New Training for School Personnel to Promote Mental Health Intervention

[TexasTowelie]

Starting Sept. 1, more Texas teachers will be trained to offer the kind of intervention Saxton’s teacher did when it is needed. Senate Bill 460, by state Sen. Robert Deuell, R-Greenville, will implement new requirements for mental health intervention strategies in schools that are intended to help teachers reach out to students who show signs of mental or emotional distress.

Until recently, talk about mental health policy in Texas was focused on treating serious mental health disorders rather than on assessing disorders before they escalate without treatment, Saxton said.

About 288,000 children live with serious mental health conditions in Texas, according to 2010 figures from the National Alliance on Mental Illness. And those students, according to the Alliance, are more likely to drop out of school.

-snip-

Under the new law, school districts will be required to provide teachers, administrators and staff with training on mental health intervention and suicide prevention to help them identify red flags in a child’s behavior and respond effectively.

The complete story is at http://www.texastribune.org/2013/08/19/new-training-promote-mental-health-intervention/ .

[font color=green]Another assigned duty with no adjustment in compensation. Good luck to all of the educators and staff as they have even more training to attend.[/font]

[napoleon_in_rags]

1. Good. Teen suicide prevention is a noble goal. nt

[TexasTowelie]

2. I agree with you in that it is a noble goal.

Where I take issue is that so much responsibility is being pushed on teachers that they don't have time to actually teach. It is a job that takes exceptional fortitude and the teachers don't receive the appreciation or compensation that they deserve.

[napoleon_in_rags]

3. That's good point too.

If they do it right, the teachers just refer kids to a check in with school psychologist, without having to think about it too much.