All students at DCTC have access to no-cost mental health care as well as assessments for ADHD, ASD, Math Learning Disabilities, and Dyslexia. The assessment process can take some time but, typically, does not have a waiting list like most of the community-based providers.

How It Starts

To get started, schedule a 30-minute intake appointment with Beth Pitchford via her Bookings link. This appointment can be in-person or via telehealth. In this appointment, you’ll share with Beth the reasons you’re curious about if you have ADHD/ASD/Dyscalculia/Dyslexia. She’ll explain the process and give you A LOT of paperwork to fill out. One of the most important documents is a questionnaire to be completed by someone who was an adult and knew you well when you were very young.

Early childhood developmental information is extremely important, especially for ADHD and autism evaluations. If you don’t have anyone in your life from that time, at your next appointment answer early childhood questions with as much detail as you can. Things to think about ahead of time: what was your favorite thing to do when you were little? Did you have friends? How did you get those friends? If you had a favorite toy, why was it your favorite? What did you do with your toys? What kind of games did you play by yourself? What kind of games did you play with other kids your age? What would upset you when you were little?

After the developmental history interview, Beth will take time to read, score, and compile the information to determine whether there is enough information to confirm or disprove a specific diagnosis. If the answer isn’t clear, Beth will contact you for further assessment. This may be for more questions, more screeners (paperwork), or an IQ test. It is important to know that IQ tests do not tell you how smart you are. Beth is looking for specific patterns in the results that are associated with specific diagnoses. IQ tests infamously are bad at reflecting the actual abilities of women, people of color, multilingual individuals, and neurodivergent individuals. But…the information can show us patterns and that’s all we really want.

Sometimes, the answer isn’t clear. Beth will still write you a report and make suggestions of how clearer answers could be found. Sometimes that may mean a referral to a community-based psychological assessment and sometimes regularly scheduled sessions with Beth will provide the opportunity for things you didn’t think were relevant to come to light.

It’s important that you finish the assessment process feeling heard, seen, and understood. If you get a diagnosis, it’s important that you understand how you meet the criteria for that diagnosis, know some of the strengths of that diagnosis, and where you may need specific support because of that diagnosis.

Questions about assessments? Email Beth!

TL;DR

1. Intake (30 minutes)
2. Paperwork (varies, at least an hour)
3. Assessment interview with Beth (1 hour)
4. Beth looks at all the info and either
   1. Writes a report or
   2. Contacts you for more information through
      1. IQ test
      2. Adaptive behavior information
      3. Other assessments

5. Ultimate result: you will get a written report with diagnostic information and how you fir or do not fit that criteria.

 

Your Time Commitment Breakdown for Assessments

Initial intake: 30 minutes

Paperwork: it varies – at least an hour for most people

Interview session: one hour

IQ test: 1 hour

Adaptive behavior assessment: 2 hours

Dyslexia test: full assessment is 4 hours; may only do specific subtests depending on identified difficulties; start with screeners

Dyscalculia test: 1.5 hours

The entire MinnState system has rolled out a new platform for additional mental health supports for students. While DCTC has two on-campus licensed mental health therapists, sometimes our hours don’t work with your schedule or sometimes you just don’t vibe with the therapists available (and that’s ok!).

Mantra offer telehealth mental health therapy, self care courses, peer support, emotional wellness coaching, and crisis support. Go to mantrahealth.com/dctc to register and have access to these resources immediately!

AND there’s also a resource called Togetherall. It’s been described as similar to Reddit-style peer support. Your posts are anonymous but the site is moderated by licensed practitioners. You can access Togetherall through the Mantra app (go to the Peer Support option) or directly though togetherall.com

Often Maggie and I are working with students who are worried about getting healthcare because of the costs. But, remember, YOU are irreplaceable and you can always work with providers on interest free payment plans. AND  there are programs like this one that just cancelled medical debt for residents in St Paul!

https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-fairview-and-nonprofit-wipe-out-37-million-in-medical-debt-for-32000-residents/601180323

The World Health Organization designated October 10th and World Mental Health Day as an initiative to grow awareness and understanding of mental health challenges. Here are some resources to support mental health:

NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness

988 Lifeline

Wounded Warrior – Mental Health Supports for Veterans

CHADD – ADHD support

ASAN – Autism Self Advocacy Network

Info about mental health and Asian Americans

Mental Health and Black Americans

Somali Mental Health

Latinx Mental Health info site

 

What can YOU do? Get trained in Mental Health First Aid, as a peer support, or learn more about Trauma Informed Care

If you’re a student at DCTC and you need mental health support, book with the campus mental health therapists by going to the front desk.

