School Programs Offered by The Maple Counseling Center

A variety of programs are available for local students, including the students of the Beverly Hills Unified School District.

Key Benefits

Improves students performance and self-esteem
Improves family function and understanding of student needs
Promotes safe transportation in a confidential manner
Offers Crisis Response Team (CRT) and on-site counseling when appropriate

School Programs

The Beverly Hills High School Counseling Program is for mainstream high school students who have been identified by school staff as needing counseling for emotional, social or adjustment difficulties. Five TMCC interns are assigned 3 hours per week to provide free on-site assessment and one-on-one support for the students. The client remains with the same intern until the end of the treatment period. The amount of time varies, depending on the type of problem. Students perform better academically and adjust more easily to the pressures of the high school environment with this type of counseling. It is beneficial to have the counseling on-site at the school so that issues of transportation and time do not become factors that prevent treatment. The school district allots time from the student's schedule to attend these sessions. There is an average of close to 700 individual counseling sessions during the school year.
The Moreno High School Program requires all of the students in the continuation school to receive weekly counseling sessions. These are students who have not been able to remain in the mainstream of high school for a variety of reasons. Six TMCC interns are assigned 3 hours per week to the school. The interns provide free individual counseling, weekly support groups, crisis intervention, drug and alcohol sobriety information and workshops as needed. The sessions offer a safe place where family issues and peer pressure concerns can be discussed. The school staff is highly appreciative of this program as it supports their efforts to help make graduation a possibility for these students. There is an average of 750 individual counseling sessions and 722 group sessions per academic year.
The Annabelle Wasserstein Student Peer Counseling Program at Beverly Hills High School was developed in response to research that showed that teenagers are more likely to seek help from their peers than adults. The program provides free peer counseling and tutoring in 30 to 45 minutes sessions to students on-site during the academic year. The program coordinator is a licensed mental health professional who selects, trains and supervises the nine student peer counselors (SPC). Each SPC receives weekly individual supervision after each session as well as additional supervision by phone or during lunch hour when needed. The program coordinator is in the SPC offices at the high school during all sessions and is responsible for the confidentiality of the counselee files. The SPC Program is a highly effective method to reach students who are not easily identified by school counselors or teachers, because they do not act out in the classroom or earn poor grades. Yet these teenagers are suffering from a variety of problems such as depression, eating disorders, low self-esteem, loneliness, abusive relationships, being bullied, parental neglect and feelings of anger at not being heard. The program is also a positive learning experience to the students. The peer counselors began an academic tutoring component in the Winter of 2003. Beverly Hills High School has an academically competitive environment that can affect a student's sense of mental well-being, self-esteem and confidence. They recruited other students as tutors as well as themselves, set up a tutoring room and scheduled the sessions. During 2002-2003, the nine peer counselors saw 40 unduplicated clients during 254 counseling sessions.
The Community Circle Program is widely used in the elementary schools of the Beverly Hills School District during the school year. Once a week for twenty minutes, classes who participate discuss a topic with a volunteer leader. In the process, students become sensitive to the needs of others in a setting that is safe and engenders mutual respect. Four communication skills are taught: attentive listening, no put downs- only put ups, right to PASS and confidentiality (no names, no gossip). The students help each other learn, become good peer listeners and develop self-discipline. Once the communication skills are understood, any topic of interest can be discussed. They learn to value differences and work out conflicts. CC leaders are volunteers who enjoy working with children and many have been part of the program for years. They attend a weekly supervision meeting with the Community Circle Coordinator. The program sees an average of 1200 students per week or over 22,000 contacts during the academic year.
The Academic Tutoring Program is a school-year program for students in grades K-8, who need academic help and cannot afford private tutoring. The monthly fee is $50 for an hour long session weekly. Community members, professionals, and high school students volunteer as tutors. The tutoring is done on a one-to-one basis with their assigned student. The tutors are trained and supervised on a weekly basis by a staff coordinator. This program operates on a weekly basis during the school year at Horace Mann and Beverly Vista for all students of the Beverly Hills Unified School District. Besides helping these youngsters learn study skills and perform better in the classroom, they flourish with the attention of a new "friend," increase their self-esteem, become more confident and are open to new discoveries. The program tutors an average of 50 students per week or over a 1000 tutoring sessions during the academic year.
The Anger Management Group at Beverly Hills High School provides a free ongoing group for students to develop techniques to better handle their anger. Currently, the group is limited to adolescent males as this is a population that has more explosive ways to act out their uncontrolled feelings. They discuss how their problems impact their functioning, both academically and personally. The students are identified by the high school counselors and interviewed by the program coordinator for suitability in a group environment. The weekly groups of between 4-6 boys are facilitated by two TMCC interns. Students report a highly positive experience and feel that the group setting enriches their understanding of the consequences of their inappropriate behavior.
The Safe Ride Program is a confidential service to Beverly Hills students. If a teenager feels he/she cannot drive safely, he/she can call (888) 654-3211 for a free ride home. This service is available every Friday and Saturday night from 10:00pm to 2:00am and on Prom Night and New Year’s Eve from 10:00pm to 6:00am.
Pre and Post Natal Group
The Mindful Parenting Program has begun a group for expectant and new, teen moms, dads and their babies. These groups are being offered at the Independent Study School in Culver City and will provide an opportunity for the teens to share their common experiences in a safe, supportive and educational environment. The group facilitators will help the members focus on a greater understanding themselves as well as their baby’s experience. The group format will combine information on infant development, necessary practical skills and facilitate the deepening of a healthy attachment between parent and baby.