DAY TREATMENT STUDENTS MOVE TO ONLINE LEARNING AND THERAPY

Dan Mucci • Apr 20, 2020

The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced all Stark County children in grades K-12 to move to online learning. Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health’s (C&A’s) Trauma Informed Day Treatment students and teachers have had to adapt as well.


The students attending C&A’s Day Treatment program, kindergarten through 12th grade, deal with emotional and behavioral challenges that most students do not face. The students attending school at C&A have experienced trauma that does not allow the child to participate in the classroom in their home school district. For these students, routine is an important aspect of their treatment and during this time, C&A teachers and therapist are working hard to keep the kids engaged through online learning as well as meet their mental and behavioral health needs through teletherapy or in person.

C&A TRANSITIONS TO ONLINE LEARNING:

“Our teachers and students are adjusting impressively well,” said Dan Metzgar, Day Treatment program manager. “The teachers are working hard to continue to educate the students even though the students are not in the school building.”

Metzgar said students and teachers are meeting through Zoom. He also said if students prefer, they are able to receive one-on-one instruction while practicing personal distancing when the students come in to meet with their therapist. At that point, students are receiving work from home bags.


For traditional students, maintaining attention span may be difficult when reading material on a school-issued electronic device or staring at a screen. For students who have trauma issues, the challenges sometimes increase.


“Overall, things have been going well,” said Metzgar. “The kids have been adjusting well to the circumstances. A few of the students have struggled not having the structure and routine they were use to but they are starting to make the adjustments that are necessary in this situation.”

EVERY STUDENT LEARNS DIFFERENTLY EVEN UNDER USUAL CIRCUMSTANCES:

The students who attend our Day Treatment program also receive individual and group therapy as part of the school experience. The groups are still meeting via Zoom.


Part of their daily structure in the program is participating in therapeutic groups. “We have set up therapeutic groups through Zoom,” said Metzgar.

“It is still a work in progress as we try to get more clients to participate consistently but the ones that have participated have seemed to enjoy the experience and being able to see their classmates.”


“We have had a few parents that preferred the in-person learning,” said Metzgar. “The teachers are following the social distancing guidelines during these meetings. They are either sitting at the end of the table or working on the board while the student is sitting at a desk or table. Some parents have waited and other parents have dropped off their child and picked them up at scheduled times. We have left it up to the family and what works best for them. We are doing everything we can to work around the  preference of the family to keep the students working with their teachers and therapists.”


In addition, teachers have gone out of their way to keep student’s on track, including dropping and picking up material at their houses.


“Yes, the teachers have been dropping off and picking up work from the student’s homes (front porch),” said Metzgar. “So far, it has been going well. A lot of our students have been working hard. Anything we can do to continue to provide education for our students and continue the progress they have made will do.”


Metzgar said the positive in this situation is seeing all of the Day Treatment staff work together and find ways to continue to support the clients in this challenging situation.

MAKING THE BEST OF THIS SITUATION

In many of Stark County’s school districts including the student’s home district, the school will provide one-to-one technology for kids in grades three through 12. Unfortunately, C&A cannot do this.


“Unfortunately, we do not have the resources available to provide the students with devices,” said Metzgar. “The students are using technology in the form of phones and computers they have at home.”

“Overall, I have been impressed with the progress we are making. The students and staff are working hard and I am so proud of them. I believe we will continue to make progress academically and therapeutically as everyone continues to adjust in this challenging situation.”


When the stay-at-home orders are released, and students return to the classroom, Metzgar feels students will not lose much academically because the staff has worked hard to maintain a feeling of connection and structure during this time.


“I believe as long as the students continue to work with their teacher and therapist, they will maintain their progress,” said Metzgar. “Our staff is working incredibly hard to ensure that nobody falls behind.”

For more information on C&A’s Trauma Informed Day Treatment Program, please contact Dan Metzgar at dmetzgar@childandadolescent.org.


C&A is open and seeing new and current clients. If you are in need of our services, please call 330-433-6075.

RECENT POSTS

STARK COUNTY SCHOOLS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

16 Apr, 2024
The sixth annual Stark County Schools Mental Health Awareness Week is May 6-10 Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A), CommQuest Services and Pathway Caring for Children will partner to bring positive mental health awareness to more than 53,000 students and 7,000 support and administrative staff in all 18 Stark County School districts.

UNDERSTANDING RACE IN SOCIETY AND THERAPY: CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS’ EXPERIENCES

By Chris Alpert • 16 Nov, 2023
In the film, I’m Not Racist… Am I? as introduced and explored in first of this three-part blog post series, the participants engaged in multiple workshops that address race and racism. Interpersonally, the group of students grapple with their own differences and similarities, which impact the content and emotions they share with each other. There are several moments in the film that demonstrate the clear differences in the participants’ understanding of race. In the first workshop, the students were exposed to the idea that all white people are inherently racist seeing as American society was founded on principles meant to support white people (see more on structural racism here, here, and here for further understanding). Several white students in the film became emotional during that workshop. Most students remained quiet. Following this workshop, a black student and a white student were filmed independently of each other in their own homes and discussed the workshop and what they learned with their families. The white student discussed the differences between structural racism and bigotry with her mother and struggled to identify with the principles taught in the training. The black student stated to his mother how almost everything spoken in that workshop applied to him. The student further discussed his feelings by stating how overt racism is and yet how “subliminal” it is at the same time. How can something be so in your face and yet under your feet simultaneously? I immediately reflected on the dialectic of something being so clear and yet so vague. The film continued to grapple with student differences. At the beginning of the film, one white male student discussed with his mother how he feels that all individuals, if they apply themselves wholeheartedly, have the same chance of success regardless of their skin, gender, sexuality or other demographic factors. As a white man myself, I must confess that when I was in high school, I had the same mindset. How could it be different? Especially when I was reading mythic bootstrap literature in high school classes. Sure, the harder you work the more you deserve, but that statement does not work for all Americans. I had not accounted for racial factors that inhibit the growth of others, not to mention socio-economic factors, nationalities, citizenship status, gender and age. I continued to reflect on these statements and connected them to my experience in high school in New York City. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement responding to the murder of George Floyd, multiple private progressive schools in New York, including the one I went to, suffered scrutiny from students and alumni who identify as black, indigenous people of color (BIPOC). Multiple Instagram accounts surfaced with the handle “BLACK AT [school name].” I read the posts in 2020, and again before writing this post, and remembered feeling horrified knowing these acts of racism, bigotry and microaggressions happened all around me. This was subliminal to me, yet overt to others.

