabolic syndrome" and obesity, lifestyle modifications could be a cost-effective way to improve health and quality of life. Lifestyle modifications can assume especially great importance in individuals with serious mental illness. Many of these individuals are at a high risk of chronic diseases associated with sedentary behavior and medication side effects, including diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease. An essential component of lifestyle modification is exercise. The importance of exercise is not adequately understood or appreciated by patients and mental health professionals alike. Evidence has suggested that exercise may be an often-neglected intervention in mental health care.

Aerobic exercises, including jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening, and dancing, have been proved to reduce anxiety and depression. These improvements in mood are proposed to be caused by exercise-induced increase in blood circulation to the brain and by an influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and, thus, on the physiologic reactivity to stress. This physiologic influence is probably mediated by the communication of the HPA axis with several regions of the brain, including the limbic system, which controls motivation and mood; the amygdala, which generates fear in response to stress; and the hippocampus, which plays an important part in memory formation as well as in mood and motivation.

Other hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the beneficial effects of physical activity on mental health include distraction, self-efficacy, and social interaction. While structured group programs can be effective for individuals with serious mental illness, lifestyle changes that focus on the accumulation and increase of moderate-intensity activity throughout the day may be the most appropriate for most patients. Interestingly, adherence to physical activity interventions in psychiatric patients appears to be comparable to that in the general population.

Exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. Exercise has also been found to alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal. Exercise is especially important in patients with schizophrenia since these patients are already vulnerable to obesity and also because of the additional risk of weight gain associated with antipsychotic treatment, especially with the atypical antipsychotics. Patients suffering from schizophrenia who participated in a 3-month physical conditioning program showed improvements in weight control and reported increased fitness levels, exercise tolerance, reduced blood pressure levels, increased perceived energy levels, and increased upper body and hand grip strength levels. Thirty minutes of exercise of moderate intensity, such as brisk walking for 3 days a week, is sufficient for these health benefits. Moreover, these 30 minutes need not to be continuous; three 10-minute walks are believed to be as equally useful as one 30-minute walk.

Health benefits from regular exercise that should be emphasized and reinforced by every mental health professional to their patients include the following:

1. Increased interest in sex

2. Increased energy and stamina

3. Reduced tiredness that can increase mental alertness

4. Reduced cholesterol and improved cardiovascular fitness

Mental health service providers can thus provide effective, evidence-based physical activity interventions for individuals suffering from serious mental illness. Further studies should be done to understand the impact of combining such interventions with traditional mental health treatment including psychopharmacology and psychotherapy.

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Sir: In this era of exponential growth of the "metabolic syndrome" and obesity, lifestyle modifications could be a cost-effective way to improve health and quality of life. Lifestyle modifications can assume especially great importance in individuals with serious mental illness.

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In observance of Thanksgiving, MHMRCV offices will be closed from Thursday, November 26th & 27th.

We will resume normal business hours on Monday, November 30th.

We will close at 1:00pm on November 25.

A Crisis can happen anytime, anywhere. if you need help now, call the 24/7 Crisis Hotline at 325-653-5933 or 1-800-375-8965.

We look forward to assisting you with all your needs after the holiday! Happy Thanksgiving.

MHMRCV is aligned with the best practices recommended by our local public health department and CDC.

Mike Dotson speaks about the COVID Support Line.

Texans Recovering Together COVID 24/7 Support Line: 1.833.986.1919

Or Call The Local Crisis Hotline
325.653.5933

For Coronavirus resources, visit our Coronavirus Update Page.

MHMR Services for the Concho Valley - MHMRCV was established in 1966 and is the Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disability Authority for Coke, Concho, Crocket, Irion, Reagan, Sterling, and Tom Green Counties.

Overview
MHMRCV operates as a unit of local government and has a nine-member Board of Trustees who are appointed by its Sponsoring Agencies: Angelo State University, City of San Angelo, San Angelo ISD and Tom Green County.

Our Mission Statement is Working Together to Help People Help Themselves
The mission of MHMR Services for the Concho Valley is to offer an array of services and supports which respond to the needs of people with mental illness, intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism, and substance use disorders, enabling them to make choices that result in lives of dignity and increased independence.

