In her 2015 TedTalk, “How to fix a broken school? Lead Fearlessly, Love Hard”, Linda Cliatt-Wayman cited one of her catch phrases, “So What, Now What?” She reported that after all of the facts, numbers and statistics regarding the atrocities and difficulties of specific declining schools what are “we” going to do about it? While she was specifically addressing issues with in the world of education and school programming, I would like to ask the same question regarding the roll of counselors, therapist, psychologists, psychiatrist and other mental and behavioral health workers and.
After reading charts, numbers, data, and research regarding youth in foster care, juvenile justice administration, drop out rates, increased drug use, increased numbers of Child-In-Need-of-Care cases, and the tens of thousands of youth aging out of state custody with inconsistent lodging, few to no job skills, and little capacity for self-regulation and mood management, I say, too, “So What! Now What?” What am I going to do about it? What am I going to do to help, to empower, to encourage, to assist the many young men and ladies to avoid a life time of continued and generational involvement with state programming, corrections, or poverty?
We live in a world where the mental health professionals are having to navigate the murky waters of managed care, evidenced based practices, and results driven data. This world is driven by time frames, deadlines, and quality performance to the point that it determines whether a client is allowed to be insured for the provider that of their choosing and if a healthcare professional is reimbursed for the services that he or she provides.
