School Mental Health Services
Good mental health is essential for children because mentally healthy children are more successful in school and life. Students who receive social–emotional and mental health support are better achievers academically. There is a growing and unmet need for mental health services for children and youths because many children do not receive the treatment they need as a result of stigma and lack of access to services. Children who get help do so mostly in schools.
The school environment has the advantage of being a major hub in children’s lives. Children spend at least 6 hours a day in school. Thus, the school forms an ideal environment to provide mental health services to children and youths. Current levels of both school-employed and community-based mental-health providers are grossly inadequate to cater for the needs of students in schools. Many mental health professionals are only able to serve children with the most intense needs, while little attention is paid to other children with less severe or no problems. Thus, there is the need to improve mental-health systems in schools so that all children are afforded the continuum of care they so desperately need.
At Synapse Azalea, we partner with schools to provide comprehensive school mental health services that include: universal mental health promotion (mental health education, wellness promotion), selective services for students identified as at risk for a mental health concern or problem and indicated services for individual students who already display a mental health concern or problem. Through the school, we empower families and provide critical information they need to meet their children’s mental health needs.