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mental health - idd - mental illness - emotional disturbance - autism - human services programs - outpatient services - outpatient clinic

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Welcome To MHMR Services For The Concho Valley

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MHMR SERVICES FOR THE CONCHO Valley - MHMRCV, is located in San Angelo, Texas and offers array of services and supports which respond to the needs of people with mental illness, intellectual developmental disabilities, and autism. This organization primarily operates in the Mental Health Clinic, Outpatient business/industry within the Health Services sector.

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Pregnancy Help Center of Concho Valley, Inc

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The Pregnancy Help Center of Concho Valley is a non-judgmental safe haven for those who find themselves in unexpected pregnancy.

Confidential pregnancy testing

Medical professionals on staff

Compassionate client advocates

Information on all options

Referrals for medical care, social services, and more

All services provided at no cost

Call 325.944.1515, or email your questions to: info@phccv.org

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Pregnancy Help Center | Pregnancy Testing, Guidance & Education, Abortion Information

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The Pregnancy Help Center of Concho Valley is a non-judgmental safe haven for those who find themselves in unexpected pregnancy.

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We are calling on our community to help us share brightness this season! Together we can provide empowering resources and services for mental well-being. Visit our toolkit to learn how you can spread awareness and support DBSA during our busiest giving time.

Your support is an investment in fostering hope, healing, and a brighter future for all those living with mood disorders.
Brighten Lives Toolkit!

Treatment Options

Seeking mental health treatment is not a sign of weakness or failure, but rather a show of great strength and compassion for yourself and those you love. Learn more about options to treat mood disorders and how to choose a provider.
See Treatment Options

Daily tools empower your wellness journey

Each person's wellness journey is unique. With that in mind, DBSA has developed tools to help you take the first steps and determine what support you may need along the way.

Start with Strengths

The DBSA Wellness Wheel is an easy-to-use tool that focuses on your strengths in 7 key areas of life.
Wellness Wheel

Keep Daily Logs

Our Wellness Tracker can be an essential resource to understand your moods, symptoms, medications, and lifestyle.
Wellness Tracker

If there's a young child in your life, we think you'll be excited to learn more about the DBSA Mood Crew®
Meet the DBSA Mood Crew!

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DBSA - Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

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Living with depression or bipolar disorder? Find free support groups, resources, and wellness tools.

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

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Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

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Many children have trouble focusing and behaving at one time or another. However, children with ADHD do not just grow out of these behaviors. The symptoms continue and can cause difficulty at school, at home, or with friends.A child with ADHD might:

daydream a lot

forget or lose things

squirm or fidget

talk too much

make careless mistakes or take unnecessary risk

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Home - ADDA - Attention Deficit Disorder Association

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Empowering adults with adhd to live their best lives A Different Brain Requires a Different Approach Whether you're newly diagnosed, wondering if you have ADHD, or simply ready to take charge of your life - we're here to help. Have ...

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Children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are plagued by unwanted and stressful thoughts and fears that they try to alleviate by performing compulsive rituals like counting or washing their hands. This guide explains how OCD impacts children, how it's diagnosed and the most effective treatments.

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Credit: Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, JMU

An overactive molecular signal pathway in the brain region of the amygdala can lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A research team from Würzburg has established this connection.

Some people have an extreme fear of dirt or bacteria. As a result, they may develop a habit of compulsive washing and repeatedly cleaning their hands or body. They are trapped in a vicious circle, as the fear of new contamination returns quickly after washing. Sufferers see no way out. They are even incapable of changing their behaviour when the excessive washing has led to skin irritation or damage.

Around two percent of the general population suffer from some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) at least once in their life. The disorder is characterised by persistent intrusive thoughts which the sufferers try to compensate for by repetitive ritualized behaviour.

Like depression, eating disorders and other mental diseases, OCD is treated with antidepressants. However, the drugs are non-specific, that is they are not tailored to the respective disease. Therefore, scientists have been looking for new and better targeted therapies that have fewer side effects.
Missing protein triggers urge to wash
Professor Kai Schuh from the Institute of Physiology at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg (Germany) and his team explore the underlying causes of obsessive-compulsive disorder in collaboration with the JMU's Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology.

"We were able to show in mouse models that the absence of the protein SPRED2 alone can trigger an excessive grooming behaviour," Schuh says. He believes that this finding is crucial as no clear trigger for this type of disorder has been identified until now. Previous research pointed to multiple factors being responsible for developing OCD.

