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Side Institute News Brief – October 2003
School Mental Health: “Let’s Talk About It!”
In October, the Center
for School Mental Health Assistance (CSMHA) – a leader in
advancing school-based mental health programs and in shaping dialogue
on mental health issues for young people – brought together
more than 500 social workers, psychologists, school administrators,
policy makers and health professionals from around the world to
its annual conference in Portland, Oregon. Their focus: “School
Mental Health: Doing What Works!”
With recent studies reporting that one in five school-aged children
suffers from emotional or behavioral problems, the conference
was designed to contribute to the growing national dialogue on
how best to respond to the mental health needs of this population.
The conference brought together leaders in the field, including
Mark Weist, director, CSMHA; Mary Margaret Kerr, director, STAR-Center
Outreach, University of Pittsburgh; Clemens Hosman, professor
of Mental Health Promotion and Prevention of Mental Health Disorders,
the Netherlands; and W. Henry Gregory, University of Maryland
School Mental Health Program; and Barbara Silverman, Director
of Mental Health Services, Erasmus High School, Brooklyn, NY.
Silverman is founder of the award-winning social therapy-influenced
Let’s Talk About It program. Like the CSMHA, Silverman
is a strong proponent of programs that help young people develop
-- programs that build upon strengths, rather than focus on preventing
or remediating pathological conditions. Her workshop, entitled
“Adolescents as Co-Creators of Their Mental Health Programs,”
presented the use of a performance methodology in helping young
people to create their own therapeutic conversations.
Last year Silverman participated in a series of training institutes
sponsored by CSBHA and other national agencies. These institutes
-- produced as part of a national tour in five US cities -- were
designed to allow school-based health personnel to further their
understanding of several clinical service areas, including asthma,
risk assessment, mental health and substance abuse prevention.
In addition to being on the faculty advisory group for curriculum
development and coordinating the mental health team, Silverman
presented on strength-based approaches to prevention and intervention.
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