Posts Tagged ‘mental health services’

A Guide to Mental Health Services

August 27th, 2010

Do you ever feel you need some sort of help but are not sure what exactly it is? Asking for help is never really an easy task for most of the individuals, but it is the best you can do when you think you need help. People who have doubts related to mental health services can always get in contact with the local mental health centers and can obtain the required information. You can know about the various services designed for people with mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, phobias, schizophrenia, etc.

Defining mental health is never easy, rather it is easy to define what mental illness is. If you are wondering what exactly is the kind of treatment you will get in a mental health center, then there are a lot of kinds of treatments. Professionals at these centers work with individuals and determine the best needs for them. Depending on the type of illness, treatment or psychotherapy with medication is recommended. If you are in doubt that you need external help, then either you can have a straight talk with a medical counselor or if you prefer to find out on your own, they use internet. Go online and you can find information related to almost all the disorders explained in detail along with the symptoms. Once you confirm whether you are suffering from a disorder, you can then find a therapist or a counselor and seek consultation.

Therapy for emotional and mental problems may or may not always produce results. It is mostly interdependent on the honesty with which an individual shares his or her concerns with the therapist. Hence, it is always best to establish a trusted relationship with the therapist. Mental health services cater to all kind of age groups right from children to old people.

There are a few warning signals that an individual needs to watch out for. If certain behaviors become severe or persistent those are the signs of trouble. Keep an eye open and observe if an individual is acting differently than usually and try to relate that change to any incident that occurred in the recent past such as loosing a job, death of someone close, marital break up, etc. If any individual complains of uncontrollable or extreme nervousness or anxiety, it may be a sign. Observe if any individual turns aggressive or rude even for a small action, if he or she does this quite often, then they may need help. If any of the above mentioned symptoms persist for a period of time, then that particular individual requires professional help.

The basic goals of the treatments are to decrease the symptoms related to the disorders and bringing an improvement in the patient’s life. With the importance of mental health services being brought to light, many individuals can gain benefit. The more awareness is created among the people the more they can protect themselves or can diagnose any disorders they may be suffering from and can get the required treatments.

School Based Mental Health Services Reduce School Violence

August 18th, 2010

In a time when resources are scarce and problems are many, professionals are choosing evidence-based practices to improve outcomes related to services. Evidence is emerging that school-based mental health services are an effective and cost efficient way to improve school performance and mental health and reduce behavioral problems. To assess the effectiveness of school based mental health (SBMH) services to provide these outcomes in students from Pre-K – 12th grades, Robert Schmidt, M.Ed. and Kathryn Seifert, Ph.D. collaborated on the evaluation of outcomes for a SBMH program for a mid-Atlantic rural school district.

The project began in 1999 after a Federal grant was awarded to the school district. The children’s scores on the Devereaux, BASC, CARE and several school measures such as absenteeism, disciplinary referrals, and suspensions were measured from the beginning of services and at the beginning and end of each school year. Youth were referred to the project from teachers, guidance counselors, parents, student self-referrals and other agencies such as the Departments of Social Services and Juvenile Services of which resulted in 1,247 SBMH referrals during a five-year period.

From 1999 to 2004, 36% of these students were referred because of symptoms of depression, 26% because of family problems, and 24% because of behavior problems. There were 84 referrals to the program in 1999, compared to 437 students in 2002 and 239 students in 2003. Peak referral times were consistently observed during the months of October and February. Youth in the transition years of sixth and ninth grades were referred to the program most often. More Caucasian females participated in the project than any other ethnic/gender group. In 2000, 2,132 mental health sessions were provided, in contrast to an amazing 15,763 sessions during the 2003/04 school year.

A group of one hundred thirty-two students who participated in the program showed significantly improved attitudes toward teachers and school, decreased mental health symptoms, and increased self-esteem after one year of services. From the 2001 to the 2002 school year, students participating in SBMH had significantly improved school attendance (from approximately 4600 to 4200 days absent). One hundred seventy-eight students had a significant (49%) decrease in disciplinary referrals and violence related disciplinary referrals from the 2001 to the 2002 school year. One hundred thirty-four participants had a significant decrease (54%) in suspensions from school. Parents of 103 students reported that their children were having significantly fewer problems after receiving services. Ninety-nine youth self-reported significantly improved commitment to school, interpersonal relationships and self-esteem, as well as fewer stress related problems. Two hundred fifty students reported significantly reduced school maladjustment and clinical maladjustment and improved attitudes toward parents and emotional well-being.

This project demonstrated that school based mental health services improved student well-being, behavior and school success, while showing a significant decrease in the initial presenting mental health symptoms, violence and other behavior problems at home and at school. Although these services and study enter into it’s sixth year and is on-going, other school-based mental health services must be provided, expanded, and studied. This project provides a framework for improved student health/success and decreased school violence while positively enhancing the community of which we live, work and play.