Occurring in all cells of the body, the protein SPRED2 is found in particularly high concentrations in regions of the brain, namely in the basal ganglia and the amygdala. Normally, the protein inhibits an important signal pathway of the cell, the so-called Ras/ERK-MAP kinase cascade. When it is missing, this signal pathway is more active than usual.
Hyperactive signal cascade in the brain
"It is primarily the brain-specific initiator of the signal pathway, the receptor tyrosine kinase TrkB, that is excessively active and causes the overshooting reaction of the downstream components", biologist Dr. Melanie Ullrich explains.

Administering an inhibitor to attenuate the overactive signal cascade in the animal model improves the obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Moreover, the JMU research team was able to treat the OCD with an antidepressant, similarly to standard therapy in humans. Their detailed results have been published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
New targets for therapies pinpointed
"Our study delivers a valuable new model that allows the disease mechanisms to be investigated and new therapy options for obsessive-compulsive disorders to be tested," Professor Schuh says.

The recently discovered link between OCDs and the Ras/ERK-MAP kinase cascade also opens up new targets for therapy. Drugs that inhibit this cascade are already available and some of them are approved for human treatment.

According to Melanie Ullrich, these are cancer drugs, as overactivation of the Ras/ERK-MAP kinase cascade is also a frequent trigger of cancer: "So we are wondering whether such drugs could also be effective in the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorders and whether they are beneficial in terms of side effects."

More information: M Ullrich et al. OCD-like behavior is caused by dysfunction of thalamo-amygdala circuits and upregulated TrkB/ERK-MAPK signaling as a result of SPRED2 deficiency, Molecular Psychiatry (2017). DOI: 10.1038/mp.2016.232

Provided by Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg

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An overactive molecular signal pathway in the brain region of the amygdala can lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). A research team from Würzburg has established this connection. Some people have an extreme fear of dirt or bacteria. As a result, they may develop a habit of compulsive washing and repeatedly cleaning their hands or body.

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New research finds that after a child experiences inadequate sleep, changes are seen in the way they experience, regulate and express their emotions. Credit: University of Houston

In a new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Candice Alfano, University of Houston professor of psychology and director of the Sleep and Anxiety Center of Houston, reports the results from an innovative, experimental study showing inadequate nighttime sleep alters several aspects of children's emotional health.

Although plenty of correlational research links inadequate sleep with poor emotional health, experimental studies in children are rare. Alfano and her team studied 53 children ages 7-11 over more than a week. The children completed an in-lab emotional assessment twice, once after a night of healthy sleep and again after two nights where their sleep was restricted by several hours.

"After sleep restriction, we observed changes in the way children experience, regulate and express their emotions," reports Alfano. "But, somewhat to our surprise, the most significant alterations were found in response to positive rather than negative emotional stimuli."

The multi-method assessment had children view a range of pictures and movie clips eliciting both positive and negative emotions while the researchers recorded how children responded on multiple levels. In addition to subjective ratings of emotion, researchers collected respiratory sinus arrhythmias (a non-invasive index of cardiac-linked emotion regulation) and objective facial expressions. Alfano points out the novelty of these data. "Studies based on subjective reports of emotion are critically important, but they don't tell us much about the specific mechanisms through which insufficient sleep elevates children's psychiatric risk."

Alfano highlights the implications of her findings for understanding how poor sleep might 'spill over' into children's everyday social and emotional lives. "The experience and expression of positive emotions are essential for children's friendships, healthy social interactions and effective coping. Our findings might explain why children who sleep less on average have more peer-related problems," she said.

Another important finding from the study is that the impact of sleep loss on emotion was not uniform across all children. Specifically, children with greater pre-existing anxiety symptoms showed the most dramatic alterations in emotional responding after sleep restriction.

According to Alfano, these results emphasize a potential need to assess and prioritize healthy sleep habits in emotionally vulnerable children.

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Insufficient sleep harms children's mental health

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In a new study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Candice Alfano, University of Houston professor of psychology and director of the Sleep and Anxiety Center of Houston, reports the results from an innovative, experimental study showing inadequate nighttime sleep alters several aspects of children's emotional health.

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Disruptive behavior disorders are among the easiest to identify of all coexisting conditions because they involve behaviors that are readily seen such as temper tantrums, physical aggression such as attacking other children, excessive argumentativeness, stealing, and other forms of defiance or resistance to authority. These disorders, which include ODD and CD, often first attract notice when they interfere with school performance or family and peer relationships, and frequently intensify over time.

