This blog and newly-launched website is a result of, arguably, my own stupidity. In 2019, I began a PhD (in Philosophy of Education). From the day I started, I often wondered, "What in the world was I thinking?" I had two teenage children, worked full time, and struggled to juggle the demands of all the "leaning in" that Sheryl Sandberg says I am supposed to do.
On September 20, 2023, I defended my thesis. The title was: Lessons from Beauvais: Dialogues at a Youth Concurrent Disorders Centre. I felt like I was birthing a baby and everyone got to watch. How do I process four years of planning, development, research, and determining results in just two hours? Yet I believe in this work, I truly do. Deeply. So, I felt like I was a girl on fire defending these discoveries, which is what leads me to now.
My research took place at a psychiatric inpatient unit for youth. "Concurrent" means to battle both mental health and substance use disorders (though we do take youth who have only mental health disorders). While this is a medical unit, I am a school district employee on-site; I support ongoing school studies during a patient’s stay. Hence the very muddled, confusing concept of a teacher who works at a psych facility.
My pseudonym for the unit is "Beauvais," and my term "dialogues" stems from the sheer listening and conversing I had and still have with my students. And wow, have I learned. I am on the inside looking out, and 95% of my students cringe when they relay school experiences. Yet, I also encounter teachers who want to foster relationships, make connections, and build their students up. So what's the problem? What teachers feel they are giving students is certainly not what many perceive they get--at least those with mental health struggles. This conundrum is ultimately the answer to that "what was I thinking?" as I embarked on my research.
Here is what I wanted to learn:
How can teachers support students with deteriorating mental health and increasing substance use?
Ultimately, I wanted to unravel:
How can teachers support student wellness?
What emerged from this work goes beyond the classroom. Lessons from Beauvais shows us how we want to be treated, what we need from others, and the potential of what can be reciprocated. At the end of the day, these wonderful students who agree to a psychiatric inpatient stay show us how daily encounters--interactions with people we know and those we don't know--can bring joy, healing, and might just help make this world a better place.
I invite you to join me for the ride as I delve into what we can learn from the sweet souls who dare to find healing
On September 20, 2023, I defended my thesis. The title was: Lessons from Beauvais: Dialogues at a Youth Concurrent Disorders Centre. I felt like I was birthing a baby and everyone got to watch. How do I process four years of planning, development, research, and determining results in just two hours? Yet I believe in this work, I truly do. Deeply. So, I felt like I was a girl on fire defending these discoveries, which is what leads me to now.
My research took place at a psychiatric inpatient unit for youth. "Concurrent" means to battle both mental health and substance use disorders (though we do take youth who have only mental health disorders). While this is a medical unit, I am a school district employee on-site; I support ongoing school studies during a patient’s stay. Hence the very muddled, confusing concept of a teacher who works at a psych facility.
My pseudonym for the unit is "Beauvais," and my term "dialogues" stems from the sheer listening and conversing I had and still have with my students. And wow, have I learned. I am on the inside looking out, and 95% of my students cringe when they relay school experiences. Yet, I also encounter teachers who want to foster relationships, make connections, and build their students up. So what's the problem? What teachers feel they are giving students is certainly not what many perceive they get--at least those with mental health struggles. This conundrum is ultimately the answer to that "what was I thinking?" as I embarked on my research.
Here is what I wanted to learn:
How can teachers support students with deteriorating mental health and increasing substance use?
Ultimately, I wanted to unravel:
How can teachers support student wellness?
What emerged from this work goes beyond the classroom. Lessons from Beauvais shows us how we want to be treated, what we need from others, and the potential of what can be reciprocated. At the end of the day, these wonderful students who agree to a psychiatric inpatient stay show us how daily encounters--interactions with people we know and those we don't know--can bring joy, healing, and might just help make this world a better place.
I invite you to join me for the ride as I delve into what we can learn from the sweet souls who dare to find healing