Social/Emotional Health Resources

Message from Youth Eastside Services

Hello,

My name is Madeleine Biller. I am a Co-Occurring Disorders Therapist with Youth Eastside Services. (YES). This is my first year at ICS and I am looking forward to spending one day a week here as your Behavioral Health Support Specialist providing mental health and substance abuse screening, assessment, referrals and short term counseling as well as prevention education activities to students.

I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington and my Master’s Degree in Social Work from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts. I am currently registered as a Chemical Dependency Practitioner Trainee (CDPT). I have a variety of experience working with adolescents, adults, and families in the community, schools, and outpatient facilities. I work from a foundation of compassion and believe in the right of each client to be treated with respect and dignity. My focus when working with youth is to help address emotional, social, school, and work concerns, collaborating with the student on ways to improve their sense of well-being, alleviate feelings of distress, and help them in identifying their strengths.

Some topics I address include:

School-related stress, transition/adjustment issues
Relationship difficulties including peer, parent, or other family challenges
Depression and anxiety
Suicidal thoughts and/or self-harming behaviors
Healthy Coping Strategies
Substance use and individuals affected by others’ substance use
Behavior and conduct problems
Grief and loss
Abuse and trauma
Gender identity

Services I Provide

The services I provide are informed by evidenced-based practices that have shown great efficacy in the field of child and family therapy. I work in collaboration with staff and students, and utilize Motivational Interviewing, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, and Trauma-Informed therapy to ensure a flexible array of education and prevention services/activities are provided.

Services/activities include:

Individual sessions with students/parents/families
Drug and Alcohol Screenings and/or full comprehensive assessments
Referrals to community resources (including support groups, mental health counseling, housing, etc.)
Classroom introductions and educational presentations
Facilitation of drug and alcohol awareness activities
Education tidbits to students, parents, and staff
Staff trainings on drug abuse trends; recognizing a student of concern, and referral process
Groups, such as but not limited to:
- “Affected Others”—for students who are impacted by a family member’s drug/alcohol use
- “Healthy Choices”—for students who are looking for healthy alternatives, coping skills, and support
- “Life Skills”—for students who want to build resiliency, healthy decision making skills, and healthy coping skills

YES also provides one-on-one, family, and group counseling in our 3 Eastside locations for those students/families who prefer agency-based treatment services.

Setting up an Appointment

I am at ICS on Mondays from 8-3PM. My ICS office is located in the Student Services hall, room #120.

Students can confidentially sign up to see me for a scheduled appointment at school by filling out an index request form located outside my office and placing it in the box next to it.

Staff can make referrals directly to me via email or by filling out the referral form attached, (noting that they are referring to me) and faxing it to YES attn: Open Access 425 -957 -0351. I will let you know once I have followed up with your referral. However, due to very strict Federal Confidentiality Laws, I cannot update you on the student’s progress unless they have signed a consent form and placed your name on it.

For counseling services through YES at one of our office locations (Kirkland, Redmond, or Bellevue), students/parents can walk in to YES Open Access for an Intake Monday-Thursday 12-4 at our Crossroads Office. If unable to come in during those hours, students/parents may call Open Access at 425-747-4937 to explore options.

I’m looking forward to being a part of the ICS team and learning about the unique and individualized approach ICS provides to its students and helping to play a role in promoting the health and well-being of the students throughout this school year. Please feel free to contact me by email or phone if you have any questions or would like additional information.

Sincerely,

Madeleine Biller, MSW, CDPT

Co-Occurring Disorder Specialist

Behavioral Health Support Counselor

Youth Eastside Services

425-747-4937 x2773 at YES

c-mbiller@lwsd.org

Healthy Well-Being Resources

General Health Resources

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/13-things-mentally-strong-people-dont.html Try out some of these techniques

ReachOut: ReachOut is run by the Inspire USA Foundation, a non-profit organization. Its mission is to help young people lead happier lives. http://www.inspireusafoundation.org/

Washington School-Based Health Alliance: School-based health centers are emerging in Washington State and across the country as an effective way to deliver consistent, high-quality primary health care and mental health services to children and adolescents. http://schoolhealthcare.org/

Frontiers of Innovation is an initiative “committed to driving transformative change for young children whose needs are currently not being met. Adverse experiences can derail children’s healthy development, creative learning, behavior, and health challenges …” http://developingchild.harvard.edu/activities/frontiers_of_innovation/

Suicide Prevention and Resources

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Survivor Outreach Program http://www.afsp.org/coping-with-suicide-loss/find-support/survivor-outreach-program

Grief

https://grievingstudents.org/ Grief resource for parents, school officials, and students

Youth Empowerment

http://www.amightygirl.com/ Resources to empower GIRLS

http://www.additudemag.com/resource-center/school-accommodations.html Strategies and support for ADHD and LD

Study Smarter

http://www.vox.com/2014/6/24/5824192/study-smarter-learn-better-8-tips-from-memory-researchers Study Smarter

http://mindsetonline.com/ Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference.

Creative College Options

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/10/29/7-countries-where-americans-can-study-at-universities-in-english-for-free-or-almost-free/ Go to college outside the USA…for free!

Do Good, Be Good: Make a Difference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CwCvpEMEJU Teaching empathy and caring for others

http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/stargazing/article12496232.html Coolest senior prank ever

http://lrinspire.com/2014/06/19/teen-scientist-harnesses-sun-power-to-help-navajo-community/ Inspirational Science Ideas!

Coping with Anxiety

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/amazing-apps-for-anyone-living-with-anxiety#.ue5WykgPV 14 Apps for Anyone Living with Anxiety

http://www.schoolcounselingfiles.com/activities-for-anxious-kids.html Get some ideas for taking care of yourself and staying anxiety free.

http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/mood-di... Girls and Anxiety

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-17106/how-to-change-your-attitude-when-you-cant-change-your-situation.html How to Change Your Attitude When You Can’t Change Your Situation

For Parents