the harmful effects of lacking mental health professionals

the harmful effects of lacking mental health professionals

Dear Principal,

I want to bring to your attention the harmful effects of lacking mental health professionals, especially in school districts that serve low-income, students of colour. Many teachers and administrators would agree to the point that every school district should have at least one or two mental health professionals to help these students get through the many challenges they face in life, especially the students of colour. Research on this topic shows that many students of colour are subjected to suicidal thoughts and actions (Atkins et al., 2008). They eventually end up killing themselves due to lack of someone to assist them with the many issues they face that causes mental health problems..

First, I want to explain how the harm of lacking mental health professionals came about. It will shade some light as to why the school districts will need mental health professionals, especially in schools with low-income, students of colour. Since the slavery era, it gave rise to racism, which is still experienced by these people in the United States of America. Also, gang-related cases have been reported to be high among the people of color. However, the most affected are the young people, especially the students who go to these district schools. These students are forced to join the gangs while others participate due to their reasons, e.g. to be able to earn and support their families. The primary reason why these students enter the groups is because of the fear placed upon them in the U.S. in joining the gangs. These students feel a sense of security as they feel safe to hang around people who are like them and would instead take matters in their own hands since the authority does not do much for them. These students lose focus on education and waste their futures due to lack of personnel to point them in the right direction. Therefore, mental health professionals are meant for this purpose as the issues with these students is always psychological (Burns et al., 2015).

The primary reason why lacking mental health professionals in school districts is harmful to students is that they lack a confidant (Atkins et al., 2008). Most students, especially those of colour, undergo a lot through their school lives that cause them trauma, thus fall off the trail. When this happens, they need someone to talk to and educated personnel who can help them through whatever they are going through. However, these professionals are nowhere; thus, most students end up falling off the waggon and losing focus of school life. They end up joining gangs and most end up being killed in the streets.

On the other hand, most students undergo bullying in these schools. They are either bullied in school by fellow students or even outside schools. When this happens, they tend to get stressed, and others also suffer from depression at very young ages (Atkins et al., 2008). In such cases, such students need guidance and counselling from a mental health professional. But due to lack of them in school districts, most students end up hurting themselves physically and even suicides.

The only solution to the above harmful effects on students is to ensure the hiring of mental health professionals in school districts (Richardson, Morrissette & Zucker, 2012). The school district’s board of directors should ensure this personnel are hired, at least two or three in every school in the area. After hiring them, every school should create public awareness to their students on the importance of these personnel and how they should make an effort to visit and talk to them on matters that are concerning. They should also be made to feel free to speak with them and assured psychological help after their sessions.

I believe the solution offered is reasonable and easy to implement for the benefit of these students in these schools. These students need to live in a world of no fear and a sense of someone caring about their mental health. The only place they can be offered this kind of help easily is in the schools. Hiring these professionals is the only way to achieve this for the students. In doing so, the many cases of suicides and killings of students with colour will reduce and probably end one day.

References

Atkins M, Frazier S, Leathers S, Grassy P, Talbot E, Adil J, et al. (2008). Teacher key opinion leaders and mental health consultation in urban low-income schools. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology; 76, pp. 905–908.

Burns B.J, Costello E.J, Angold A, Tweed D, Stangl D, Farmer EM, Et Al. (2015). Children’s Mental Health Service Use across Service Sectors. Health Affairs; 14, pp. 147–159

Richardson, T., Morrissette, M & Zucker, L. (2012). School-Based Adolescent Mental Health Programs. Social Work Today; 12(6), Pp.1-24