Sonya Myers (Program Director, Dundalk & Catonsville PRPs) and myself both attended a program advisory committee meeting this morning at CCBC Essex for the mental health associates program.
We’ve been largely pleased with the interns and employees we get from their program. Trevon Cumberbatch is a current intern at the Aberdeen site doing a bang-up job helping teach the nutrition class and provide 1-on-1 help in the exercise room.
The purpose of the meeting was to solicit improvement suggestions for the curriculum. Here are some of the areas that attendees expressed a desire for improvements in — many as the result of shifting needs in our population:
- Writing Ability. Otherwise strong candidates are often weak in the ability to string sentences together on reports.
- Groups and Teaching. PRP rehabilitation counselors do lots of groups and classroom instruction. More experience in this would be desirable coming out of school.
- Forensics. Skills at dealing with the increasing population of clients with a criminal background would be helpful. This is occuring all across the state . Practice with finding issues of concern buried in hospital records. Skills in being fair but firm.
- Psychotropic Medications. Greater knowledge of them and an understanding of why they are sometimes a good thing.
- Substance Abuse. Greater knowledge of substance abuser needs — we are all seeing more dual diagnosis clients.
- Geriatric Care. PRP populations across the state are aging. Skills in addressing the needs of older clients.
Other presentation topics included efforts to design and implement articulation and transfer agreements between high schools, CCBC, and 4-year institutions. In this way it would be easier for students to pursue degrees and careers in mental health.
It was a useful meeting — I’m happy to be included on tuning the training programs that supply our workforce.
– Michael
Alisha Simmons has returned to Key Point after a stint at Baltimore County Crisis Response. Alisha last worked as a rehabilitation counselor with our Dundalk PRP. She is also enrolled as a graduate student in pastoral counseling at Loyola.
professional driver and in positions requiring real people skills. He has driven trucks, buses, owned a coffee shop, and assisted with the handicapped.
Our long-time CCBC Essex intern, Trevon Cumberbatch, left today. He will be missed. He got a BIG round of applause from the clients this morning.
The Aberdeen PRP is very pleased to welcome our latest staff member, 