UNDERSTANDING RACE IN SOCIETY AND THERAPY

By Chris Alpert • 01 Nov, 2023
When I first came to Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A), I was unsure what to expect regarding race and diversity at both the organization and in Ohio. Having grown up in Harlem in New York City and attended graduate school in San Diego, CA, I had heard stereotypes about Ohio, specifically that Ohio was a very white state. At C&A during orientation, we discussed the role of first impressions for clients and discussed how the front desk staff are considered, “the directors of first impressions.” I loved this term. After orientation, I wondered, why we didn’t discuss demographic factors such as race and gender? We generally pick those up upon first impressions and have implicit biases and judgements in those first impressions. It was odd to me that we did not discuss these demographic factors. As the summer and fall progressed, I noticed that there were few discussions about race as it impacts C&A and the kids and families we serve. I noticed the number of white staff at C&A and reflected on my own privilege as a white man who can easily avoid the discussion of race because I do not suffer discrimination on an individual or systemic level. I reflected on my first experiences discussing race in high school. When I was in high school at the Calhoun School, my father received a grant to create a film and workshops that addressed race and racism seen through the eyes of high schoolers in New York City. My dad had completed a training hosted by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. This training opened my father’s eyes to his own white privilege and motivated him to teach kids, specifically white kids, about their privilege earlier in life. I first saw the film, I’m Not Racist… Am I? (see more here ), toward the end of high school after it had come out in 2014.

THE DANGERS OF MARIJUANA USE

By Dr. Karita Nussbaum • 20 Oct, 2023
Ohio is at a crossroads once again with marijuana on the ballot next month. The following article is from Every Brain Matters, an organization that believes that the THC in marijuana is a dangerous and addictive drug. Every Brain Matters is a trusted source of educational material based on the latest scientific evidence. One of the major criticisms of expanded marijuana legalization is that it makes the drug more accessible to minors. A brand-new study just published in JAMA Pediatrics shows that it has become a valid concern.

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE – SOUTHERN NIGHTS: ILLUMINATING HOPE AND MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION

By Savannah Okray • 11 Sep, 2023
For the last few months, C&A has been diligently preparing for the 18th Annual Let Your Light Shine – Southern Nights presented by The Repository by organizing auction items, printing tickets and using their creativity to make sure that eventgoers feel as though they are walking into an evening in the south, with barrels and lanterns to boot. The committee, led by chair Jen Frey and co-chair Molly Sperling and auction chair Stacy Remark are hard at work, it’s crucial to remember that this event raises awareness and dollars to support the agency’s programs and services amid suicide prevention and awareness month.

GROWING WITH YOUR CHILD AS A PARENT

By Dan Mucci • 30 Aug, 2023
I have grown up as a parent for the last four and half years! As luck would have it, a little more than four and a half years ago, I started at Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) in the mission advancement department with my responsibilities being the marketing and development coordinator. Some might say, I did a good job of raising my two kids, who were teenagers at the time. But, boy, if I had known of the services C&A offered and even some of the parenting tools for my toolbox, parenting might have been even better.

WHAT DID YOU DID THIS SUMMER?

By Dr. Karita Nussbaum • 09 Aug, 2023
This summer I attended a Marijuana Prevention conference near Denver, Colorado. I was curious to know what the locals were saying after 10 years of legalization. The speakers included a Denver Police Commander, school resource officer, medical doctor, residential treatment program CEO, deputy from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Executive Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association and others related to educating the community and defending children’s rights. In the audience were parents, professionals and advocates for children from all over the United States. The conference was geared toward the protection of children.

FROM DARKNESS TO DISCOVERY: MY COLLEGE JOURNEY OF SELF-TRANSFORMATION

By Savannah Okray • 24 Jul, 2023
When I arrived on campus, I tried to immerse myself in college culture. I joined a sorority, the speech and debate team, and two other clubs which were extensive time commitments, factoring in no time to relax or focus on bettering my mental health. This lack of attention to my mentality, combined with my low self-esteem that prevented me from making friends led me down a dark hole in which some days I thought it would be better if I wasn’t here. About four weeks into school (at Ohio University), I realized that I had to do something, as I knew it was not safe for me to continue down the road I had been on. From there I moved home and attended an inpatient treatment center where I worked with counselors for five hours a day, learning coping skills and other ways in which I could help mend my suffering mental health. Through the lessons I learned I was able to get the skill set and help I needed and returned to school three weeks later.

THIS IS WHY WE CELEBATE

By Mary Kreitz • 19 Jun, 2023
This time of year there are a lot of celebrations happening in our communities – Memorial Day, Pride Festivals, Juneteenth celebrations, 4th of July and many more. These events aren’t just frivolous excuses to have parties, backyard barbecues or festivals. They are important cultural and civic events we need these celebrations.
More Posts
Share by: