Get families on board to navigate mental health issues

“You are hurting my child!” he shouted, red-faced, furious, and pointing his finger about an inch from my face. I (Kathleen Minke) was a young school psychologist, unaccustomed to such emotional intensity in an IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting. Discussing eligibility for services for a student with “emotional disturbance” can be a delicate process. But this felt very personal. I felt blamed, defeated, and angry. I believed that this child had been hurt by many of the people in the room, but surely I was not one of them. And, although the father’s ire was directed at me, everybody there was angry with somebody else and blamed them for the problems. 

How did we get to this point where productive problem solving was pretty much impossible? How did our shared goal of this child’s success become lost in our inability to communicate? What I learned that day became a cornerstone of my professional life: Effective family-school collaboration is essential for promoting student success at school, but collaborative relationships must be proactively developed and intentionally nurtured. These relationships are particularly critical when children are struggling behaviorally or emotionally.