Joseph, great response! You get what we are all about in this sector of higher education.
I totally agree. Everyone has problems, some have more then others. Not everyone realizes this. Sometimes they come in crying or very distracted due to something that has happened and are ready to quite. It's too stressful. That is where we come in and maybe share our experience, or someone else's of the trials and tribulations we have gone through and encourage them that if I can do it, you can too!
I agree. Many of my students are in school to stay out of jail. We provide a means for them to turn their life around, only if we continue to remember that they all have problems. We must help them make better decisions on dealing with their problems so they don't continue making the wrong choices.
If we admit to being professionals, then I do not beleive that we can call ourselves "mental health" professionals because we have not been trained nor do we have the credentials.
Glen,
I agree with your statement, that we cannot call ourselves “mental health” professionals because we have not been trained nor do we have the credentials. However, Dr. Joe Pace gave a great explanation of the meaning of being in the “mental health” business in the career college sector. In the December 21, 2008 post he states, “By Mental Health we mean that many students need to learn "Life Skills" that should be Modeled, Mentored and Monitored by all employees.” Most of our students show up to school with a lot of baggage, and they need our assistance in leaning the “life skills” to obtain the lives and careers they want.
I disagree. We are in the education business however; we have a responsibility to our students to help them through a challenging part of their life. We need to understand that it’s our responsibility to help our students reach there goals. The term “mental health” seems like it’s an unpleasant experience helping our students.
Excellent response. You are an Intelligent Heart.
"Mental Health" means helping our students understand the baggage they may have and how to deal with some of the challenges they may come across in their educational career.
Yes, mental health is part of the big picture. The client comes to us with many parts to the package. Depending on how we define mental health, in its broadest perspective, we are talking about the mental state of the client. We have all seen the fearful client, the aggressive client, suspicious client and so forth. What is the vision that this client has of themselves? Knowing what that vision is helps us to provide the necessary customer service. At our college, every student undergoes two interviews - one with the admission advisor and one with the program chair. Both interviews are looking at the vision and through it, the mental health of the client. Interviews really help in the selection of students and in the referral of students for other services.
This can only work if the student stays constant and doesn't change. What if a student undergoes change while in the program? I believe it is the obligation of everyone in the school to be aware of a studen'ts mental state. It may be better to error on the side of wrong than ignore something that seems to need attention. Mental health is not necessarily a negative things, but it does describe a person's state as we can perceive it.
I like that description. When we offer students, for example, time management workshops or stress management workshops, this is all about mental health. I was recently researching various student services offered by colleges and was surprised at how I only found one college that offered nutition classes and "brain diet" kinds of courses. This would be helpful to students. There needs to be a balance between study skills and such and life skills types of workshops.
Lucy,
This is a great explanation of what we mean by "mental health". All of our students, and even we have baggage that we bring with us everyday and must understand how to deal with that to accomplish our vision and goals.
As a shop owner/service writer, I always knew I was partially in the "mental health" business. In the repair business you may find yourself the scapegoat for a multitude of problems beyond your control and you have to figure out how to handle each customer. In the business of education it really boils down to listening to your customer - in this case, the student - and doing what's necessary to help them be successful.
I don't know if I would agree with the term "Mental health" but many students will need coaching and mentoring in the basic social behaviors relating to their area of training.
James,
This is a great point! It is as simple as listening and individualizing each problem for that person.
Matthew,
I agree that students will need coaching and mentoring. If you look back in the post you will see that by mental health we simply mean reprograming their thoughts.
It is good to enourage students but ultimately they have be accountable for what ever action they take.
You are correct that students have to be accountable, but we (faculty and staff) can have a major impact on their success.
Yes I do agree with that because you are dealing with the mental state of every student.
yes we are more than a school we are also the adult prsent they do not have when not at home. we get many things bounced off of us.
