Parts of School Psychology remind me of my previous gig as a Social Worker. When I worked at the children's emergency shelter as a Social Worker I was frequently asked by staff members to come in speak to a child because they "wouldn't stop crying" or they "are refusing to get up and go to breakfast," things like that. Basically, the kid being sad was getting in the way of the shelter's schedule. The deal was, these kids had usually been in the emergency shelter for less that 24 hours and, in being at the emergency shelter, that meant they had recently been removed from the care of their parents/guardians and may even have been seperated from siblings. Usually I went and talked with them when asked. I tried to explain what was happening now and what would/could happen in the days to come. If they had questions, which the typically did not, I would try my best to give them answers or put them in touch with someone who could. I would let them cry and tell them that how they were feeling was completely normal. And then, after sitting with the kid for a while, I would let them know where to find me if they needed me in the future and then would walk out and tell the staff member to leave the kid alone for a while and if they chose to not eat breakfast that was fine. So, did I fix them? N-O-P-E. Typically when I left they looked and felt pretty much the same as they did when I got there. Sure, they were probably a little more informed, but they still felt and looked like crap.
These same expectation about "fixing" kids problems seems to have carried over into my current role as a school psych intern. This week, I was asked to talk with a girl. Her mom had contacted the school because her daughter seemed "sad." So basically, I got a directive to go speak with her and figure out what the problem was. *Sigh* When I got the request I had a flashback of my children's shelter experiences. So I went and got the girl, who of course was pretty shy and possibly scared to be pulled out of class by a complete stranger. I gave her an opening spiel explaining my role and telling her that sometimes I talked with kids to make sure everything was going ok and to see if it wasn't if I could help. I told her that her mom had asked me to talk with her because she was worried about her and asked her what was up. The girl told me her cat, Willy*, had been sick and was throwing up and she was afraid it would die - that was why she had been feeling sad. So we talk about the beloved pet for a little bit, she says she feels better, we play a card game a casually chat for a bit and then I let her know if she ever needs to talk how to contact me in the future. I call mom to fill her in with what the kid said and mom says that cannot be the cause of the child's sadness as the pet was only sick one day and the kid has been sad over a week. Well that would have been nice information to know before meeting with the kid! She then goes on to share with me a bunch of familial drama that has been occurring that she has been trying to shield the kid from. Her form of protection? Lying. I offer to meet with kid on a regular basis to check in with her and mom decides that she wants to join in. So now, I think I am doing a family counseling session next week with a kid who is sad and a mom who wont tell her the truth. So I guess this situation is a bit different - now I need to fix the kid and the mom. Next week is going to be fun.
*Name changed to protect the innocent.
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