Collaborating to Support Mental Health

School counselors have an ethical and legal duty to provide timely resources to all students, families and staff but also seek to find the root causes of an issue before making recommendations or providing resources to those who may need it. Last month I stated in my oral testimony to the Washington State House Education Committee, “Mental health, poverty and homelessness were issues of concern within our school counselor community prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the danger of this virus has exacerbated the problems.” As school counselors, we know our students have experienced traumatic situations while simultaneously attending school to get a quality education. Issues such as domestic violence, family substance abuse, family incarceration, family deportation, cyberbullying and racism are some of the key drivers of the current student mental health crisis within school communities. 

America’s Health Rankings from the United Health Foundation has described suicide as a serious public health problem among all age groups. In 2017, more than 6,200 suicide deaths occurred among adolescents and young adults ages 15–24, making it the second leading cause of death for that age group. Youth suicidal ideation, attempt and completion are on the rise. Results from the 2017 Youth Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System show that 17.2 percent of high school students seriously considered attempting suicide and 7.4 percent attempted suicide in that year. According to the World Health Organization, suicide rates are also high among vulnerable groups who experience discrimination and are identified as refugees and migrants; indigenous peoples; and LGBTQ people. Many school counselors in Washington State have shared during professional development discussions that an increased number of elementary school students are experiencing suicidal ideation.

Within the Deliver component of the ASCA National Model (4^th edition), emphasis is on the direct student service of counseling in individual or small-group settings. Crisis response has been reclassified as an indirect student service; it is defined by referrals, consultation and collaboration with adults to provide support in the aftermath of a crisis. Recognizing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult response is critical in this fight to save lives.

Yelm Middle School was intentional in using the varied mental health resources provided by our district, such as an embedded mental health counselor available in school twice a week; Military and Family Life Counselor (MFLC) that supports our military dependent children; True North Student Assistance and Treatment Services, which provides comprehensive behavioral health services to school-aged students; and an onsite Thurston County Together program representative, who assists in tackling barriers students and families face to their health, well-being and success, such as food, clothing and shelter resources.

Our school counseling department also maximized staff training time with all-important building administration endorsement of our school-wide expectation and staff responsibility to develop meaningful relationships in order to identify those students in crisis. We also trained staff on Washington State law, RCW 74.34.020(10), designating them mandatory reporters of suspected abuse and neglect. The result of our training on ACEs raised the staff awareness level, therefore increasing the number of referred students to our office. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our established mental health collaboration program has continued to yield positive results. Our staff is using the same level of intentionality when observing students in our current virtual learning environment. This hypervigilance among staff allows us to refer students and families to resources located safely outside of the school environment. The leadership and availability of school counselors plays a crucial role in accessing mental health resources, with understanding that each human being has varying degrees of need.

Melvin J. Fields, Jr., is co-chair of WSCA’s Professional School Counselors of Color. Contact him via the WSCA website.