By Clyde Noel

Last Tuesday the Community Health Awareness Council brought in new interns for an orientation session on CHAC programs. The Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District and CHAC work together to provide counseling to students.

Lawrie MacMillan, associate director of clinical services at CHAC, told the interns that the council had two primary focuses — Prevention Plus, a program that covers strategies offered on school campuses; and Village Wellness.

“The big house,” as MacMillan calls it, is a program that takes place in the CHAC offices, where counselors provide individual and group counseling.

Last year counselors saw more than 900 people under age 18, on 25 school campuses, and they provided over 10,000 hours of service during the school year.

The 19 interns in the current program will receive supervision and training from CHAC professionals. They need 3,000 hours of internship in order to take the California licensing exams.

Interns come to CHAC from the entire Bay Area. All have bachelor’s degrees, and most have master’s degrees. They begin their training on 25 school campuses.

First-year intern Cecilia Long of Palo Alto said she was looking for a second career. “I enjoy psychology, and now that my kids are raised I want to get involved. I couldn’t afford to go to grad school until now,” she said.

First-year intern Digge Gleim of Sunnyvale said, “I want to work for myself and be independent, and I just want to help others.”

Last Tuesday they were introduced to some of the programs CHAC provides.

Staff member Bruce Arnold talked about art and play therapy. “If used correctly, art therapy reveals a lot. It’s a way of asking questions,” Arnold said. “You get the children away from the computer, because the computer doesn’t rule the world. If a child does endless drawings, you can ask what they mean.”

Ana Sevcik, a staff member, provided information on the restorative justice program. “Clients are usually involved in petty theft, alcohol and minor offenses and are ages 10 to 17,” Sevcik said. “You work with the families, visit at school and work with a 90-day program of case management.”

Jack McCrea and Nina Larkin discussed the alcohol and drug program. “Most of the referrals come from schools. They are in the abuse and addiction stage,” McCrea said. “I can guarantee you that when there are communication problems with parents, nine out of 10 times it is drugs.”

McCrea emphasized that some drugs are used more than others and motivational interviews are one way of reaching drug users. He said what they see in our communities are gangs and widespread drug use.

MacMillan said that 40 percent to 50 percent of the clients they work with on high school campuses are involved in alcohol and drugs.

“I believe it is easier to find drugs than to find a pencil,” MacMillan said. “It’s spooky out there, and we have to deal with it. Kids know where to get it.”