NEWS OF NOTE Conference for mental health professionals planned On Friday, November 8, the Massachusetts Association of Guardians ad Litem and the Massachusetts chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliatory Courts will present a conference for mental health professionals, including school counselors, who work with families in the process of separation or divorce. “When the Court and Clinical Practice Collide: Working with High Conflict and Divorcing Families” will focus on the ways clinicians can provide effective counseling to children who are experiencing high conflict and whose families are involved in the legal system, while also avoiding ethical and legal pitfalls. Presenters include mental health clinicians, attorneys, and members of professional ethics boards. Location: Regis College, Weston, College Hall, Room 202. Time: 8:30 a.m. –
5:00 p.m. To register, go to www.conf nov8.maafcc.org.
Funding for school counselors lags “In a recent call with reporters, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he expects legislators to continue to talk about mental health issues as they relate to school safety. Duncan said that although it is not the sole cause, the link between mental illness and school shootings is ‘huge,’ and that the Department of Education plans to push legislators to invest more in schools that do not have the resources to hire more counselors…. On Aug. 16, the department announced it will give $12.3 million to 35 school districts across the country to fund counseling programs in ‘targeted’ elementary schools. Congress is also considering the Student Support Act, a bill that would set minimum ratios for school coun-
selors, psychologists and social workers. Kirsten Barnes, president of the California Association of School Counselors, says the growing concern and acknowledgement of a need for more counselors are encouraging, but legislators and other leaders need to make sure any changes are sustainable.” — Allie Bidwell, “Lack of Funds Leave School Counselors Struggling to Find Balance,” http:// www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/09/16/lack -of-funds-leave-school-counselors-struggling-tofind-balance, September 16, 2013.
Free resource about online safety offered A free interactive e-book is being made available by NBCUniversal’s “The More You Know” Learning Series. To download Growing Up Online: A Must Have Guide for Parents, Teachers and Kids, go to http://www.themoreyouknow.com/ ebooks.
Changes coming for a collision sport “The Boston-based Sports Legacy Institute, a nonprofit cofounded by Cantu [Dr. Robert] dedicated to the study, treatment, and prevention of brain trauma, reported that there were 350,000 concussions that resulted from practice in high school football last year as compared with just three resulting from practice in the NFL….Concussion prevention demands changing attitudes and techniques at the grass-roots level of the game. Coaches can do it or someone will do it for them.” — Christopher L. Gaspar, “Drawing up a safer way to practice,” Boston Sunday Globe, May 4, 2013, p8.
From One Second to the Next A 35-minute PSA about the dangers of distracted driving by Werner Herzog Made available by AT&T at http://www.itcanwait.com/videos/
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COUNSELOR’S NOTEBOOK