Mental Health Resources

 Adolescent mental health disturbance is the not-so-silent epidemic plaguing many schools in the United States. As the demand to develop critical thinkers and master content areas increases, the training and capacity to withstand the growing pressures within the school walls are slow to catch up.  Educators and school faculty race to get to the finish line with their lessons before technology, social media, outside temptations, adverse childhood trauma (ACE), and declining social-emotional skills only to come in second or third place. The Cameron Parish School Board recognizes the need for additional training, resources, and support via social-emotional learning and mental health support offered within the school. 

As we work to provide valuable resources for students and faculty, we want to assure the community that we understand that when children suffer from the devastating effects of poor mental health, their overall development is at risk. 

 

In a given year, as much as 1 in 5 students will develop symptoms and display signs of a mental health disorder.  That means that in a normal class of 25, the teacher is faced with educating 5 children who are coping with adult-like symptoms: anxiety, depression and sadness, and possibly substance abuse. Of those 5, statistics show that only one will receive mental health support, resources, and/or services adequate enough to prevent further damage. The remaining 4 will still be tasked with attending school while school faculty, staff, and educators attempt to fill the gap, or it will go unnoticed. 

 

One ACE or mental health disturbance may lead to chronic absences, low achievement, disruptive behavior, and dropping out of school. Experts say schools could play a role in identifying students with problems and helping them succeed. Yet it's a role many schools are not prepared to adequately fulfill. Educators face the simple fact that, often because of a lack of resources, there just aren't enough people to tackle the job. Often, the ones who are working on it are drowning in huge caseloads leaving kids in need to fall through the cracks. We are proud to say that Cameron Parish schools are working hard to provide critical training for educators, increased collaboration with our local university to provide counselor-interns for social-emotional learning groups, develop teams to address bullying and suicide prevention, self-care groups for staff, and offer individual and group counseling for students on a weekly and bi-monthly basis. 

 

We hope that the community will join us in our efforts to reduce mental health disturbances in students as we encourage equity in classrooms, kindness, open dialogue about common mental illnesses, suicide awareness and prevention, anti-racism, and social-emotional growth and development of our students. 

 

I am passionate about supporting students, educators, and leaders in developing awareness, knowledge, and a deeper understanding of the impact that positive relationships, cultural competency, empathy, and effective communication can have on an organization and its desired outcomes. 

 

 

Frankie Reed-Shaw, PLPC

Social-Emotional Learning Coordinator 

Licensed Mental Health Professional

(Supervised by Marcel Gary)