Mental Health Services & Supports

School Mental Health Readiness learning playlist

Schools play a central and critical role in helping students build their capacity to cope with stress and life problems. research shows that the majority of students experiencing mental health challenges receive the help they need from staff in their school. This School Mental Health Readiness learning playlist equips school and district leaders, behavioral health professionals, and service providers with practical strategies to address student mental health needs. Topics include trauma-informed mental health screening, behavioral health teams, universal screening, and the Illinois School-Based Medicaid program. These courses provide actionable tools to create supportive school environments, secure funding, and promote student well-being and academic success. Intended audiences for these courses are school mental health team members and school administrators.

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School Behavioral Health Team Readiness

This course will help school administrators and mental health staff understand the history of behavioral health teams (BHT) and how this teaming structure can help support mental health concerns. Explore how BHT aligns with the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and other frameworks and reflect on current systems related to the role of school leaders, school-level teams, mental health supports, and partnerships with community-based providers. Then, get a team together and plan for the next steps needed to get your school ready for a BHT.

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Youth Services of Glenview

Youth Services is a nonprofit organization which provides individualized, activities-based mental health care for children and adolescents in Chicago’s northern suburbs. With a focus on the social-emotional well-being of the community’s youth, they offer a variety of programs which address the individual needs of each child. Services include individual therapy, group therapy, crisis intervention, socialization groups, after-school groups, pride, sexuality education, academic support, juvenile diversion, financial assistance, and referrals. For questions about services or to schedule an intake appointment, please email intake@ysgn.org or call 847-724-2620.

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Center on Halsted Community Services

Center on Halsted provides a vast array of programs and services designed to advance Chicago’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) and allied community, including mental health support with therapy, trauma services, assistance for violence survivors, LGBTQ+ affirming youth groups, youth development programs, arts programming, family programming, and young adult resources.

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Center of Wellness in Schools: Case Example

This school district is transforming schools into centers of wellness by placing mental health teams in every school in the county. No longer do students need to be in crisis to receive the mental health supports they need. This approach acknowledges that everyone can benefit from mental health support and emphasizes the importance of accessing these services before a crisis occurs.

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Supporting Mental Health in Schools

Concerning trends in rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidality have brought the mental health of America’s youth to the forefront. While an estimated 1 in 6 children and adolescents meet the criteria for a
diagnosable mental health disorder, few receive needed treatment. Inequities and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) exacerbate risks. This report highlights Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems (CSMHS) in schools across the U.S. and the core features that make up a successful CSMHS.

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Recognizing Healing-Centered Community Practices as a Complement to Trauma-Informed Interventions and Services

This brief from the Praxis Project showcases the importance of addressing community trauma through identifying and making space for healing-centered practices that communities have evolved over time, acknowledging and understanding the roots of trauma, and addressing the persistent, structural causes of trauma. It describes how trauma shows up in our communities and institutions, how it can be addressed through community- centered healing, and the role that trusted partners can take in supporting community healing. Download a free copy of the brief from this link.

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Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide (Version 3)

The Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide developed in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association provides a complete set of educational tools to increase understanding of mental health and mental disorders among both students and teachers. The guide focuses on training teachers to be comfortable with their own knowledge of mental health and mental disorders, and then empowers the teachers to share this knowledge with their students through a curriculum delivered in a multiple module format. The program uses a variety of interactive sessions that help to promote dialogue among students, as well as with their teachers. Discussing mental health and mental illness in a supportive, familiar environment enables youth to feel safe, ask questions, gain knowledge, combat stigma and develop their own opinions of the world around them. The teachers training materials are provided for free, and many of the other materials are incorporated into this curriculum site.

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What’s the Role of Teachers in Supporting Student Mental Health

As student mental health issues reach crisis proportions, schools and teachers are playing a larger role than ever providing support. As schools try to figure out how to address and serve students’ growing mental health needs while keeping them academically focused, many middle and high school educators interviewed for this article—in districts large and small, urban and rural—feel caught in the middle of an impossible situation. 

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