Stevenson’s Extended Reach
Stevenson’s Extended Reach
Stevenson's position as a thought leader in the field of mental health and expertise in providing integrated therapeutic support has extended its reach in the New York City area and beyond. In partnership with Cognitive and Behavioral Consultants, LLP (CBC) and its Co-Founder and Clinical Director, Dr. Alec L. Miller, Stevenson organized and led a 50-person master class for NYC Family and Civil Court judges. Stevenson invited additional presenters, including Nicole Brown, MD, a pediatrician who is dedicated to child and adolescent mental health, Tina Goldstein, PhD, a specialist in DBT for adolescent and young adults with Bipolar Disorder at at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and Danica Kalling Knight, PhD, a specialist in serving at risk adolescents and their families through TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) at Texas Christian University.
Stevenson’s strong therapeutic support integrated in an academic college prep environment is rooted in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Due to this unique model, and Stevenson's decades-long history of providing unparalleled support to its students and families, the master class was designed to inform and support NYC judges in their awareness and understanding of adolescent mental health.
Stevenson's Office of External Affairs, led by Jerry Pavlon-Blum, Director of External Affairs and Program Innovation, connects Stevenson to organizations and professionals across our county and the country. This work is done in the service of pursuing Stevenson's mission and contributing to social justice by helping community members who may contact the school for help and guidance with emotionally complex children whose education is negatively impacted. Recognizing the contributions Stevenson has and will continue to make in this important field, the Honorable Jane Pearl, a presiding judge in New York City Family Court and the Board Director for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, contacted Jerry to create this workshop for fellow judges.
Jerry collaborated with Head of School Chris Ongaro and Dr. Lana Farina, Clinical Director, to develop the workshop Adolescent Mental Health: Facts, Figures, Tools and Resources to Help Judges with Adolescents, Their Parents, and Their Schools. The team discussed Stevenson's unique blend of rich academic content, integrated clinical support, and one-of-a-kind advising designed for students with complex emotional profiles. Dr. Miller began by addressing the status of kids' mental health in the 21st century. He shared statistics on suicide rates, adolescent depression and anxiety, as well as hope thanks to interventions like DBT, which he explained principally.
Providing a broad overview of theory, statistics, and practice regarding different modalities to support adolescents and their families, Lana discussed the trauma that often underlies delinquent behaviors and the varying outcomes from a trauma-informed vs. more typical judicial approach. Chris presented Stevenson's history and context by offering national statistics on dropout rates and barriers to graduation.This led into discussion of the importance of growing and maintaining a school culture of flexibly-minded faculty and staff, how we do that at Stevenson, and discussed a focus on strength-based, talent and interest development across all areas of learning.
Jerry presented how parents raising children who are emotionally complex need particular kinds of support and training to navigate these parenting demands. He also introduced colleagues from different states with commentary and viewpoints that addressed justice-involved youth, who live with mental health concerns. They discussed the prevalence of mental health challenges in youth, who get ensnared in the legal system, and shared what they're doing to improve support for such children and their families.
This information helped to educate and advise judges working with youth, who come before the court and who may have similar profiles. Stevenson is proud to join key forces in the field and share the considerable knowledge and experience it has to offer.