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What Causes Disruptive Behavior Disorders?

The causes of disruptive behavior disorders are unknown. But the disorders are thought to spring from different factors working together:

Heredity. Children with disruptive behavior disorders often have parents with mental health disorders, including

Substance abuse.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

A mood disorder.

Schizophrenia.

Antisocial personality disorder.

However, affected children have also been known to come from healthy families that function well.

Environment. There is an increased risk for disruptive behavior disorders among children who were:

Rejected by their mothers as infants.

Separated from their parents.

Recipients of poor foster care.

Physically, emotionally, or sexually abused or neglected.

In addition, children who have lived in poverty, or witnessed domestic violence or substance abuse, are at a greater risk for developing the disorders.

Physical. There is a greater risk for developing disruptive behavior disorders among children who:

Had low birth weight.

Have suffered neurological damage.

Psychological. Children who have suffered from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are at a higher risk for developing disruptive behavior disorders.

Approximately one-third to one-half of all children with ADHD may have coexisting oppositional defiant disorder. Conduct disorder may occur in 25 percent of children and 45 percent of adolescents with ADHD.

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The causes of disruptive behavior disorders are unknown. But the disorders are thought to spring from different factors working together: Heredity. Children with disruptive behavior disorders often have parents with mental health disorders, including Substance abuse. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. A mood disorder. Schizophrenia. Antisocial personality disorder.

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

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Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

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The U.S. Department of Education’s Individuals with Disabilities Education Act website brings together department and grantee IDEA information and resources. The IDEA makes available a free appropriate public education to and ensures special education and related services to eligible children with disabilities.

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Home - American School Counselor Association (ASCA)

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School Guidance and Counseling, which is an interactive component of Coordinated School Health (outside source), is implemented by professional school counselors to reduce dropout rates, improve academic performance, and increase participation in postsecondary education.

Texas School Counselor Certificate

The certification requirements to be a school counselor are described in the Texas Education Code and the Texas Administrative Code (outside source).

You can view general information on Texas teacher and counselor certification requirements.

The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs (5th Edition)

The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs is a revision and expansion of the 2004 Pre-K-12th Grade Development Guide: A Model Comprehensive, Developmental Guidance and Counseling Program for Texas Public Schools. The revision was completed by the Texas Counseling Association (TCA) in collaboration with the Texas Education Agency (TEA). As in the 2004 guide, the Texas Model is based on the statutory description of Texas school counseling programs and school counselor responsibilities (Texas Education Code [TEC] §§33.005-33.007). The Texas Model is further expanded to address changes to statute related to school counseling since 2004.

The Texas Model for Comprehensive School Counseling Programs (5th Edition) (PDF, 9035KB)

Resources

The following resources provide additional information about school guidance and counseling:
Counseling Resources Frequently Asked Questions

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School Guidance and Counseling, which is an interactive component of Coordinated School Health (outside source), is implemented by professional school counselors to reduce dropout rates, improve academic performance, and increase participation in postsecondary education. The certification requirements to be a school counselor are described in the Texas Education Code and the Texas Administrative Code (outside source).

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Each child is an individual with different social, emotional, and academic strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, their educational needs may vary from one season or school year to the next.

In the first section of our chapter, "School: A Child's World Beyond Home" we cover the legal evolution of the Individual with Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA 2004) and advise a parent how to initiate an Individual Education Plan (IEP), prepare for the IEP meeting (including rehearsal strategies), and locate educational consultants and attorneys.

But the more we talked to people in preparation for this chapter, the more we came to understand that both parents and educators were confused about the construction of an IEP for a student struggling with a bipolar disorder. A model IEP-one that specifically addresses the seasonal variations in mood, energy, attention, motivation, and behavior, as well as one that addresses the frequently co-occurring executive function deficits, needed to be developed.

Therefore, we asked special education advocate, Anne Marie Smith, M. Ed., from Agawam, Massachusetts, to construct an IEP that might provide guidelines for educating a middle school student throughout the school year.

With the hope that the following information is helpful to parents and educators alike, we excerpt the following from The Bipolar Child (pages 305-311.) Also see pages 295-303 in the book for a highly focused and very comprehensive list of accommodations, modifications, and special services that can be incorporated into an IEP.
From The Bipolar Child by Demitri Papolos, M.D. and Janice Papolos (Broadway Books, 2006). All rights reserved.

