Enrolling teen in a PHP

[Anonymous]

We're in the process of enrolling our teen in a partial hospitalization program (aka therapeutic day treatment program). I'm looking for any advice or feedback from people who's teenager did a program like this. She is severely depressed, ADHD, anxiety, passive suicidal thoughts. She is actually on board with going and realizes she needs it. I don't know what to expect or how this will impact school. School administrators are willing to work with us, and my main concern obviously is her mental health, but this couldn't come at worse time academically. She's a junior, just starting with a college counselor, scheduled to take ACTs Saturday, etc, etc...As you can see, I'm completely overwhelmed. Part of me wants to take her out of school completely and start junior year over in the fall (possibly at a different school). I would appreciate any advice, shared experiences or words of encouragement. Please be gentle. TIA.

[Anonymous]

I’m sure this is pretty program specific. But the program my son was in worked some with kids on academics but not much. And it was my responsibility to gather work and send it in. Honestly, it totally derailed academics.

[Anonymous]

We just went through the same last spring with our then sophomore. Generalized anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, school refusal, and a complete shutdown that resulted in weeks of missed school, missed AP exams, and a missed state test required for graduation. As parents we had to just let those things go and realized helping resolve our daughter's mental health crisis was by far the most important priority.

It is such a scary place to be with one's child. Good that your teen is on board with trying the PHP -- it's hard work but can help her get back on her feet with a healthy mental framework as has happened with our daughter. In our case, we went from two months in a PHP and stepped down to three months of an IOP.

At initial school refusal/shutdown, we reached out to and remained in close touch with our school counselor. Ours was so supportive and was our liaison with school administration and teachers. We were able to enroll in our county's interim instructional services for some classes and then our school's counselor arranged with the remaining classes for a few assignments selected by the teachers when our daughter was able. The PHP had an education hour each day where they provided time and support for student work.

Hugs to you OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just went through the same last spring with our then sophomore. Generalized anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, school refusal, and a complete shutdown that resulted in weeks of missed school, missed AP exams, and a missed state test required for graduation. As parents we had to just let those things go and realized helping resolve our daughter's mental health crisis was by far the most important priority.

It is such a scary place to be with one's child. Good that your teen is on board with trying the PHP -- it's hard work but can help her get back on her feet with a healthy mental framework as has happened with our daughter. In our case, we went from two months in a PHP and stepped down to three months of an IOP.

At initial school refusal/shutdown, we reached out to and remained in close touch with our school counselor. Ours was so supportive and was our liaison with school administration and teachers. We were able to enroll in our county's interim instructional services for some classes and then our school's counselor arranged with the remaining classes for a few assignments selected by the teachers when our daughter was able. The PHP had an education hour each day where they provided time and support for student work.

Hugs to you OP!

OP here. Thank you for your words of encouragement. Unfortunately we don't have a very reliable school counselor. I would go so far as to say she's pretty terrible. I can envision the academic aspect of this creating a lot of stress for both me and my daughter and me spending a lot of time trying to coordinate with her teachers, etc... and the last thing we need is more stress at such a difficult time. So far (since yesterday) we've only been dealing with the Vice Principal that my daughter falls under based on her last name and all he's is reach out to the teachers of her two AP classes to see how they want her to proceed with the class while not in person, and only one has responded. Meanwhile her incomplete assignments are piling up. I'm starting to feel like I"m on my own here....

[Anonymous]

We did it. It was tough but necessary. Whatever you can do to reduce the workload is important so your child can decompress at home. It's a long day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just went through the same last spring with our then sophomore. Generalized anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, school refusal, and a complete shutdown that resulted in weeks of missed school, missed AP exams, and a missed state test required for graduation. As parents we had to just let those things go and realized helping resolve our daughter's mental health crisis was by far the most important priority.

It is such a scary place to be with one's child. Good that your teen is on board with trying the PHP -- it's hard work but can help her get back on her feet with a healthy mental framework as has happened with our daughter. In our case, we went from two months in a PHP and stepped down to three months of an IOP.

