Collaboration in Action
By Jaclyn Lussenhop | October 2020
College Community School District partners with multiple agencies in the area to provide holistic support for students. One of the agencies every school in the district has the privilege to be partnered with is Tanager Place, specifically their school-based therapy team.
Collaborating with Tanager Place is amazing! We can create a network of support for our students in order to meet not only their educational needs, but also their physical and mental health needs. At Prairie Creek, the Tanager Place therapist works in the counseling suite right alongside the school-based counselors. This means we have the opportunity to collaborate about students currently on the therapist's caseload, referrals and ethical and legal concerns related to our students throughout the day on a daily basis.
Early on we clarified the difference between the position of a school-based therapist and a school counselor. We explained to staff that students may have needs that the school counselor can meet. If a student has met with the school counselor up to eight times and is still struggling, therapy is then a next step that will be considered. Throughout this decision-making process, the school counselor and school-based therapist may collaborate to address any safety issues or discuss immediate concerns.
Because our school only has one full-time, school-based therapist, having a flow for how students are referred for therapy is important. His maximum caseload is typically 30 students in our school of 895. We have to assess factors such as whether a student needs short-term school counseling versus more long-term therapy, parents’ ability to take the student to clinic-based therapy and the amount of school a student may miss if they attend therapy outside of the school.
During this time of uncertainty, our school counseling program and the Tanager Place therapist identified early on the need to also support our teachers. When schools were not meeting in person, teachers were talking about what to do next and worrying about supporting their students and families. A reminder about self-care was in order, and we came across another, deeper term, “soul care.” Together, we made a document titled “Soul Care” that outlined concerns related to toxic stress and offered appropriate strategies for addressing these concerns. We shared the document with school staff and it is now on the school counseling resources page for teachers to refer to when needed.
Another collaboration was providing teachers with support to help meet the needs of kids with increased anxiety. In considering how students could be more anxious due to changing school models related to COVID-19, we decided to give teachers tools on how to implement some mindfulness techniques in their classroom. We researched videos of yoga, breathing, mindful walking, coloring, etc. – making sure to reflect the diversity of our student population – then created a document that linked to the videos, with descriptions and length. We shared this document out to all teachers so they could easily access the videos appropriate for their students. This worked out wonderfully, because during the first couple of weeks of school, extra time was allotted for teachers to provide social/emotional learning in their classrooms. The mindfulness resources also are on the school counseling resources page for the teachers.
Beyond the ways we have collaborated in this exceptional year, there are many ways we are always collaborating. When families are referred to therapy services, the initial paperwork includes a release of information between the school and the school-based therapist. The release allows the therapist and school staff to discuss concerns related to students as needed. The paper-signing provides an opportunity for the therapist to clarify with the family the collaboration that will happen between the therapist and school staff to fully support the family.
One of the most important benefits of open communication between school staff and the school-based therapist relates to student safety. Over the past few years, as children have reported safety concerns at home, the school-based therapist and Prairie Creek counselor have been able to work together to process the information shared by the student, gather more information from other staff in the building, and then make an informed decision about next steps. In cases where DHS has become involved, the therapist and school counselors can work together to maintain strong rapport with the family, and support them through their interaction with DHS.
Collaborating with Tanager Place also offers a wide variety of other supports for students. The school-based therapist can connect families to services provided by Tanager Place from medication management to resource specialists. This could include referrals for assessments, parent support specialists, and resources to address food insecurity.
Contact Jaclyn Lussenhop, ISCA president-elect and school counselor with College Community Schools, at jlussenhop@crprairie.org.
Collaborating with Tanager Place is amazing! We can create a network of support for our students in order to meet not only their educational needs, but also their physical and mental health needs. At Prairie Creek, the Tanager Place therapist works in the counseling suite right alongside the school-based counselors. This means we have the opportunity to collaborate about students currently on the therapist's caseload, referrals and ethical and legal concerns related to our students throughout the day on a daily basis.Early on we clarified the difference between the position of a school-based therapist and a school counselor. We explained to staff that students may have needs that the school counselor can meet. If a student has met with the school counselor up to eight times and is still struggling, therapy is then a next step that will be considered. Throughout this decision-making process, the school counselor and school-based therapist may collaborate to address any safety issues or discuss immediate concerns.
Because our school only has one full-time, school-based therapist, having a flow for how students are referred for therapy is important. His maximum caseload is typically 30 students in our school of 895. We have to assess factors such as whether a student needs short-term school counseling versus more long-term therapy, parents’ ability to take the student to clinic-based therapy and the amount of school a student may miss if they attend therapy outside of the school.
During this time of uncertainty, our school counseling program and the Tanager Place therapist identified early on the need to also support our teachers. When schools were not meeting in person, teachers were talking about what to do next and worrying about supporting their students and families. A reminder about self-care was in order, and we came across another, deeper term, “soul care.” Together, we made a document titled “Soul Care” that outlined concerns related to toxic stress and offered appropriate strategies for addressing these concerns. We shared the document with school staff and it is now on the school counseling resources page for teachers to refer to when needed.
Another collaboration was providing teachers with support to help meet the needs of kids with increased anxiety. In considering how students could be more anxious due to changing school models related to COVID-19, we decided to give teachers tools on how to implement some mindfulness techniques in their classroom. We researched videos of yoga, breathing, mindful walking, coloring, etc. – making sure to reflect the diversity of our student population – then created a document that linked to the videos, with descriptions and length. We shared this document out to all teachers so they could easily access the videos appropriate for their students. This worked out wonderfully, because during the first couple of weeks of school, extra time was allotted for teachers to provide social/emotional learning in their classrooms. The mindfulness resources also are on the school counseling resources page for the teachers.
Beyond the ways we have collaborated in this exceptional year, there are many ways we are always collaborating. When families are referred to therapy services, the initial paperwork includes a release of information between the school and the school-based therapist. The release allows the therapist and school staff to discuss concerns related to students as needed. The paper-signing provides an opportunity for the therapist to clarify with the family the collaboration that will happen between the therapist and school staff to fully support the family.
One of the most important benefits of open communication between school staff and the school-based therapist relates to student safety. Over the past few years, as children have reported safety concerns at home, the school-based therapist and Prairie Creek counselor have been able to work together to process the information shared by the student, gather more information from other staff in the building, and then make an informed decision about next steps. In cases where DHS has become involved, the therapist and school counselors can work together to maintain strong rapport with the family, and support them through their interaction with DHS.
Collaborating with Tanager Place also offers a wide variety of other supports for students. The school-based therapist can connect families to services provided by Tanager Place from medication management to resource specialists. This could include referrals for assessments, parent support specialists, and resources to address food insecurity.
Contact Jaclyn Lussenhop, ISCA president-elect and school counselor with College Community Schools, at jlussenhop@crprairie.org.