February 3, 2012

Charities school counseling program empowers families

Ned Andrew Solomon, Tennessee Register

Sometimes, school children need more than help with math or spelling or science. Sometimes, their problems start outside the classroom.

For 35 years, the Catholic Charities school counseling program has offered help to students in Catholic schools in the Diocese of Nashville.

The program helps address the complexity of the “whole child,” said John Foreman, principal of St. Ann School in Nashville, which has used Catholic Charities school counselors for more than 20 years.

“Children develop physically, socially, spiritually, artistically, and of course, cognitively,” said Foreman. “I think Catholic schools understand this particularly well, and they create programming that meets the varied needs of developing children.”

Those needs are met in a number of ways. Counselors help students and families develop coping skills, deal with changes within a family, and, when needed, make referrals to other community resources when issues are beyond the counselors’ scope. Their services are provided in group settings, classroom workshops and one-on-one sessions.

School counselors can help determine if a family is experiencing a challenging situation, such as a chronic illness or divorce, if a child has an anxiety disorder or is a victim of bullying, or if testing for a learning disability or a mental health issue is required.

“Although counselors typically refer outside of school for psycho-educational testing, they can teach students skills in dealing with bullies, and strategies for coping with uncomfortable feelings of loss or anxiety,” said Mary Hemminger, coordinator of the Children and Youth Counseling Program.

In 2011, the school counseling program provided 2,700 counseling hours in six schools in the diocese. Over the course of its 35-year life, the program has counseled students in 17 schools.

Individual schools contract with Catholic Charities for a certain number of counselor days per week. Decisions are based on the population and anticipated needs of individual schools, as well as a particular school’s budget. The amount of the schools’ contribution comprises a third of the program’s actual cost; the other two thirds is made up of funds from the Bishop’s Annual Appeal and Catholic Charities fund-raising.

All counselors have offices for their use while on site, which reflects the program’s commitment to providing private space for the confidentiality of students and families.

In order to meet the needs of the “whole child,” parent involvement is a key element, and the program strives to bring them to the table whenever possible.

“Parents are the experts on their children,” Hemminger said. “That initial contact by phone and then in person lets the parents know we want not only their permission, but involvement in developing a treatment plan for their child. Parents don’t usually send their children to the pediatrician by themselves. Neither do we want to develop goals that the child and parent will not be aligned with, and work on.”

Hemminger has found that when parents give their children permission to speak to a counselor, it enables the child to be more forthcoming in the sessions. If through those sessions more serious problems are identified, family counseling may be recommended through Catholic Charities or another mental health provider.

Additionally, parents are given supplemental resources, like parenting books and information about related websites. On occasion, different parenting skills workshops have been conducted in the evenings, like “Parent to Parent” and “Preparing for Adolescence,” as well as an overview of the role counselors play in the schools.

Variety of offerings

There are some topics that affect all, or a large number of children in a school. “We are seeing an increase in issues surrounding the Internet,” said Hemminger. “This certainly is not something we were dealing with 35 years ago.”

In response, counselors present classroom workshops on Internet safety and cyberbullying. The workshops are designed to teach students how to avoid risky activities on-line, as well as what to do if they find themselves in an unsafe situation.

Other long-running counseling programs include Faithful Friends and RAINBOWS. “Friends” is a support program originally established 10 years ago by Nancy Salyer, the first Catholic Charities school counselor at Immaculate Conception School in Clarksville, near the Fort Campbell Army post. It specifically addresses the needs and challenges of students who have a family member in the military.

RAINBOWS supports children who have had a loss in their family, either through divorce or death.

“Through peer support groups led by a trained facilitator, children are able to grieve, learn coping skills to get through their specific loss, and get on with being a child,” explained Hemminger. “Group counseling is a very effective way of helping the child know they are not alone facing a loss – there are other children facing similar losses.”

Positive outcomes

Counselors and school personnel have seen numerous positive outcomes over the years. After presenting bullying workshops, teachers and administrators have noticed bystanders getting involved to protect victims. They’ve observed students using self-soothing techniques before taking a test. They’ve noted improved grades when children can get past their anxiety and hurt feelings to focus on work.

“I remember a time when a fifth grader learned the skills to bring up an important topic with her mother,” Hemminger recalled. “We role-played in our session her talking to her mom. She was able to go home and have a successful conversation with her mother who supported and listened to her daughter’s concerns and issues.

“School counselors can help make conversations with adults not so scary, whether it is a teacher or parent,” continued Hemminger. “And the students have learned a skill that will help carry them into adulthood.”

Catholic Charities counselors are also called upon, en masse, in the event of a school tragedy. Available members of the team “descend on the hurting school” and envelope the teachers and their classes with support, caring and needed resources.

“This is one of our strongest services, and this particular service is not limited to the schools that contract with us,” said Hemminger. “We will always respond in an emergency to all diocesan schools.”

‘Like a giant family’

The past 35 years have been very successful for this Catholic Charities program. According to Hemminger, as principals, priests and school boards have witnessed how effective school counseling is, several schools have opted to put a full- or part-time counselor in their budget. 

“Schools are like a giant family,” said Foreman. “And just like in our own biological families there are times of particular stress or even acute trauma, so too in the life of a school. In any given year there will be deaths, divorces, interpersonal conflicts and depression in every school. School counselors, with the strength of the entire Catholic Charities staff behind them, are able to help students, families and even entire school communities work through difficult and traumatic experiences.” 

The counseling program is located at 30 White Bridge Road in Nashville. For more information, contact Hemminger at (615) 352-3087 or mhemminger@cctenn.org.

Anniversary celebration

The Catholic Charities School Counseling Program will mark its 35th year of serving students and families in diocesan schools at an open house reception 2-4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, at St. Mary Villa, 30 White Bridge Road, Nashville. For more information, contact Mary Hemminger, program coordinator, at (615) 352-3087 or mhemminger@cctenn.org.