Mental Health Support at CCS

Mrs. Tricia Schinkel (BA, MC:AT) Registered Psychotherapist, Art Therapist School Counsellor   Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday; 8:30-3:30 (WEST 5th); Unity - as requested Mental Health Services:  Focus on student care, mental health & wellness, belonging, social and emotional development Design and deliver school wide social-emotional learning (SEL) programs and curriculum that can improve student outcomes and provide learning for ALL students about tools to identify, express, and manage their emotions in healthy ways (TIER 1 - WHOLE SCHOOL SUPPORT. ex. Zones of Regulation curriculum) Assess students social/emotional needs and challenges (TIER 2 - SOME STUDENTS SPECIFIC SUPPORT) Provide short term individual counselling support to students as needed (TIER 3 - INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT) Consult and collaborate with educators, staff, and parents related to student social-emotional needs Advocate for student social and emotional needs Provide resources for and connect families to the community for long term supports Stay up to date with professional development to increase knowledge for evidence based practice Students can be referred for individual short term support by teacher, parents, admin, or self-referral. The goal of the individual sessions is to assess and evaluate their functioning and to provide short term skill building for emotions and managing stress. Students are offered 3-6 visits with the School Counsellor (SC), unless determined otherwise. The school counsellor will assess whether more visits are needed or whether students/families may be referred for long term counselling support within the community. Students over 12 have the right to seek confidential counselling, without the consent of a parent (Child and Family Services Act).

Dog Therapy Program January 2023                                   

We are so pleased to have Syndie as our assisted therapy dog. The 6 handlers have been working hard since September 2022 to train with Syndie and be ready to implement the dog therapy program. Sydnie is located in Mrs.Schinkel's office and is here for additional emotional support, as well as to increase school spirit. Stay tuned to hear about all the ways that Sydnie works at the school.

Mental Health and Social Media                                          

Upcoming Event: February 27,2023 

Join us to listen to a presentation by Brett Ullman about "Media: navigating everything". Brett Ullman is a well known youth culture, media and mental health expert who has been speaking on these subjects for 25 years. People appreciate his well researched, wise and practical approach to todays issues and the way in which he captures your attention. This talk will provide you with steps to take in order to better use media for good and ways to decrease its bad effects. Sign up for free here:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/brett-ullman-media-navigating-everything-tickets-519909381957

Social media and, specifically pornography, is having a significant impact on our children and students. Take the time to read more from the InTouch publication in June 2022,  the impact of pornography. Below are the references that were used in the article:

Parent presentation - It's time we talked (itstimewetalked.com)

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/how-to-tell-who-your-kid-is-talking-to-online-and-how-to-keep-their-convos-cool

https://www.brettullman.com/2014/11/17/christians-sex-education/

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/articles/how-to-talk-to-teens-about-dealing-with-online-predators

 National School Counselling Week   Feb 6-10, 2023          

 Mental Health Awareness Week   May 1-7, 2023                

Every May, nationally we acknowledge Mental Health Week. At CCS, we have begun to bring more awareness to Mental Health Month and the goal is to emphasize that we all have mental health and just like physical health, learning about and caring for our mental wellness is important. The student wellness team has helped bring awareness to mental wellness themes throughout the year but also during the month of May. 

MHW2021 Homepage - Canadian Mental Health Association (mentalhealthweek.ca)

In response to COVID 19, a list of mental health resources was created for parents and families:

Mental Health Resources:

• School Mental Health Ontario
• Focus on the Family
• Child Mind Institute: Helping your child cope with frightening news
• Child Mind Institute: Going back to school after tragedy
• School Counsellor.org - Tips for self care
• School Counsellor.org - Tips for Parents

Crisis Response Resources: 

• COAST (Crisis Outreach Support Team) Hamilton

         905-972-8338 or 1-844-972-8338 

• KidsHelp.ca (text, phone, live chat, and resources available) 
  
  1-888-668-6868
• 911
• Go to McMaster Children's Hospital ER: CHYMES (Child and Youth Mental Health Emergency Services)

In 2019-2020, when the school counselling program began at Calvin, the Zones of Regulation curriculum was introduced as a school wide initiative to increase social and emotional awareness. This continues to be taught so that kids have a universal language to label, express, and manage emotions. 

Zones of Regulation Explained