June 2017
LET & ABLE News
Licensure Education Training & Adolescents for Better Learning Endeavors Programs
A publication of Recco S. Richardson Consulting, Inc. • Recco Santee Richardson, Ph.D., LPC
Issue 30 … June 2017
Dr. Recco’s Corner
Sometimes gentle, yet intentional reminders are needed. They help us stay on task, protect what we value and put us in life for favor. I humbly submit a few reminders that are worth mentioning.
Firstly, we must keep the spirit of volunteerism alive in our homes and communities. Volunteerism is foundational to American history and to the future of our collective strength. Everyone should embrace volunteerism, for it promotes service to others and selflessness.
Secondly, we must find our purpose. Abuse happens when the purpose of a thing/object is not understood. Purpose has the ability to fulfill our soul and create opportunities for us and others.
Thirdly, we must avoid making excuses. For some reason we become fixed on what happened, why we can’t and who did what. Regardless of the situation at hand, we should remember that where there is a will, there is a way. Indeed, nothing is impossible to him that believes.
In closing, gentle reminders often come at the right time.
Recco
Helping Male Teens Avoid Crime (Pt II)
By Recco Santee Richardson, Ph.D., LPC & Jeanette Owens, MA, LLPC
•Continued from last month’s newsletter•
Criminal behavior (also referred to as antisocial behavior) is defined as an overall lack of adherence to the social morals and standards that allow members of a society to coexist peaceably. For children/adolescents the behaviors equate to delinquency that can trigger adulthood arrest, conviction or incarceration.
Their poor mental health status, subsequent behaviors, propensity for violence and involvement in criminal activities can be traced back to environment, inconsistent parenting, lack of natural consequences, academic underachievement and genetics. As a result, at an increasing rate children/adolescents are following in the footsteps of their birth parent, including becoming involved in criminal activities.
For some families, there appears to be a cycle of incarceration and a life of crime. In order to break the cycle of incarceration, specific interventions that help keep the children/adolescents from becoming offending adults must take place.
In most communities and instances when a parent is arrested and eventually incarcerated, there is little to no mental health intervention offered to their children that addresses the experienced loss, fear, trauma and abandonment.
“To avoid criminal activities, our young males need early interventions.”
-Dr. Recco
Simmons (2000) reported that children of arrested and incarcerated parents face unique difficulties. Because not much is known in the research about children of incarcerated parents, they seem to be falling through the cracks. The responses to their parent’s incarceration can move them towards anxiety, fear, anger, sadness, depression, guilt, school failure, trauma, low esteem, truancy and/or use of alcohol/drugs.
Kolk et al. (2009) researched the experiences of children who have incarcerated/previously incarcerated parents. They coined the children’s experiences as Developmental Trauma Disorder (DTD). DTD captures the reality of clinical presentations of children/adolescents who have been exposed to dysfunctional family living, chronic interpersonal trauma, interpersonal violence, unsafe environments, maltreatment and inadequate care giving systems.
To help children/adolescents address their DTD (and thus avoid crime), the emphasis cannot just be on their behaviors. Rather, sufficient focus must be placed on recognizing the presence of interpersonal trauma, lack of safety and developmental disruptions.
From a mental health perspective, DTD can look like and plays out as trauma, anxiety, worry, phobic fears, defiance, anger, aggression, suicide attempts, mood swings, depression and panic.
As well, from an educational perspective, DTD can look like and play out as poor school attendance, low performance on standardized tests, regular behavior referrals, learning disabilities, suspensions, poor peer interactions, isolation, poor judgment and lack of effort.
Solutions & Interventions That Address Criminality
Sexton (2010) reported that the family unit and Functional Family Therapy (FFT) have the ability to help families and at-risk adolescents who are involved in the court system. Functional Family Therapy is an outcome-driven prevention/intervention program for youth who have demonstrated a range of maladaptive, acting out behaviors, poor attitudes, inadequate social skills, underdeveloped conflict resolution skills and related issues.