Naloxone is used to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose, like from heroin, oxycodone or
fentanyl. Anyone from the community can anonymously get a free kit at county locations.

Free Naloxone Flyer 8.5x11_DCbranding

The Living Room model is an innovative approach to mental health care developed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), which functions as an alternative to emergency services for people experiencing mental health symptoms. It opened on August 5, 2024 at Emma Norton’s new headquarters in Highland Bridge. 

At the Living Room, our compassionate Peer Support team provides a safe and non-judgmental space where people can express themselves freely and receive the assistance they deserve. We do not focus on diagnoses, judge each other’s experiences, or give advice. Rather than trying to fix what’s “wrong”, we are focused on support and exploring resources and strengths that will facilitate mental health recovery.

All services in the Living Room will be free of charge, and can be accessed on a walk-in basis, or by calling ahead. No appointment is necessary. We are incredibly proud to be opening one of the first Living Room spaces in Minnesota! At this time, we are serving Emma Norton residents and our neighbors in the Highland Bridge area. Once we are fully staffed, the goal is for The Living Room to be open 7 days a week and to serve the broader community.

Address: 2265 Hillcrest Ave. St. Paul, MN 55116
Hours: 12-8 PM, Thursday through Monday
Email: livingroom@emmanorton.org
Phone: 651-251-2629

Term Tuesday! On Tuesdays we’re going to try and post a blog where we explain common terms used in the world of psychology. This week’s term: EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING.

I talk about executive functioning A LOT. It’s a challenge area for a lot of people and it’s good to know about it and think about your strength areas and challenge areas.

Executive functioning are the tasks related to planning, time management, time tracking, working memory, organization, and self-regulation. These skills develop and are “housed” in the front part of our brain which is the last part of our brain to finish developing. So these skills are not automatic – we learn them over time and, for some, the learning is only done through direct teaching.

Executive function skills are a MUST for busy college students and also once you’re in your careers. Balancing the demands of adulthood with school and work is a lot and takes solid executive functioning. Below I’ve included a couple of resources for you to learn more about executive functioning:

https://ausm.org/ausm-resources/executive-function-resources/

https://sites.google.com/view/ef-toolkit-site/resources-for-executive-functions

If you want support with these skills, come see me in the CSS Thursdays from 1:00-3:30 at the Executive Function Help Desk!

Including Others – Through Food

Food is often a central piece to social gatherings of all kinds: holidays, parties, student club meetings. It’s used to draw people in and to connect through doing an enjoyable activity together.

But there are challenges with food that are often invisible. People who have an eating disorder or who are in recovery from eating disorders will have a complex and nuanced relationship with food making gatherings with a food element very difficult for them. People with allergies often have to be extremely careful about gatherings involving foods and many neurodivergent people have food-texture sensitivities that limit what they can eat. Additionally, there are religious and moral specifications around food too.

Many people with food limitations have learned over time to take on the responsibility for their food at gatherings. As someone who has some of these limitations, I know it’s complicated and people without these limitations don’t always know what to do. But what I can say is that when someone does put in the effort to include me or to take on that responsibility for including me, my sense of belonging and my trust in that person skyrockets. So think to yourself, if you want friends, family, classmates, or whomever to trust you and think highly of you – can you do some simple internet searches to learn more about food necessities.

Below is a link to the start of a PDF I’ve made for inclusivity around food. My hope is this is a document that can be added to with more information and resources. The information about religious needs are things I Googled – I’d love to add first-person experienced resources to the document. Email me!

 

Inclusivity – food