At initial school refusal/shutdown, we reached out to and remained in close touch with our school counselor. Ours was so supportive and was our liaison with school administration and teachers. We were able to enroll in our county's interim instructional services for some classes and then our school's counselor arranged with the remaining classes for a few assignments selected by the teachers when our daughter was able. The PHP had an education hour each day where they provided time and support for student work.

Hugs to you OP!

OP here. Thank you for your words of encouragement. Unfortunately we don't have a very reliable school counselor. I would go so far as to say she's pretty terrible. I can envision the academic aspect of this creating a lot of stress for both me and my daughter and me spending a lot of time trying to coordinate with her teachers, etc... and the last thing we need is more stress at such a difficult time. So far (since yesterday) we've only been dealing with the Vice Principal that my daughter falls under based on her last name and all he's is reach out to the teachers of her two AP classes to see how they want her to proceed with the class while not in person, and only one has responded. Meanwhile her incomplete assignments are piling up. I'm starting to feel like I"m on my own here....

First PP here. It is very very hard not to be stressed about it. But PPs are right. You can catch up academically but the consequences of not treating mental health can be dire.

There is only so much the school can do. But you can explore all options - such as dropping to honors from AP.

If you have an IEP in place you may want to contact your special education coordinator. If not, as soon as you get a minute to catch your breath, you should look into getting one. That can be a long process.

One last thing. If you are in a school that disenrolls your child after a certain period of absences, you may want to be addressing that now. It’s easy to reenroll but being disenrolled can affect the entitlement to services and the IEP process.

I’m really sorry. I’ve been down this road so many times myself (many hospitalizations, PHOs, IOPs and a couple of rounds of residential treatment). While HS is over for that one of my kids, reading posts like yours still make me cry remembering how hard it was. We’re here to support you and answer questions.

[Anonymous]

OP. We've been through this a number of times. It can be a dispiriting and exhausting process, but your DD sounds like she's buying in to the program and that is huge. It'll be OK.

As far as classes, the PHP should have experience with the academic angle for their clients. They'll have time set aside for schoolwork. Do their clients have access to online school portals (think Chromebooks or designated desktops)? The school counselor should coordinate with DD's teachers because this is a medical issue and it's not on you to discuss the situation with every staff member.

Which county are you in?

[Anonymous]

This is PP 12:21. Does the PHP have a school coordinator who can reach out to your school on your daughter’s behalf? Also, can the school Vice Principal connect you with someone other than the counselor at school to help you on the day-to-day issues?

If your student is in Maryland, I know the public schools have Pupil Personnel Workers assigned to them. A friend who had a middle school child in a similar situation had better results working with their school’s assigned PPW rather than the school counselor.

This is from the Maryland State Department of Education website:

“What do Pupil Personnel Workers do?

The role of the Pupil Personnel Worker may be divided into four major job functions. The Pupil Personnel Worker serves primarily as an advocate for all students and as a consultant to school staff and parents/guardians on a variety of issues such as attendance, discipline, counseling, residency, homelessness and crisis support for schools. In an effort to forge home, school, and community partnerships, the Pupil Personnel Worker serves as a liaison between various departments within local education agencies, as well as a referral source to outside agencies and community resources.”

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. We've been through this a number of times. It can be a dispiriting and exhausting process, but your DD sounds like she's buying in to the program and that is huge. It'll be OK.

As far as classes, the PHP should have experience with the academic angle for their clients. They'll have time set aside for schoolwork. Do their clients have access to online school portals (think Chromebooks or designated desktops)? The school counselor should coordinate with DD's teachers because this is a medical issue and it's not on you to discuss the situation with every staff member.

Which county are you in?