As a solution and intervention, parents and children/adolescents can modify and incorporate concepts of FFT into their daily living. The modifying of the concepts is the responsibility of the parent and the minor, with each taking an active and personal role in implementing the information. Daily living FFT concepts are:
Stop Family Cycle of Crime: At some point, the cycle of crime must be broken. For this to take place, the parent/legal guardian (and minor) should avoid interaction and contact with individuals who participate in illegal activities. The avoidance can protect from unplanned pregnancies, unnecessary peer pressure, crisis/trauma, dependence, poor role modeling and low motivation.
Promote School Attendance/Participation: To ensure learning and development, children must attend school consistently. The recent years have witnessed children/adolescents in some communities having 10 to 30 unexcused school absences each academic year. Parents and legal guardians must be home and active in preparing their child physically (e.g., proper sleep, breakfast), emotionally (e.g., calm, content, confident), and socially (e.g., accepting of others, agreeable, compliant) for the school day.
Make Good Use of Free Time: Idle time continues to be the playground of counterproductive behaviors. The engagement in sports, clubs, hobbies and special interest groups is critical to families and minors avoiding criminal activities. Child/adolescents need to be active and must make good use of their time.
Secure Gainful Employment: The lack of adequate household income and/or poor financial management can encourage children/adolescents (and adults) to participate in anti-social behaviors that lead to illegal activities. To have success in this area, adults and children need to improve their financial skills, prepare themselves to gain additional employment skills, take advantage of community-based employment resources and network effectively.
Develop Healthy Relationships: Interaction and commonality with the wrong crowd can quickly steer adults and children in the wrong direction. To offset this youth should develop healthy relationships. Healthy relationships feature positive support, ongoing inspiration, opportunities to grow as a person, personal identity and exposure to the larger society. Unhealthy relationships feature hitting, regular put downs, intimidation, fear, promote isolation and cause discomfort. These types of relationships should be ended immediately.
Safe and Adequate Housing: It is understood that the current recession and economic state of America can cause individuals to live in unsafe and inadequate housing. However, it remains the responsibility of the parent/legal guardian (and minors) to make every effort to promote quality living conditions, regardless of where they live.
“The actual neighborhood or housing is not the problem.”
-Dr. Recco
The actual neighborhood or housing is not the problem. Rather, the problems that lead to youth criminal activities are rooted in the philosophies and unmet needs of adults and children/adolescents who live in the community.
Substance Abuse Avoidance/Education: The presence of criminal activity by adults and minors usually involves substance abuse (e.g., marijuana, alcoholic beverages, narcotics). This increases the likelihood of anti-social behaviors and problems. For these and other reasons, everyone in the home should make a commitment to avoid illegal substance usage. By means of substance abuse education, better decisions can be made and avoidance of criminal activities can take place.
Address Mental Health Issues: Adults and children/adolescents can experience abuse/neglect that has a negative effect on their emotions and behaviors (Richardson & McGowan, 2010). One way to address this is to participate in counseling. Counseling can help individuals experience emotional healthiness and promote behavioral changes.
Effective Parenting: With no doubt, effective parenting helps minors avoid participation in criminal activity. It is held that children need parenting efforts that are consistent and attempt to maintain control. Children also need close supervision, rewards, consequences, and parent disapproval of antisocial behavior.
• Article to be continued next month•
“A Closer Look” Mental Health & Service Provider’s Conference
The 3rd Annual “A Closer Look” Mental Health & Service Provider’s Conference will be held Friday September 22, 2017 in Lansing, MI.
The theme is Traumatized Clients: Clinical Treatment Interventions That Strengthens Emotional Intelligence & Builds Resilience. Presenters will share information, interventions and practical insight regarding trauma, grief/loss, suicide prevention, treatment planning and emerging trends and other relevant topics.
It is anticipated that four to seven (4-7) continuing education hours will be approved by several professional certification boards. More conference details will be provided soon. For this state-wide conference, a call for presenter’s communication will be sent out soon.
