Related Posts

• Prioritizing Student Wellbeing: Mental Health Days

  

  This article is part of PAR’s Mental Health Awareness Month series, in which we will be focusing on the multifaceted issue of mental health in the U.S. Come back each week for more insight.  Before the pandemic, reports indicated a concerning increase in mental health issues among American youth, including rising feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. There was already an approximate 40% surge in these factors before the COVID-19 pandemic introduced additional stressors such as social isolation, disruptions in daily routines, and economic strain due to caregiver job losses. These stressors led to a significant increase in mental health emergencies, with a 24% increase in emergency department visits for mental health issues among children aged 5–11 and a 31% increase among those aged 12–17. Suspected suicide attempts among girls aged 12–17 also rose by 51% in 2021 compared to 2019.  The issue of chronic absenteeism, where students miss 10% or more of instructional days per year, has only added to the existing problems. Before the pandemic, in the academic year 2021–2022, more than 66% of students attended schools where ...

• The gift of giving...all year long!

  

  PAR has a long and proud tradition of giving back to the communities we serve through donations of time and financial support. This is something we do not only during the holiday season, but all year long. Here’s a look back at some of the events and organizations our company and employees supported in 2018. January: Announced the recipient of our fourth annual Pay-it-Forward campaign, where select Customers choose an organization to receive a $5,000 donation. The charity selected by our Customers was Prevent Child Abuse America. February: PAR employees participated in the annual Cup of Compassion breakfast, a fund-raising event that benefits the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay. March: PAR employees volunteered for Camp Circle of Love, a no-cost annual weekend retreat for children in Hillsborough county ages 6 to 18 years who have experienced the death of a loved one.  For the 7th year in a row, the PAR team was named Top Dog at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay’s annual Bark in the Park fundraising event.  April: PAR staff participated in and donated to fundraising walks supporting Southeastern Guide Dogs and Autism Speaks. In ...

• Chicago in February?
  PAR will be at the coolest NASP ever!

  

  The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Annual Convention will be held February 13 to 16 in Chicago and PAR will be there. If you’ll be attending NASP, we hope you’ll visit the PAR booth and say hello! You can view product samples and even meet some of your favorite authors! Here’s the schedule of when the authors will be available at our booth. February 14 1-2 p.m.: Peter Isquith, PhD, coauthor of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function®, Second Edition (BRIEF®2) 2:30-3:30 p.m.: Sandra Chafouleas, PhD, coauthor of DBR Connect™ 5:30-6:30 p.m.: Steven Feifer, DEd, author of the Feifer Assessment of Reading™ (FAR™) and Feifer Assessment of Mathematics™ (FAM™) February 15 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Steven Feifer, DEd 2-3 p.m.: Peter Isquith, PhD We also hope you’ll also make time to attend these informative sessions being presented by our PAR authors. Presentation title ...

• People Living Longer, But With More Disabilities

  Although overall life expectancy in the U.S. has increased from 75 years to 78 years in the past decade, information from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle has found that Americans are spending more of their lifetime dealing with disability. According to the research, Americans are now spending an average of 10.1 years living with a disability, up from 9.4 years reported before 1990. Of the top five disabilities, two are mental health diagnoses – major depressive disorder (ranked No. 2) and anxiety disorders (ranked No. 5). These rankings have not changed from the 1990 report. The researchers hope that this report can help focus on which diseases, injuries, and health problems are the greatest losses of health and life, with the hope of using that information to better serve these problems with improved health and medical care. More information about this study is available in the July 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

• Can You Buy Long-Term Happiness?

  Congratulations! You’ve received an unexpected financial windfall. Should you use the money to buy a new GPS or go to a concert with friends? According to a 2009 study conducted by the San Francisco State University psychology department, you’d be well served to choose the concert; your appreciation of the experience will grow over time, whereas your appreciation for the GPS will lessen in a matter of weeks. Participants in the study answered questions about purchases they made with the intention of making themselves happy. Most were initially happy with their purchases regardless of whether they were material or experiential. However, those who invested in experiences tended to show higher levels of satisfaction for a significant amount of time after the events occurred. Also, because the experiences usually included other people, they reported a sense of connecting to friends or relatives, fulfilling a need for social bonding. We found out about this study in a blog post from David DiSalvo called Ten Psychology Studies from 2009 Worth Knowing About. There are some other interesting studies on his list. We encourage you to ...

• APA takes on workplace stress

  

  The changing landscape of workplaces has drawn heightened attention to the needs and expectations of employees nationwide regarding the issues of work–life balance and mental health support.  The recent survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) sheds light on the prevalence of toxic workplaces and their detrimental impact on mental health. Of the data coming out of this survey, most startling was the revelation that 19% of workers reported their workplace as somewhat or very toxic. Even more alarming, those in such environments are three times more likely to suffer mental health harm at work than those individuals who are in nontoxic settings.  This blog discusses the importance of these findings, what employers can do in light of this data, and the role mental health providers can play in supporting individuals facing toxic work situations. Understanding the impact of a toxic work environment  The APA survey brought to light the destructive toll a workplace can have on an individual’s mental well-being.  According to the survey, more than one in five workers revealed they've suffered mental health harm at work. Even worse, reported cases of ...