While COVID-19 has severely impacted the mental health of many, one graduate student, Colleen O’Dell, is leading a project to tackle the issue among many school children.
SUNY Oswego’s Impact Scholar program will help O’Dell with her project that seeks to prompt a social-emotional connection for school children during this time of remote learning.
O’Dell is in the mental health counseling program. She said that she saw a real need in school-based counselor intervention. This need was made even more important by counselors not having the ability to work with children in a day-to-day school setting.
“It’s a wraparound approach supporting primary teachers, primary caregivers and the child,” O’Dell explained a technique called filial therapy.
Filial therapy is one way O’Dell wants to aid young students. Rather than working solely with children, it teaches skills used by therapists to teachers and caregivers.
“[This is used] so that they can connect on a deeper level with the children that they’re working with, to increase bonding and buy-in for learning and just to minimize problematic behaviors in the home,” O’Dell said.
O’Dell is hopeful that this strategy will be helpful for parents and caregivers, as it may allow them to engage in therapy while homeschooling. She explained how this should be a positive experience for children because they will benefit from spending more time with their caregivers. This will lead to them feeling more valued, heard and safe enough to allow their caregivers into their world of play.
“Perhaps teachers or caregivers may not have had a lot of opportunity to engage in a therapeutic level through the virtual platform,” O’Dell said. “We’re hoping to bring people into that world in a supportive and warm environment.”
Laura Spenceley, the associate dean of graduate studies, was impressed with her work. She added that it was especially important during COVID-19 when mental and behavioral health of children has greatly wavered.
“We couldn’t be more proud of Colleen’s contributions to the field through her work as an Impact Scholar,” Spenceley said. “Her work reminds us of the importance of adjusting our mental and behavioral interventions to meet the needs of the individual client.”
This project is a culmination of work from various SUNY Oswego scholars. Another SUNY Oswego graduate student in the mental health counseling program, Ashlyn Leonard, is working with O’Dell on this project. Leonard said she is excited for the opportunity to learn while helping conduct and publish the research.
“This is a completely new area for me, so it’s exciting to see firsthand how much hard work and dedication goes into it,” Leonard said. “I’m also honored to have the opportunity to share skills and support families during this pandemic when so many people, especially children, are feeling overwhelmed and disconnected. I hope to be able to add tools to adults’ tool boxes so they can promote their children’s optimal development during this historically difficult time.”
Photo from The Oswegonian file photo from 2020