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Bipolar Children Individual Education Plan (IEP) Model

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Each child is an individual with different social, emotional, and academic strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, their educational needs may vary from one season or school year to the next.

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How Can Your School Counselor Serve Your Student and Your Family:

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How Can Your School Counselor Serve Your Student and Your Family:

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The Texas Model (2018) identifies the school counselor as the school staff member who has the unique training and qualifications to engage in the personal, social, academic, and post-secondary work with students. Professional school counselors work with students to meet their developmental needs while being ethically and multiculturally aware practitioners.
How the school counselor serves students and their families:

Providing instruction on psychological and social issues. School counselors provide information to students about self awareness, bullying and/or skills for social and academic success .

Vocational guidance. Many school counselors help students prepare for college or select careers.

Counseling. School counselors often help students mediate conflicts with their peers, teachers, or parents. Many school counselors also provide short-term counseling services to students during school hours.

Early intervention. School counselors receive training about learning difficulties and psychological concerns that commonly manifest in children and adolescents. They may also provide referrals, recommendations, and education to parents about mental health concerns.

Special needs services. Counselors often help special needs students integrate into classrooms and may oversee programs that address requirements for students with special needs or learning difficulties.

Further, counselors often help students:

Maintain academic standards and set goals for academic success.

Develop skills to improve organization, study habits, and time management.

Work through personal problems that may affect academics or relationships.

Improve social skills.

Cope with school or community-related violence, accidents, and trama.

Identify interests, strengths, and aptitudes through assessment.

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When worrying gets in the way of a child's functioning, parents need to get help rather than arranging the child's life to avoid the occasions of anxiety.

Credit... Getty Images

By

Anxiety disorders, the most common mental health problems in children and adolescents, often go untreated while children suffer, even though there are effective treatments available, according to a new report on anxiety in children and adolescents from the Child Mind Institute in New York. Anxiety may be missed because it doesn't necessarily declare itself with attention-getting disruptive behaviors; in fact, symptoms may keep some children quiet and inhibited, though in other children, alternatively, anxiety may be misunderstood as oppositional behavior.

Adults may also assume that anxiety in a child is just a phase to be outgrown. A certain amount of anxiety is a normal aspect of development for young children - consider separation anxiety, for example - and it can even be protective, since children need to learn to keep themselves safe and anticipate certain kinds of dangers. But when worrying or avoiding possible threats gets in the way of a child's functioning or a child's enjoyment, it should be a signal to parents that help is needed, not just watching and waiting, not arranging the child's life to avoid the occasions of anxiety.

Kathleen Merikangas, the senior investigator and chief of the Genetic Epidemiology Research Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health, said, "To me, anxiety is one of the most underrecognized or under-treated conditions of childhood and adolescence." These children can get missed, she said, because they may seem to be functioning well; many don't have the kinds of developmental problems or attention issues that draw attention in school, though they may be suffering.

Consider the child whose anxiety about speaking in public gets in the way of participating in class. The child may be silent out of a fear of being laughed at or otherwise rejected, Dr. Merikangas said, but to the teacher, it may look like the child is just not interested. Environmental modifications can really help these children thrive in school, she said; for example, working in small groups with children they know.

The new report, released in September, summarizes the evidence that early temperament in children predicts their later behavior patterns around anxiety; toddlers who show what are called "behaviorally inhibited" behaviors, which parents are likely to perceive as extreme shyness, or anxiety around new people, are more likely to develop social anxiety later on. That doesn't mean that shyness is pathological (as with all varieties of temperament, there's a wide range of function), but it does suggest how important it is to help a child with this temperament who develops difficulties.

The tendency toward anxiety - and toward some specific forms of anxiety, like phobias - may persist throughout childhood and adolescence and into adulthood. And anxiety is closely tied to depression, Dr. Merikangas said. Although there have been reports that anxiety rates among American teenagers have soared, she cited evidence that the international rates of the underlying disorders had stayed consistent from 1998 to 2013; there is no global "epidemic" of clinical anxiety disorders, she said.

But with rates of suicide and suicidal ideation on the rise, it's particularly important to provide information to schools and to parents about recognizing anxiety and getting children help.

Dr. Harold Koplewicz, the president of the Child Mind Institute, said that when anxiety disorders in children are left untreated, anxiety can inhibit their lives, making standard daily activities difficult, from attending school to sleeping in their own beds, and lead to many extra visits to the school nurse or the pediatrician.

