School Psychology Misdirected

U C Berkeley School Psychology ConferenceMay 9, 2008

Jane Close Conoley, Ph.D. University of California

Santa Barbara

Special Thanks to Gutkin, T.B. Ecological school

psychology: A personal opinion and a plea for change

To appear in: T. B. Gutkin & C. R. Reynolds (Eds.), The handbook of school psychology (4th

ed.). New York: Wiley.

National Comorbidity Replication Survey (Kessler & Associates, 2005)

• Every year, 25% of Americans are diagnosable with a DSM mental disorder (approximately 60% either moderate or serious)

• Nearly 60% will receive no treatment in any given year

• Median delay between onset and treatment - 6 to 23 years for those with lifetime disabilities

• Half of all lifetime diagnosable mental disorders begin by age 14

• “Most people with mental disorders in the United States remain either untreated or poorly treated.”

WHO World Mental Health Survey Consortium (2004)

“Approximately 85% of Americans will not receive health care

treatment for their diagnosable mental or substance-abuse disorder

within a year. More than 70% of them will never receive specialized

mental health care.” (Norcross, 2006, p. 683)

Milken InstituteAn Unhealthy America: The Economic

Burden of Chronic Disease.National annual cost of mental

disorders = $217 billion (treatment, lost economic output) - third only to cancer

and coronary disease (DeVol & Bedroussian, 2007)

250 Million prescriptionsin 2006

• anti-depressant, anti-psychotic and anti-anxiety medications (Munsey, 2008; Burt, McCaig & Rechtsteiner, 2007)

Thomas Insel - Director of the National Institute of Mental Health

Data such as these are indicative of

“a systemic and unacceptable failure in the provision of [mental health] care” in the United States (Insel &

Fenton, 2005, p. 590).

U. S. Surgeon General “The nation is facing a public crisis in mental

healthcare for infants, children and adolescents.” (U.S. Public Health Service, 2000)

The “foremost finding is that most children in

need of mental health services do not get them.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

1999, p. 180)

THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN

POPULATION-BASED SERVICES

PREVENTION

EARLY INTERVENTION

Effective Remediation Services

Ideal Distribution of Services

OUR HIGHEST PRIORITY GOALS – MOST IMPORTANT JOB ROLES

1. Engage and motivate primary caregivers (e.g.,

teachers, parents) in the lives of children so they take action in behalf of children

2. Give psychology away (Miller, 1969) to primary

caregivers (e.g., teachers, parents) in the lives of children so they take effective action in behalf of

children

Medical Model

Human Behavior = Individual, environment

Ecological Model

Behavior = Individual Environment

Traditional Clinical Psychology Service Delivery – Direct, Medical Model

• Daily Interaction Student • Teacher (The Problem = Pathology)• Referral• Assessment &• TREATMENT• Brief Feedback

Psychologist

School Psychology Consultation Service Delivery – Indirect, Ecological Model

Daily Interaction (The Problem = I-E “Match”)

Teacher ……………………………………………… Student(s)Treatment

Assessment & Referral Assessment Assessment

CONSULTATION

Psychologist

Comprehensive programs consist of school readiness, parent involvement that empowers parents to take a role in education across grades K-12, and school-linked services designed to improve achievement by ensuring that the health and social needs of children are met.

Policymakers and educators have mostly ignored the nature of interactions between families and schools…this relationship may be “the missing link in school-linked social service programs”

Smrekar (1994)

Constructive Connection: The 6 “C”s

• Context • Centrality• Complexity

• Consistency• Communication• Collaboration

CContext

• Site specific

• There is no one prescription

Family-School Teams Ask

• What forms of parent participation are desirable and feasible? and

• What strategies can be employed to achieve them?

This team, amongst other things, is a vehicle for establishing a common language, mapping existing school- and community-based resources, and identifying student, family, and staff needs.

CComplex Relationships

• The child/family system is in transaction with the school/schooling system

• Home and school inputs and resources• Match between home and school

Home Inputs

• Include messages about –Effort –Attitudes about the value of learning–Sense of self as a learner

School Inputs

• New experiences • Demands • Opportunities • Rewards

CCentral to Child Development

“If educators view children simply as students, they are likely to see the family as separate from school. That is, the family is expected to do its job and leave the education of children to the schools. If educators view children as children, they are likely to see both the family and community as partners with the school in children's education and development”

Epstein (1995)

Activities

• Parenting• Communicating• Home learning

• Volunteering• Shared decision

making and governance

• Community support

Family-School Relationships Are Essential

• ADHD (August, Anderson, & Bloomquist, 1992)• Conduct disorders (Reid & Patterson, 1992; Webster-

Stratton 1993)• Social skills deficits (Sheridan, Kratochwill, & Elliott,

1990)• Homework completion difficulties (Jayanthi, sawyer,

nelson, Bursuck, & Epstein, 1995)• Significant improvement in academic achievement

(Hansen, 1986; Heller & Fantuzzo, 1993).

CConsistency Across Systems

• Set realistic expectations• Provide a structure and routine for

learning• Enhance students’ learning

opportunities• Support students’ learning• Establish positive relationships • Model learning

Home Values X Achievement

• Strong, consistent values about the importance of education.

• Willingness to help children and to intervene at schools.

• Ability to become involved.

CCommunication: Foundational Element

• Two-way communication is necessary to co-construct the “bigger” picture about the child’s life

• Families and school personnel see the child in their respective environments and jump to conclusions about the child’s behavior in the other environment

CCollaboration

• Equal status between participants (e.g., parents, teachers, students, psychologists, principals)

• A common goal• Adequate leadership and support (e.g.,

school district, state, federal levels)

Sample Programs

Check and Connect• Model designed to promote student

engagement with school for youth at high risk for dropping out

(Sinclair, Christenson, Evelo, & Hurley, 1997)

Conjoint Behavioral Consultation (CBC)

• Process entails four separate stages for professionals and families to work together on identifying and solving academic, social-emotional, or behavioral concerns for students:– Problem identification– Problem analysis– Implementation, and– Evaluation

(Sheridan, Kratochwill, & Bergan, 1996)

Connecting With Families

• Family school meetings (Weiss & Edwards, 1992),

• Family-school consultation (Carlson, Hickman, & Horton, 1992), and

• Parent-educator problem solving (Christenson, 1995).

Comer’s School Development Program

• Illustrates the power of relationships at a systems level

(Comer et al., 1996).

Comer’s School Development Program

• 3 teams– Parent, school planning and management, and student and staff

support• 3 operations

– Comprehensive school plan, staff development, and periodic assessment and modification

• 3 guiding principles to create a positive school climate for learning– Consensus - decisions made by consensus– Collaboration - viewpoints of team members are heard and

respected– No-fault - time is not wasted on unproductive blaming

Key Elements of Successful Programs

• Parents are children’s first teachers and have a lifelong influence on their values, attitudes, and aspirations

• Children’s educational success requires congruence between what is taught at school and values matched at home

Key Elements of Successful Programs

• Most parents care deeply about their children’s education and can provide substantial support if given specific opportunities and knowledge

• Schools must take the lead in eliminating or at least reducing traditional barriers to parent involvement