MINDBEAT Podcasts

In this episode, Mark DiRocco, who spent eight years as the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, joins Duncan and Laine to discuss how to effectively address the challenges superintendents face when it comes to funding mental health services in school, best practices for funding school-based mental health services, and emerging trends and innovations superintendents could explore to better support the mental well-being of their students.

In this episode, Courtney Shuey, Megan Reynoso, and Jalen Washington from Effective School Solutions join Duncan and Laine to discuss the current state of mental health in schools, the impact of the pandemic on young people’s mental health, how to tell the difference between typical adolescent challenges and more serious concerns, and what makes them most optimistic about the new school year ahead.

In this episode, school district administrators James Tuohy, Ed Moran, and Anna Pulido join Duncan and Laine to discuss how the role of schools has changed relating to mental health, why and when school districts may choose to use an external partner to support the mental health continuum, and sustainable funding for mental health programs.

In this episode, Elizabeth Cotter and Vanessa Audelo join Duncan and Laine to discuss their work in supporting the mental health needs of early learners.

In this episode, Effective School Solutions’ Chief Program Officer Lisa Ciappi joins Duncan and Laine to discuss summer planning for student mental health, including the challenges students encounter during the summer months, the best ways to support the mental health of students, and what parents can do to help their children throughout the summer.

In this episode, Marta Audino, Dr. Sylvia Zircher, and Mike Roseman join Duncan and Laine to discuss how the true impact of the pandemic on youth mental health is just now being seen in schools, utilizing a restorative community service approach to discipline, the continuum of mental health supports they offer in their districts, their insights on teachers’ mental health and how to best support their needs, and what lies ahead for students in the next five years.

In this episode, Michael Lombardo from Placer County‘s Office of Education joins Duncan and Laine to discuss the multi-faceted approaches to school-based mental health in California, the increase in student support via an MTSS for mental health framework, how to effectively implement and integrate student supports in school districts, and how best to fund school-based mental health in schools.

In this episode, Dr. Ilana Nankin the Founder and CEO of Breathe for Change, joins Duncan and Laine to discuss Breathe for Change’s mission to enhance the health and well-being of educators, students, and entire communities through her yoga meets meditation meets SEL approach, the relationship between SEL and yoga, and the benefits of yoga for students and teachers.

In this episode, Brian Boyd from UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Education and the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute joins Duncan and Laine to discuss how schools can improve their treatment of students with autism spectrum disorder, exploring care at the intersectionality of ASD and under-represented student populations, how to best support teachers working with autistic students, and the inter-relationship between ASD and mental health disorders.

In this episode, Jennifer Baum and Diandra Kaufman, from Effective School Solutions’ clinical team, join Duncan and Laine to discuss the challenges students are facing today, how mental health challenges have changed, what makes a good partnership between a school district and mental health provider, and their advice for teachers and parents on how to identify mental health warning signs.

In this episode, Sharon Hoover, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and the Co-Director of the National Center for School Mental Health, joins Duncan and Laine to discuss the “state of the practice” of school-based mental health, the key components of a high functioning school-based mental health continuum, and the biggest barriers that prevent school systems from implementing high-quality mental health.

In this episode, Arne Duncan, former U.S. Secretary of Education for the Obama Administration and the leader of Chicago CRED, joins Duncan and Laine to discuss the gaps in school-based mental health services, sustainable funding for school districts’ mental health initiatives, and a look back at his tenure as the U.S. Secretary of Education from 2009-2015

In this episode, Dorothy Espelage, Ph.D., the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joins Duncan and Laine to discuss the link between bullying and mental health, how to support bullies to change their behaviors, and bullying prevention initiatives school districts can put in place to reset.

In this episode, Duncan and Laine are joined by Dr. Kat Scherer, a psychologist, educator, and author, and Dr. Elizabeth Sylvester, a psychologist and Nurtured Heart Approach ® advanced trainer treating children, teens, and families. They discuss the relationship between attachment, regulation, and discipline, how to help a child regulate their behavior, how schools can support parents who struggle with their kid’s behavior, the 7 Essential Attachment Needs, and tips for parents to support their children.

In this episode, Natasha King, SELPA Manager for the San Mateo County Special Education Local Planning Area (SELPA), joins Duncan and Laine and special guest host Dawn Ortiz to discuss what’s missing in mental health support, how to reset and recalibrate with students, California’s mental health funding landscape, and building programming in school districts to serve all students.

In this episode, John Crocker, Director of School Mental Health and Behavioral Services for Methuen Public Schools in Massachusetts, joins Duncan and Laine to discuss the most pressing issues relating to student mental health he sees on the ground in his district, the importance of universal mental health screening, and the playbook he uses as the Founder of the Massachusetts School-Based Mental Health Consortium.

In this episode, John Zogby, Founder and Senior Partner of John Zogby Strategies, joins Duncan and Laine to discuss the recently announced ESS-Zogby major survey of parents and school administrators about school-based mental health care, stigmas around mental health, priorities for funding these initiatives, parents’ attitudes about what level of mental health support school should provide, and how to prioritize school-based mental health in the future.

In this episode, Amy Kennedy, Co-founder of The Kennedy Forum, joins Duncan and Laine to discuss the current state of school-based mental health in the U.S., significant changes regarding mental health in the classroom, the youth mental health crisis, federal and state initiatives in place to address the crisis, and why we all need to invest in mental health.

Duncan and Laine are joined by Jerry Barone, Chief Clinical Officer and one of the founding employees of Effective School Solutions. In this episode, the team discusses the importance of implementing a higher level of care in schools, the biggest impediment to identifying students who need help, what schools can do to help students in need, and how to maintain good mental health.