Transitions to adulthood: Supporting teens with mental health issues

Transitions to adulthood: Supporting teens with mental health issues

Author: Ethical Schools August 26, 2021 Duration: 37:32

We speak with Dr. Marsha Ellison and Evelyn Frankford about assisting students with serious mental health challenges make transitions from high school. These students often don’t receive the supports they want and need, especially finding work or navigating college disability accommodations. Long-term relationships with a knowledgeable adult and positive youth development strategies can make a difference—but require commitments of time and money.  

Overview

00:00-00:52 Intros

00:52-02:45 Numbers of students with serious mental health conditions

02:45-06:47 Schools’ capacity to recognize and serve students with serious mental health conditions

06:47-09:47 Responding to students’ needs and motivations—a positive youth development model

09:47-14:54 Strategies; intensity of relationship building; problems with the Medicaid model

14:54-15:40 Looking at the whole context of where the youth is coming from

15:40-18:23 Transitions from high school—counselors’ limitations; supporting and improving counselors’ capacity

18:23-27:02 Special ed reforms to support successful transitions

27:02-29:55 Moving from punitive to supportive approaches to behavioral issues

29:55-32:22 Participatory action research

32:22-35:08 Ethical issues in psychiatry’s (and social work’s) history and practice

Transcription

Click here to see the full transcript of this episode. 

...

Conversations about education often focus on test scores and curriculum, but there’s a deeper layer that truly shapes a student’s experience. Ethical Schools digs into that layer, exploring what it means to build a learning community grounded in integrity and care. Each week, hosts Amy and Jon sit down with educators and innovators who are actively reimagining schools. You’ll hear specific, grounded discussions about the practical work of creating environments where every student feels safe and respected. The dialogue frequently addresses how to support young people dealing with trauma, moving beyond theory to share actionable strategies that teachers are using right now. More than just problem-solving, this podcast highlights how to empower students themselves to become advocates and changemakers in their own communities. It’s a series that connects philosophy with daily practice, looking at the social and cultural structures within schools through a lens of ethics. For anyone invested in the future of education-whether you’re a teacher, administrator, or simply a concerned community member-this podcast offers a thoughtful and necessary perspective on the foundational values that make education meaningful.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 240

Ethical Schools
Podcast Episodes
Reframing masculinity: Stopping violence against women and girls [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:09
Quentin Walcott (“Q”), a leading NYC and international anti-violence educator and activist, creates programs that help transform men and boys — even batterers — into activists against violence. He focuses on the intersec…
Ed schools as allies to new teachers of color [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:30
Dr. Harriet (“Niki”) Fayne of Lehman College School of Education describes strategies to support new teachers and “second stage” teacher-leaders. She discusses ways to attract teacher candidates, reduce early-years attri…
Paula Rogovin: Creating a social justice early childhood classroom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:32
We speak with Paula Rogovin, who taught kindergarten and first grade in NYC public schools for 44 years. Paula empowered the youngest students to become researchers and activists. She encourages students to ask questions…
Jesse Hagopian on bringing Black Lives Matter into schools [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:00
We speak with Jesse Hagopian, an editor for ReThinking Schools and a long-time teacher in the Seattle Public Schools. He is a co-editor of the book Teaching for Black Lives. Jesse discusses the groundbreaking annual Nati…
Adjoa Jones de Almeida of the Brooklyn Museum on art as experience [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:45
We speak with Adjoa Jones de Almeida, Director of Education at the Brooklyn Museum. We discuss the significance of “art as experience.” Ms. Jones de Almeida describes art’s transformational power to educate and empower s…
Melissa Rivers on Community-Based Education in Rural Alaska [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:30
We speak with Melissa Rivers, Principal of the Scammon Bay School in Alaska’s Lower Yukon, a mile from the Bering Sea. The isolated, tight-knit Yupik Eskimo community is subsistence-based, harvesting moose and salmon. St…
Mark Santow on Suing Rhode Island for Educational Equal Protection [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:45
We speak with Dr. Mark Santow, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. Dr. Santow and his middle school son, along with 12 other plaintiffs, are suing the state of Rhode Island in…