If everyone is  moving forward together then success takes care itself - Henry FordCollaborative Mental Health Care models are fast becoming the need of the hour. Kates, N. et. al. (2011) in their study of the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Care (CMHC) systems state that CMHC encompasses a range of team-based interventions promoting greater mutual support between providers from different specialities, disciplines and sectors and more coordinated, complementary services to clients which come in with varied mental health concerns.To provide the most comprehensive and coordinated care possible, it is critical for all mental health services to be well linked to and collaboratively involved in multidisciplinary networks. Therapists, therapeutic caseworkers, counsellors, physicians, educators and other mental health professionals are better able to address people's needs and ensure therapeutic success toward defined recovery outcomes as they exchange perspectives and responsibilities. Collaboration can involve better communication, closer personal contacts, sharing of care time, joint educational or remedial programs and/or joint planning. Co-optation v/s Collaborative Approach It is recommended that parents, clinicians, and educators each have a unique and relevant viewpoint on the aims of the child's treatment and various psychosocial strategies for dealing with the child while determining the parameters of the supportive partnership. This means that keeping all viewpoints is beneficial. That also means that if one partner ceded her interests and accepted those of another—for example, if the teacher adopted the parent's goals or the parent adopted the therapist's—the partnership would experience some damage. This is referred to as co-optation. Here are some instances where co-optation might happen in a collaborative mental health care team : (a) Parent and the Pharmacotherapist The most prevalent method of co-optation happens when parents adopt a therapist's therapy advice, as a rule, relinquishing power over their children's treatment. Parents, for example, may follow a pharmacotherapist's recommendation for an effective medicine for their child despite what they see as a negative impact on the child's and family's well-being. The reverse may also happen, where a pharmacotherapist agrees to a parent's request for drug-based treatment of a particular series of symptoms, even though the pharmacotherapist believes the medicine is ineffective. (b) Teacher, Parent & the Therapist  Teachers being the next important figure also regard special education and general education as non-exclusive categories that can be mixed in various ways to better represent an individual's interests. They shape their views on a child's possible prospects of social and academic achievement in general based on their interactions with other children and first-hand awareness of classroom realities in a classroom for schooling. A child's academic location has a significant impact on the child's daily life, effectively changing both the challenges of psychotherapeutic / psychopharmacological care and the domain in which such treatments occur. Whereas a parent or teacher may see a child's therapy as influencing his academic performance.Building Synergy in Collaborative Mental Health Care Webster defines the word ‘Synergy’ as mutually advantageous conjunction or compatibility of distinct participants or elements (such as resources or efforts). The idea of collaboration amongst all allied professionals is to offer a more comprehensive and holistic service that is customized appropriately keeping in mind the client’s mental health concerns. The client, therefore, remains at the center of this entire process rather than the individual ideas of each of the allied professionals. Therefore Interventions will be considered as collaborative care if they fulfil these criteria: Criteria I: A multidisciplinary team  involving a primary care practitioner and at least one other allied professional (eg. school counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, special educator et.al.) Criteria II: A structured mental health plan (eg. use of a structured document like an Individualised Education Plan (IEP) or a counselling plan, evidence-based pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy) Criteria III: A systematic or scheduled approach for follow-up Criteria IV: Suitable and mutually decided process for regular communication between all the stakeholders including the parents (eg. team meetings, shared documents about the client's history/medical records, consultation, therapy progress, minutes of the meetings etc). Most importantly, remember that everyone's presence in the collaboration must be valued and as they say - if you want to be exponentially better, be collaborative, not co-adaptive. Carpediem would like to acknowledge the use of Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

Social, emotional learning in the classroom has brought significant changes in the ways teachers now approach everything. This everything includes the primary academic subjects or recess. Social-emotional learning aids children in developing positive self-esteem, managing their emotions, set and ultimately achieve goals. Showing empathy for others and handling stress is also a part of the same. According to the National Institute of Health, nearly 33% of teenage students with age 13 to 18 are experiencing an anxiety disorder. The number of children and teens facing an anxiety disorder has seen an upsurge. Emotional learning can provide children with coping mechanisms which can act to reduce the prevalence of anxiety. This can be particularly important if teachers introduce social-emotional learning in early childhood. Many educators believe that SEL helps students learn soft skills, which will help them be productive and subsequently successful adults. Implementation of Social Emotional Learning in ClassroomSocial-emotional learning can be integrated into the very learning environment by the teachers along with the academic curriculum. It can be taught separately from other subjects or implemented to make it an overall classroom philosophy. Students shall greatly benefit if SEL lesson plans are implemented continuously at all grades along with the curriculum. Early childhood teaching would create a strong foundation for learning advanced SEL concepts.Teachers trying to implement SEL must first decide upon a comprehensive curriculum designed to: Help students identify their self-conceptIntroduce Positive Actions for Body and MindTeaching Students to Manage their Feelings Teach EmpathyTeach Students to Face the TruthHelp Students Practice Self-Improvement StrategiesStrategies to Implement Social-Emotional Learning Help Students Identify their Self-Concept The essential feature of SEL in the classroom would consist of student's self-concept and awareness. An individual's self-concept would relate to how they would perceive themselves. Can shape a person's self-concept through interactions with teachers, parents, and peers. Introduce Positive Actions for Body and MindStudents feel delighted about themselves once they complete positive actions successfully. Emphasizing positive physical and intellectual health representing emotional learning helps students establish good habits to achieve success.Teaching Students to Manage their Emotions Students must learn to handle their emotions and develop the habit of helping others and themselves. A belief in positive thoughts leading to positive action must be formed. Students would gain a sense of responsibility that helps in improving their self-concept and boosting their self-esteem. Teach Empathy One must treat others how they would want to be treated. Today, empathy plays a dominant role in the classroom's social-emotional learning. They must learn how to treat others with kindness and to pay respect. Student performance can be rewarded if they do well. Teach Students to Face the Truth Students can recognize their shortcomings through Social-emotional learning, which helps them to improve. Teachers can ask students to take responsibility for their actions and ask them to finish their assignments on time. Help Students Practice Self-Improvement Strategies Students can focus on self-improvement once they recognize their areas of improvement and can learn to take responsibility for their decisions. A growth mindset, or understanding that every individual is capable of learning new skills, plays an essential role in getting about how to implement SEL successfully. Outcomes of SEL Implementation Socio-emotional learning aids students in being more confident and creating kinder students who are in a better situation to face the outside world's stress. Students focus more on their tasks than getting distracted and engaged in inappropriate activities. They are seen to build more self-confidence through SEL and hence betterment in academics. They are seen to get better in reading achievement. Socio-emotional learning enables them to manage and cope with anger rather than initiating violent actions. SEL has been instilled with a greater sense of responsibility to be on time to school and reduced absenteeism. Increase family bonding and a reduction in family conflict are seen, and increasing family bonding is cherished. Rise in favourable development in early childhood a rise in positive effect indicating a rise in self-esteem and physical health is observedThe core SEL competencies enable student life to cope with the daily stresses of life and be more empathetic toward others. Most importantly, SEL aids in creating self-secure individuals with a sound knowledge of academics.Carpediem would like to acknowledge the use of Photo by Domingo Alvarez E on Unsplash