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COUNSELOR:
Patty Brinkman, NCC
SCHOOL:
Lyman Moore Middle School, Portland, Maine
SCHOOL PHONE:
207-874-8150
Lyman Moore Middle School is one of the three outstanding public middle
schools in beautiful, Portland, Maine. We have two counselors and one
social worker comprising a key component of Support Services for our nearly
six hundred students in grades six through eight. One of us is assigned to
each grade and that one counselor or social worker will move up ("loop up")
with those students from that grade into the next grade.
For this 2008/2009 school year, I am happy to be the counselor for the
8th grade students having just completed serving as counselor to
the seventh grade last year. We are confident that this looping plan
will insure continuity for students and families throughout the middle
school experience. We welcome your thoughts as well.
Students can meet with any of the counselors or social worker during their
school day, or before school starts, or after school. We make visits to
classrooms to re-orient students to the process each fall, but bascially,
students contact us one of these ways:
* Filling out a 'Request to See You' slip in our school counseling offices;
* Asking a teacher or parent to contact us on their behalf;
* Calling our office from the classroom telephone to see if we are
available right that moment (with teacher permission).
We are often able to see a student immediately, but not always. If we are
unavailable when a student comes to see us then we follow-up with the
student as soon as we are able to do so.
Sometimes students who have never asked for help before in school find it
easier to reach out to us through their teacher who might ask us to see the
student, or, by agreeing with a parent one evening that, well yeah, it's
okay for you to call the counselor and ask her to meet with me. Ideally, we
try to be visible around the building and in classes as we introduce
ourselves to explain how we work. We try to get to know each student to
promote academic and personal development -- so it is NOT a bad sign to know
or see the counselor!
POSSIBILITIES COUNSELING
Our school is also incredibly fortunate to have three additional independent
counseling practioners this year (yay!) whose services include a broad range
of in-school, in-community and in-home counseling and support. They work
through the private insurance, MaineCare. They are a phenomenal resource
for families through the school - the advantages are:
* they have private offices in the school, but work independently of schools
* they are not effected by a school budget because they are a separate agency
* they work with students individually and / or with families
* sometimes they provide services in the home as well
* they are an excellent source of community outreach and referral
* they are skilled in adolescent development and family work
* they are friendly and fun colleagues to have around our building!
Their names are: Erin Soucy, Andy Parker and Kathy Mitchell. You can reach
them through e-mail or through a phone call to our offices.
...and WE WANT TO MENTION...
We are also an approved site at Lyman Moore for CACREP counselor interns who
have completed University and State educational requirements and are now
ready for "field work" in a middle school, supervised by a trained,
practicing school counselor and their own University advisor. They too
abide by the ethical and practice guidelines of the school and the American
Counseling Association.
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