We are in Montgomery County. They seem to be drastically understaffed in the counseling department at her school. In fact, as I've mentioned, I haven't even had contact with the counselor, only the Vice Principal who appears to be doing the counselor's job (?!). She is a junior and this is her third counselor. They changed the counselor assigned to her last name sophomore year, but that counselor was out on medical leave so we had a different one, who was great. The one on medical leave came back this year, but she still seems to be struggling so we have very little contact with her. So our main liaison seems to be the Vice Principal, and obviously he has many other responsibilities. Oh, and she also has a 504 plan so I don't know how that all comes into play, either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is PP 12:21. Does the PHP have a school coordinator who can reach out to your school on your daughter’s behalf? Also, can the school Vice Principal connect you with someone other than the counselor at school to help you on the day-to-day issues?

If your student is in Maryland, I know the public schools have Pupil Personnel Workers assigned to them. A friend who had a middle school child in a similar situation had better results working with their school’s assigned PPW rather than the school counselor.

This is from the Maryland State Department of Education website:

“What do Pupil Personnel Workers do?

The role of the Pupil Personnel Worker may be divided into four major job functions. The Pupil Personnel Worker serves primarily as an advocate for all students and as a consultant to school staff and parents/guardians on a variety of issues such as attendance, discipline, counseling, residency, homelessness and crisis support for schools. In an effort to forge home, school, and community partnerships, the Pupil Personnel Worker serves as a liaison between various departments within local education agencies, as well as a referral source to outside agencies and community resources.”

Good luck!

Thank you! I will look into this.

[Anonymous]

Here is the current PPW assignment listing by school for Montgomery County Public Schools:

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/studentservices/mentalhealth/pupil/336100/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is PP 12:21. Does the PHP have a school coordinator who can reach out to your school on your daughter’s behalf? Also, can the school Vice Principal connect you with someone other than the counselor at school to help you on the day-to-day issues?

If your student is in Maryland, I know the public schools have Pupil Personnel Workers assigned to them. A friend who had a middle school child in a similar situation had better results working with their school’s assigned PPW rather than the school counselor.

This is from the Maryland State Department of Education website:

“What do Pupil Personnel Workers do?

The role of the Pupil Personnel Worker may be divided into four major job functions. The Pupil Personnel Worker serves primarily as an advocate for all students and as a consultant to school staff and parents/guardians on a variety of issues such as attendance, discipline, counseling, residency, homelessness and crisis support for schools. In an effort to forge home, school, and community partnerships, the Pupil Personnel Worker serves as a liaison between various departments within local education agencies, as well as a referral source to outside agencies and community resources.”

Good luck!

Thank you! I will look into this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP. We've been through this a number of times. It can be a dispiriting and exhausting process, but your DD sounds like she's buying in to the program and that is huge. It'll be OK.

As far as classes, the PHP should have experience with the academic angle for their clients. They'll have time set aside for schoolwork. Do their clients have access to online school portals (think Chromebooks or designated desktops)? The school counselor should coordinate with DD's teachers because this is a medical issue and it's not on you to discuss the situation with every staff member.

Which county are you in?

We are in Montgomery County. They seem to be drastically understaffed in the counseling department at her school. In fact, as I've mentioned, I haven't even had contact with the counselor, only the Vice Principal who appears to be doing the counselor's job (?!). She is a junior and this is her third counselor. They changed the counselor assigned to her last name sophomore year, but that counselor was out on medical leave so we had a different one, who was great. The one on medical leave came back this year, but she still seems to be struggling so we have very little contact with her. So our main liaison seems to be the Vice Principal, and obviously he has many other responsibilities. Oh, and she also has a 504 plan so I don't know how that all comes into play, either.

MCPS has some pretty amazing programs for kids with mental health issues. When you get a bit further down the road you might want to look into them. She would need an IEP to be eligible.

[Anonymous]

I know a kid who attended a PHP junior year. It did derail his GPA and his college choices were poor as a result, but after starting at a non preferred school he has transferred and is doing well now. It’s s process.

[Anonymous]

We went through this, a quick question and then i can share more.

Are they using substances?

[Anonymous]

I am not OP, but similar issue -- and yes, using THC products