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Illustrations: Julie Elman
• Available mental health resources - 2 • Group seeks community support - 3 • Businesses need help to survive- 4
Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.
WEDNESDAYS • May 13, 2020
Richmond & Hampton Roads
LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE
Schools struggle to provide mental health resources during coronavirus pandemic ALEXIS ANGELUS & STACEY DEC
CNS - Virginia school administrators say they are struggling to provide mental health services during the coronavirus pandemic, even as vulnerable students continue with online studies away from regular counseling and support. As school systems move to virtual learning, school counseling resources, deemed critical to student wellness by the U.S. Department of Education, are unable to provide in-person therapy for high-risk students. The alternative treatments -- online sessions or new therapists from community services boards -- could fall short in continuing care and supporting students during the pandemic, mental health professionals say. The global crisis has brought added stress and anxiety to students and their families. More than 100,000 children and teens suffer from mental illness in Virginia, according to the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The pandemic “is going to exacerbate some of those kids' symptoms -- even the kids that have outside providers,” said Nicolo Porto, a high school social worker in Northern Virginia. “The biggest thing that we’re still working through is we can’t provide mental health services to kids.” For many students, access to trusted adults and mental health resources were suddenly cut off on March 23, when Gov. Ralph Northam officially closed schools throughout Virginia for the rest of the academic year. Several
other local school boards made the decision weeks earlier. “I was genuinely devastated,” said one student from Chesterfield, Virginia, who had been regularly meeting with her school’s resource officer and relied on support from three teachers. The 18-year-old student, who wished to remain anonymous, said her resources at school were like family to her. “Those four people were my rock. They were the sole reason why I would get out of bed in the morning,” the Chesterfield teen said. “I never got to say a goodbye or anything.
One day they were 3 feet away from me and next they were gone -- like someone just turned the light off. I still get emotional thinking about it.” Universal efforts are being made across school divisions to help children transition, Maribel Saimre, director of student services at the Virginia Department of Education, wrote in an email statement. Although schools are providing students and their parents with coping strategies during virtual learning, consistency of care is not guaranteed, she said. “Resources vary by community,”
Saimre said. “Crisis intervention is available across all community service boards, but other services are going to vary depending on the locality and providers.” While some school districts are embracing telehealth, others are hesitant to use it as a replacement for in-person treatment. Virtual counseling poses privacy concerns, and can produce lower quality care, Porto said. Porto, who specializes in crisis intervention and trauma, said his role as a school social worker greatly shifted to an administrative role when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Virginia. Porto had been working regularly with several students when his school district suddenly closed schools. Since his school closed, he has had no contact or time to make contingency plans with any of his students due to legal and ethical concerns. Each school district has its own guidelines for how or if counselors can contact their students. For example, some districts allow counselors to send emails to students to check in, but others require specific signed permission for outside-of-school contact related to privacy practices and counseling confidentiality. School social workers and psychologists in Virginia are not required to complete telehealth training as it frequently isn’t necessary in typical school environments. Even with training, Porto said the quality of virtual healthcare is diminished because counselors cannot analyze body language.
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