This is the last in a series of 10 opinion articles about inclusion and mental health in schools.
By my estimation, there are thousands of programs in school districts across the United States for students with significant social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Many programs are segregated from general education, while others practice inclusion models. Due to budget imperatives and least restrictive environment rules, this has been true for many years. These programs exist internationally as well, which is even more difficult to enumerate.
Laura Balogh and I had significant experience to draw on when we were tasked with designing a new therapeutic inclusion program in 2019. On top of our experience, we looked for published resources we could use to draw inspiration and to reference in support of our ideas.
But, having looked for relevant resources before, I knew there were very few. The lack of professional discourse about our work was, and continues to be, a subject of great puzzlement for me. In the early days of our program Laura and I decided to write The Therapeutic Inclusion Program so that there would be at least one reference specific to therapeutic inclusion programming for others to use, and hopefully prompt further conversation and writing in the community.
So, where is everybody? I have found I am more likely to meet and have a conversation with someone who works in a therapeutic education program at a random event like a concert than I am in seeking professional exchanges online.
There are vibrant and active professional communities and conversations around psychology, and education, taking place online and in the publishing world. Why is it that in these same arenas, people do not want to talk about the important work of educating students with significant social, emotional, and behavioral challenges?
The work of inclusive therapeutic education is endlessly interesting and deeply important. Furthermore, significant budgetary resources are at stake. To me, these factors and others indicate that inclusive therapeutic education is well worth talking about, and in fact needs to be talked about.
The work of inclusive education for this group of students is deeply interesting. In school, our students must grow their way through academics, social demands/opportunities, their orientation toward authority, and that’s just scratching the surface. The challenges and opportunities of being employed in inclusive therapeutic education are no less dynamic and interesting.
The work of educating students with significant social, emotional, and behavioral challenges could hardly be more important! In our roles as inclusive educators we have a tremendous and exciting opportunity to have a positive impact on students and families that are struggling. This opportunity has always been the most energizing part for me. We meet students and families at a critical juncture in their lives, where it is possible through our work to support a more positive trajectory. The impact of our efforts potentially resonate far into the future. The work is as rewarding as it is challenging, and well suited to those of us who thrive under these conditions with the right support.
Regarding the budgetary concerns, school districts are spending a lot of money on out-of-district placements, and in-district programming for our population of students. The expense of out-of-district-placements, in Massachusetts for example, easily average over $100,000 per year, per student (Murray & Balogh, 2023, p.136). Creating programming in-district is also expensive, as far as hiring and maintaining staff. The well-being of program children, staff, and families are more than enough reason for robust professional conversation. However, if anyone needs something more measurable, how about dollars? While districts spend big money on programming for students with significant social, emotional, and behavioral challenges, they have almost no idea and very few resources to draw on regarding what actually works.
We need to talk about what works and what doesn’t seem to work in inclusive education for students with significant social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. What should we measure? What is the value of our measures? And, what is immeasurable? Like any arena of work, we should be developing and revising best practices in robust conversation in person, online, and in published material.
Tell me, what do you think?
References
Murray, M.A. & Balogh, L. (2023) The therapeutic inclusion program: Establishment and maintenance in public schools. Routledge.
Michael Murray, LMHC, M.Ed 