Students offered a program to manage anger

Helping children deal with anger and teaching them to persevere and cope is the objective of the Community Counseling Center's new program, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Jr.

Begun this summer, it will continue when school resumes in August and will be in the Cape Girardeau Public Schools administrative office.

Students accepted into the program will have a mental health diagnosis and will be receiving services from the Community Counseling Center. The ultimate goal is to keep them in school.

"We'll also work with the schools to identify more kids and get them into case management, get them in to see a doctor, get them into therapy and refer them to our program also," said PSR Jr. coordinator Tricia Roth.

The summer program, which will end around the time school starts in mid-August, is designed to get children participating in recreational activities and doing volunteer work, along with teaching them to respect rules and develop problem-solving skills.

In the fall, the program will work more with at-risk children and take place during the school day, Roth said.

Roth said the program's emphasis in the fall will be on students at the Alternative Education Center and those in homebound services and in-school suspension.

"A lot of the time when they're in homebound or suspended, they're just out running the streets," Roth said. "They don't have another place to go, and this will provide an alternative, where they'll also be receiving services at the same time, and hopefully, prevent a lot of them from ... being suspended because they'll also be able to come to our program during the day and work toward their goals."

The summer program is serving eight youngsters, but Lusk said there is a larger need than that figure shows.

Kids who need help often are bullied, depressed, harm themselves -- by cutting, for example -- or have suicidal or homicidal thoughts. Lusk said youngsters may stop eating or overeat or start abusing drugs or alcohol.

"Once we get a stable location and more staff, we'll be able to take more kids," Roth said.

She said PSR Jr. works not only with children, but also with families and case workers who conduct regular home visits.

In the future, Roth said, she hopes to expand the program to other campuses in the district, especially in elementary schools. "We think it's really important to start working with them early," she said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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