But beyond that, he said, "people underestimate that this is a gateway disorder." If children don't get help with these disorders, they may be at risk to develop other mental health problems; the child with severe separation anxiety may develop panic disorder, he said; the child with untreated general anxiety may be at greater risk for depression.

Dr. Merikangas was a co-investigator on a national study of mental disorders in adolescents, which has shown both that anxiety disorders were the most common mental health problems in adolescents in the United States, and also the problems that showed up earliest in those children's lives - the mean age of onset for anxiety disorders was 6. But many adolescents had never received treatment. That makes it essential to get the word out, Dr. Merikangas said, that anxiety is "one of the most treatable symptoms and syndromes, we can really change their lives with minimal intervention."

"All these disorders are remarkably treatable," Dr. Koplewicz said. There are highly effective behavioral and psychosocial therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapies, to help children cope with the demands of daily life. For children who don't respond to psychosocial therapies, he said, medications can be added.

But perhaps because anxiety is a normal response, parents often believe that even severe and disabling anxiety symptoms are just a phase, and on average, there is a two-year lag between the time children develop anxiety and the time they get help. "It's bad for these children's brains," he said. "Having your brain's thermostat miss-set is not good for your brain."

"Anxiety can manifest itself along a continuum," said Rachel Busman, the senior director of the anxiety disorders center at the Child Mind Institute. The report shows that there is some overlap with physical illnesses, such as chronic headaches or stomach aches, often coordinated with school. "That could be a kid's way of saying, 'I'm anxious,'" she said.

And when a child who is having a lot of difficulty with separation gets into the classroom, Dr. Busman said, that child may start throwing things, or running and hiding, and that "bad behavior" may represent the fight or flight response of anxiety. "We've also seen kids who have intense social anxiety and their way of managing it is to be class clown," she said.

Treating children with anxiety always means working with their parents. Jerry Bubrick, senior clinical psychologist at the anxiety disorders center of the Child Mind Institute, said that when children are little, it's normal for parents to operate in "fix-it mode," blocking the staircase so a toddler doesn't tumble down, averting problems before they happen.

As children get older, parents normally pull back, helping children find solutions of their own. "But anxious parents of anxious children remain in fix-it mode," he said, helping their children avoid the situations that make them anxious. Therapy involves exposing children to those situations and helping them develop strategies to manage them; with treatment, Dr. Bubrick said, parents can "let the child experience the anxiety and learn to tolerate and overcome it on their own."

"If you see things you're not sure about, talk to the preschool, talk to the pediatrician, be open to the idea that maybe there is anxiety," even in a young child, Dr. Busman said. Separation anxiety can be a problem even in children who are able to go to school, she said. Parents should pay attention if a child can't be left with a babysitter, a child can't sleep alone at home."These are the kids, they go into the bathroom, and they're like, are you still there?" she said. "We do see really young anxious children."

"If your child is suffering distress and dysfunction, reach out to your pediatrician," Dr. Koplewicz said. When you get to a mental health professional, "make sure you ask the right questions," he said, including asking whether that person has specific experience with treating anxiety and how long the treatment is expected to take.

"You want a professional who understands what they're doing and can explain to you what they're doing."

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How to Help a Child With an Anxiety Disorder

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When worrying gets in the way of a child's functioning, parents need to get help rather than arranging the child's life to avoid the occasions of anxiety. By Anxiety disorders, the most common mental health problems in children and adolescents, often go untreated while children suffer, even though there are effective treatments available, according to a new report on anxiety in children and adolescents from the Child Mind Institute in New York.

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Definition

Students with emotional disorders are a very heterogeneous group with a wide range of issues that are unique to each individual. However, there are some key characteristics that are used to define this disability category, mostly relating to issues of personal identity and emotional well-being. An emotional disorder may be present if a student responds to a situation with an inappropriate behavior or emotion, and particularly, if this emotion is depression or long term unhappiness. Students with emotional disorders typically have a very difficult time maintaining personal relationships with others, and these personal problems lead to physical symptoms in time. If the student has difficulty learning, but there is no intellectual or sensory cause of this difficulty, then an emotional disorder may be to blame. This disability category does include some mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

It should be noted that one or more of the previously mentioned characteristics has to be present for an extended period of time, and must have a negative impact on the student's academic performance before being considered an emotional disorder. Signs of an emotional disorder need to be taken seriously, as they can lead to physical aggression and self-injurious behavior. However, care must also be taken to recognize the difference between emotional disturbance and general teenage angst. There are as many causes of emotional disturbance in children as there are children in this category, but they can generally be divided into either biological causes, environmental causes, or a combination of the two.