NEW!! Clinical Director Services Now Offered
RSRC now offers Clinical Director services to small counseling clinics. The focus of services is:
- Attracting new clients
- Development of policies and procedures
- Marketing and advertising efforts
- Staff development/training
- Clinical meetings and supervision
- Effective case, chart and file reviews/audits
Let our 25 years of clinical experience help you!
ABLE Program
The Adolescents for Better Learning Endeavors (ABLE) Program is designed to help at-risk school age youth move forward as a result of gaining new skills and competency.
The goal is for participants to be able to successfully participate within the school setting. The program helps participants improve their academics, social life, emotional maturity and decision-making skills.
For the second year in a row, our data reports that 72 percent of ABLE Program participants increase their grade point average, decrease their number of behavioral referrals and attend school more regularly.
To secure ABLE programming simply contact an administrator in your school district.
25 Business “Truths” To Live By
By Recco Santee Richardson, Ph.D., LPC
Be 10 times better than the competition.
Loyalty is an idea, not a law.
Pay your staff well and consistently.
Your funding sources have a short life span.
Have faith and be willing to jump.
Regularly invest in your business.
Don’t expect others to understand or care.
Familiar problems stem from weak systems.
The answer usually is right before your eyes.
Learn to be productive when others are not.
Address things that waste your time.
Take care of yourself today and tomorrow.
Expand your vision, not theirs.
Everything is connected to everything.
Outsource when you don’t have the skill set.
View criticism as a growth opportunity.
The customer is still always right.
Let your imagination create your future.
Be willing to share and give to others.
Always have a plan B, C, D and E.
Set the tone early and often.
Listen more than you talk.
Promote accountability and structure.
Be available to your staff and clients.
Enforce deadlines, rules and procedures.
“In business, who you know, what you know and how you do it matters”
-Dr. Recco
Services/Program Offered By RSRC
Agency Clinical Directorship (new) • Afterschool Programming • Staff Trainings/Development • Business/Entrepreneur Support • Individual/Family Counseling Research Institute • Book Writing/Publishing• Treatment/Support Groups • Educational Services • Post-Adoption Services • School-Based Initiatives • LLPC Licensure Supervision Compliance/Regulation • Grant/Proposal Writing • Cultural/Educational Fieldtrips • Youth Programming • Motivational Speaking • Program Development • Conferences/Retreats • NCE Test Workshops
LET Program
Offered by Recco S. Richardson Consulting, Inc., the Licensure Educational Training (LET) Program is an effective supervisory program that targets Limited Licensed Professional Counselors (LLPCs) who need supervision.
LET Services:
Group Supervision: Monthly gatherings that review caseloads, offer Q/A sessions, discusses trends in the field, secures guest speakers and much more.
Individual Supervision: As requested, informal one-on-one sessions that provide personal attention, intentional brainstorming and insightful strategies.
Communication: Unlimited monthly communication via phone, email and text.
Other: NCE workshops, counseling residencies, business services support, book club and scholarly writing/research.
Please contact our office if you are in need of LLPC supervision. Currently, LET programming is offered in Bay City, Flint, and Lansing.
Coming LLPC Group Supervision
July 2017
Bay City: Saturday, July 15, 2017 (9 am – 1 pm)
Lansing: Saturday, July 15, 2017 (4 pm – 8 pm)
Flint: Sunday, July 16, 2017 (1 pm – 5 pm).
August 2017
Bay City: Saturday, August 15, 2017 (9 am – 1 pm)
Lansing: Saturday, August 15, 2017 (4 pm – 8 pm)
Flint: Sunday, August 16, 2017 (1 pm – 5 pm).
Contact Us
Recco S. Richardson Consulting, Inc.
Recco Santee Richardson, Ph.D., LPC
2500 S Linden Road, P.O Box 321252 .. Flint, MI 48532
(810) 394-7815 (Office) (810) 732-6657 (Fax)
website: richardsonsconsulting.com
email:reccorichardsonphd@gmail.com
RECCO S. RICHARDSON CONSULTING, Inc. 