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Hi!  My name is Nydia E. Fernandez.  I am the mom of a beautiful 21-year-old college student.  I am also a school counselor at a Head Start campus in Del Rio.  I am a graduate student in the Mental Health and Wellness Counseling master’s program at Angelo State University.  I will graduate in the fall of 2024.  Upon completion, I will pursue my education and begin the LPC Bridge online program.  My plans are to retire as a school counselor in the next five years and open my private practice.  I enrolled in this course to help me learn more about ways to help and deal with trauma, crisis, and mental health situations I may deal with as a counselor.  This course is going to help me develop professionally and get me ready for my future LPC role. I love my job and I want to make a difference in getting the number of people out there that are scared to speak up and get treatment to be lower.

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SECTION 1--Introductions and Assessing Prior Knowledge

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SECTION 1--Introductions and Assessing Prior Knowledge

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I was a dispatcher for our sheriff’s department many years ago and I have experience with trauma and crisis intervention.  I can guide, recognize, and direct trauma events.  However, I want to be able to increase my knowledge so I can be more effective in my counseling role and guide my clients to be successful and overcome their mental health struggles.  I think this course is perfect for me to learn strategies for this.

I have read several scholar articles, listened to a couple of podcasts, and taken two quizzes.  The thing that stands out to me about our current mental health challenge is the number of people suffering from depression globally and the link to disability.  “According to the World Health Organization, globally, 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.”  I know how hard depression can hit you firsthand, I was not aware that it could lead to leaving a person incapacitated and losing the ability to function completely in their surroundings.  The number was extremely high, even for a worldwide poll.

Growing up in a Mexican American household, I always heard that we needed to tough out our emotions and a sign of crying was weak.  I cry a lot, I always thought that made me weak.  In the past several years, I have gone through some major events in my life, and they did not seem to stop.  I sought help and went to a counselor.  In my culture, there is a stigma connected to getting counseling.  I went anyways!  It was the best decision I had ever made in my life.  It helped me reflect on all the events in so many ways.  Through this experience, I have become an advocate for all who secretly tell me their problems.  I guide them to seek professional help and even though they think the worst of themselves initially, they come back and thank me for guiding them and encouraging them to seek help.  I knew the numbers were high, but it shocked me that our society is still judgmental for those that seek help and want to get better.  I took the Deconstructing Stigma Quiz at https://deconstructingstigma.org/mental-health-quiz.  The quiz stated, “Three out of four people with a mental illness report that they have experienced stigma….When a person is labeled by their illness, they are seen as part of a stereotyped group. Negative attitudes create prejudice, which leads to negative actions and discrimination.”  With these numbers, it is no wonder people do not seek help and if they do, they cannot advocate for fear of being judged.  I like to attend virtual trainings and am certified in Mental Health First Aid.  The quizzes made me realize that even though I work in the mental health field, I am not familiar with the “real world” numbers because I focus on my students.

What do you know about Mental Health?

Here are links for quizzes to find out what your knowledge on Mental Health is like!

Channel Kindness Mental Health Awareness Quiz

Deconstructing Stigma Mental Health Quiz

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Mental Health Quiz

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SECTION 2--Reference Guide to Mental Health Disorders

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SECTION 2--Reference Guide to Mental Health Disorders

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Being familiar with the different types of mental health disorders and their causes helps the counselor provide accurate responsive services to aide the client and move forward with treatment. Recognizing the signs and getting help early on will lead to a better quality of life for the client.

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Reference Guide for Mental Health Disorders TEMPLATE Nydia E. Fernandez 2024

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SECTION 5--Crisis Prevention and Threat Assessment

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SECTION 5--Crisis Prevention and Threat Assessment

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The research gathered in this project reminded us that the therapist needs to stay abreast of local information available for all kinds of trauma they may come across in their profession. Having the information available to the client on hand is important. Guiding the client in the right direction and being knowledgeable about the concern is important. Looking at all the options we had to choose from for this trauma project makes me aware of the regular duty we have as future LPC's to stay up to date with the trends and all types of trauma that exist for us.

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The American Counseling Association has guidelines found in the American Code of Ethics which set the foundation for the delivering of counseling services.

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ASCA ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS

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ASCA ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR SCHOOL COUNSELORS

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According to the attached Ethical Standards for School Counselors there are several ethical issues a school counselor might face.

They include but are not limited to:

Confidentiality and Its Limits

Keep a Professional Distance

Respect Differences in Cultural Values and Traditions

Provide Equal Access to Opportunities and Support

Respect the privacy of parents/guardians in accordance with the student's best interests

Provide parents/guardians with accurate, comprehensive and relevant information in a caring manner as appropriate and consistent with legal and ethical responsibilities to the students and parents/guardians.

The code sets standards and policies that we must maintain and follow. I also helps to guide us and keeps our profession respectable by outlining specific roadmaps and ways to navigate our way in situations we may encounter along the way.

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SECTION 3--Developmental Discussion on Trauma

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SECTION 3--Developmental Discussion on Trauma

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Events in our lives can have long-lasting effects on our physical, mental, emotional, and our psychological well-being. Through mental health treatment and support, we can help regulate our emotions and be able to function daily and also develop healthy relationships. It is imperative we seek resources to be ablel to live a normal life if we experienced trauma in our childhood.

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SFDR local family resources and assistance

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Local emergency and non-emergency support services

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Local emergency and non-emergency support services

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Referral processes involve a meeting with the parents and the administrative core team to explain that the child's case is beyond our realm of expertise and then make a recommendation to the parents to seek outside help. Our district has a resource packet of local support services that we provide so further assistance can take place for the student.

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In working with the ABC model, I found there were many avenues to explore when it comes to helping out a family that has multi situations taking place at the same time and everything is a result of a domino effect. I felt overwhelmed with everything in this case and wanted to make a plan for everyone. However, I had to take a step back and realize that Rosa was asking for help for her son and she is the one that neede to make final decisions on how she was going to live her life because this was the root of the cause for the behavior of her child. Her estranged husband coming and going in and out of their lives caused the instability and this was affecting the family. Finding outside resources to guide her and her son was the first step to guiding the family.

In therapy, many steps need to be taken and the models and framework that exist to guide the professional counselor makes a difference.

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Psychological First Aid helps people recover from disasters mentally by aiding in the reduction of stress in a traumatic event such as a personal crisis, natural disaster, or public health emergency. As a PFA responder, we are able to promote strategies for safety, remaining calm, find help and family connections, and give the people dealing with the crisis hope.

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Psychological First Aid (PFA) Online_Certificate

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Effective delivery requires providing services that people need, in the way they would like and need to access them. This will vary according to culture. Including cultural competence into treatment improves more engaged and personalized therapeutic decision making. It also helps find a treatment tailored to the client's needs to help with the recovery and healing process.