Prevalence

The U.S. Department of Education reports 5,971,495 students receiving special education services in the 2003-2004 school year. Of that number, roughly 7.7%, or 461,055 students, received special education services based on a classification of emotional disturbance. However, within this group of 461,055 students, there was a definite disproportionally between gender, race and socioeconomic background. African-American students were far more likely to be diagnosed as emotionally disturbed than white students, reflecting possible race bias in this category. Research has pointed to a direct correlation between low income status and emotional disorders, but the exact reasons for this correlation are unknown.

Characteristics

Each student with an emotional disturbance will have characteristics that are unique to that individual. However, these students will all share deficits in three specific areas, namely emotional development, behavioral development, and cognitive development.

These students may have specific emotional characteristics/conditions such as anxiety disorder, mood disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, and schizophrenia. Not addressing any one of these disorders with the appropriate support system could have potentially tragic results. Behavioral characteristics of an emotional disorder include externalizing behavior and conversely internalizing behavior. The former can result in problem behavior and physical aggression while the latter results in depression and anxiety. Finally, students with emotional disorders have a number of academic issues as well, and each year half of the students in this category drop out of school entirely.

One intriguing possible contributing factor to emotional disturbance can be found in deficits in communication. An estimated 71% of students with emotional disorders also have expressive and receptive language disorders that impact their ability to understand and communicate with peers and adults.

Impact on Learning

Students with emotional disorders can be found at every level of cognitive functioning, but the majority of these students tend to have low average intelligence. Most achieve below grade level in academic achievement, with the greatest deficits in both math and spelling. Many have a coexisting learning disability of some type. Students that exhibit externalizing behaviors are at the greatest risk for continued deficits in academic functioning. Students with emotional disorders are less likely to attend post-secondary school than students in many other disability categories. An effective educational program for students with emotional disorders will provide emotional and behavioral supports that foster the replacement of problem behaviors with more appropriate behaviors. Positive behavior support systems are one especially effective strategy to achieve this goal, as are the implementation of wraparound services.

Teaching Strategies

Wraparound planning is a collaborative process that has shown great promise in supporting students with emotional disorders, both in research and in more practical application. This planning process brings all of the involved service providers (i.e., adult rehabilitation services, mental health services, guidance counselor) and individuals together to create a natural support system that is founded on the strengths of the individual student and the community in which that student lives. The family is an integral part of this process, and the overall goal is to devise a program that will capitalize on the strengths and interests of the student while utilizing community resources for placement and intervention.

Generally, academic achievement and problem behaviors often go hand-in-hand for students with emotional disorders. To put this another way, the more difficulty they have with a classroom task, the more likely that maladaptive behavior will result. Supporting the academic performance of these students will thus have the added benefit of decreasing externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Best practices for students with emotional disorders are often best practices for all students. A strategy such as allowing students to choose between classroom tasks, for example, is an effective way to decrease problem behaviors in general. Consistent and specific praise is also a great technique to utilize with all students in the classroom, but can be particularly effective with students with emotional disorders.

It is very important to not make assumptions about any family of a child with an emotional disorder. Many emotional disorders have an organic cause, and the parents of the child may well be loving and supportive in every way. However, some of these students have indeed been abused in some fashion in their young lives, and this too can be a cause of emotional or behavioral issues. Trust can be a very large issue for these children. Forming a relationship with these students that is built on empathy, trust, and mutual respect can often be the solution to many problem behaviors, and can have a lasting impact of the emotional development of the child.

Assistive Technology

Some modification in instruction will be necessary to allow a student with an emotional disorder to demonstrate mastery in a number of academic areas, and most especially in the area of writing. Word processing software can be an excellent supplementary aid for these students, allowing them to edit and revise their work as they produce it. These programs can strengthen spelling skills and writing cohesion simply by making the writing process easier overall. Of particular benefit are word processing programs that read the text as it is typed, providing an additional audio cue for the student.

