What a year! 2022 in the Books.
I think I can speak for most that we were all excited to get kids back into school, and back to “in person learning”. I also found that zoom opened up many opportunities for me professionally given that school districts figured keeping meetings on zoom was very time effective for families. In March 2020 when the world was shutting down and many of the families I was supporting with issues like school avoidance or, depression, turned into very significant mental health challenges. Many children were being forced to stay in emergency rooms for weeks or even months until a bed was located. This crisis lead me to expand my practice into therapeutic consulting. As a mom of two young adult children, I also found myself struggling to find services for one of my sons and know the stress and emotional toll this takes on families.
Professionally I am part of groups that support each other and share experience and knowledge to help families find the recourses they need to support their struggling children. One is the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) The other is Thereputic Counsultant Association (TCA) I have also attended many conferences with School Connections, which is a way for school, programs, agents, and educational consultants to come together for informational and networking. This past summer I participated in a tour called Southern Utah Program Alliance and was able to visit, tour, and meet with about 20 different programs. I did similar tours in North Carolina in June, and in Florida this month. The purpose of the tours is to meet staff, view the programs, ask questions and see the cohort of the students in the programs. When I refer a program I can call the Admissions person I have already meet and I can talk to the families directly about my experience being at the program and my share what types of treatment they are providing and make sure it would be a good fit for their child.
I have been asked by some parents, “can’t I just google placements to find the best one for my child to go to”? The problem with doing this is that these are programs that are paying to advertise, and it’s hard to get a real sense of what the program can provide and if it will be a good fit for your child. A skilled therapeutic consultant or referring professional will have an in-depth knowledge of the many programs, facilities and services that are available to assist families. They will get to know their client’s individual challenges, the overall family dynamics and which services or supports are going to best help the individual and family move forward on a more positive path.
In short, therapeutic consultants work with clients to find solutions for the problems they are facing. In a field as complex and overwhelming as behavioral health and addiction treatment, having an experienced consultant lead the way is invaluable. We can refer you to the top resources across the country and help you avoid the many pitfalls that families often face when they are trying to navigate these challenges on their own. Consultants will help you research programs, find the best possible treatment options and support you through a therapeutic placement process, managing any crisis along the way and making sure you do everything possible to have a good outcome.
I have worked with many families to try to have their local school districts pay for some or all of the programing costs. This is somewhat unique to consultants, typically these families are paying full price and all out of pocket for the expense of programs. Some insurance will cover a portion of it treatment but not all.
So 2022 has been an amazing year and I continue to look forward to growing and expanding to help even more families within the therapeutic placement and special education world.
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