Organizations

There are a number of excellent organizations that can help support classroom instruction for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. The information presented in this module is intended as just a very brief description of emotional disorder and its impact on learning. Much more in-depth information and instructional strategies can be accessed through the following organizations:

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

The AACAP (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) is the leading national professional medical association dedicated to treating and improving the quality of life for children, adolescents, and families affected by these disorders. Composed of over 7,500 child and adolescent psychiatrists and other interested physicians, its members actively research, evaluate, diagnose, and treat psychiatric disorders and pride themselves on giving direction to and responding quickly to new developments in addressing the health care needs of children and their families.

Public Information Office
3615 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20016-3007

Web: www.aacap.org

Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

The OSEP-funded National Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavior and Intervention Supports was established to address the behavioral and discipline systems needed for successful learning and social development of students. The Center provides capacity-building information and technical support about behavioral systems to assist states and districts in the design of effective schools.

5262 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5262

Email: pbis@oregon.uregon.edu
Web: www.pbis.org

Center for Disability and Development

Dept. of Educational Psychology
4225 Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-4225

Council for Exceptional Children

The Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted. CEC advocates for appropriate governmental policies, sets professional standards, provides continual professional development, advocates for newly and historically underserved individuals with exceptionalities, and helps professionals obtain conditions and resources necessary for effective professional practice.

1110 North Glebe Road, Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201-5704

Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health

This organization is dedicated exclusively to helping children with mental health needs and their families achieve a better quality of life. They provide leadership to develop and sustain a nationwide network of family-run organizations; focus the passion and cultural diversity of our membership to be a potent force for changing how systems respond to children with mental health needs and their families; help policy-makers, agencies, and providers become more effective in delivering services and supports that foster healthy emotional development for all children.

1101 King Street, Suite 420
Alexandria, VA 22314

Email: ffcmh@ffcmh.org
Web: www.ffcmh.org

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)

NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation's largest grassroots organization for people with mental illness and their families. NAMI is dedicated to the eradication of mental illnesses and to the improvement of the quality of life for persons of all ages who are affected by mental illnesses. NAMI members and friends work to fulfill our mission by providing support, education, and advocacy.

Colonial Place Three
2107 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22203-3754

Web: www.nami.org

Mental Health America

Mental Health America is dedicated to helping ALL people live mentally healthier lives. They work to fulfill this mission by education the public about ways to preserve and strengthen mental health; advocating for access to effective care; fostering innovation in research, practice, services and policy; and providing support to individuals and families.

2001 N. Beauregard Street, 12th Floor
Alexandria, VA 22311

Web: www.nmha.org

National Mental Health Information Center

The National Mental Health Information Center was developed for users of mental health services and their families, the general public, policy makers, providers, and the media. They provide free information about mental health via a toll-free number, their website, and more than 600 publications.

P.O. Box 42557
Washington, DC 20015

Web: www.mentalhealth.org

References

Hunt, N., and Marshall, K. (2006). Exceptional children and youth. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (2004). Fact Sheet 5. Retrieved February 1, 2008 from www.nichcy.org/pubs/factshe/fs5txt.htm.

Turnbull, A., Turnbull, R. & Wehmeyer, M. L. (2007). Exceptional lives. Special education in today's schools. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.

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Students with emotional disorders typically have a hard time maintaining relationships, and these personal problems may lead to physical symptoms in time.

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Finding the motivation to make positive lifestyle changes can be hard for anyone. For teenagers, it can be especially difficult when parents are the ones telling them to do it. But if they've fallen into unhealthy habits like vaping or alcohol abuse, change can be beneficial. Motivational interviewing is a form of therapy that creates a safe, non-judgmental environment for teens to establish their own goals and values and see how changing unhealthy behaviors can benefit them in the long run.

This series of articles comes from the Child Mind Institute, with most available in English and Spanish. Why might teens be resistant to therapy and how can parents and others to help them get the treatment they need? The articles explain how motivational interviewing can help teens gain the self-confidence to make important behavioral changes. To read more about motivational interviewing, and to connect with the articles in both English and Spanish, please visit CPIR's abstract.

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Center for Parent Information and Resources | Your Central Hub for Parent Centers Serving Families of Children With Disabilities

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Finding the motivation to make positive lifestyle changes can be hard for anyone. For teenagers, it can be especially difficult when parents are the ones telling them to do it. But if they've fallen into unhealthy habits like vaping or alcohol abuse, change can be beneficial.

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Lists NIMH Publications about Anxiety Disorders.