Funded through the District of Columbia’s Department of Behavioral Health, the School Based Mental Health program provides support through mental health services to students, teachers, staff and families.

Since 2019, the program has been providing equitable and accessible mental health care and support to D.C. schools.

School-based therapists integrate into their school communities and partner with the administrators, educators and mental health providers to support students’ mental health needs and provide access to resources.

School-based therapists support their school communities across three tiers of service:

• Tier 1 services include promotion and primary prevention services and support, such as staff professional development and classroom-based social emotional learning opportunities.
• Tier 2 services include focused interventions for a smaller school population, such as specific support groups and consultation with families and staff who work with identified children.
• Tier 3 services are a more intensive level of support for students who have been identified as needing individualized therapy to improve their functioning at school and home, and in the community.

Services

• Individual Therapy – Student meets with a therapist once or more weekly to work through concerns and individual treatment goals.
• Group Therapy – A group of four to eight students meet weekly to work on topics such as social emotional learning, grief and loss, anger management and coping skills.
• Family Therapy – A student and family meet once or more monthly to work on concerns in the family, such as family dynamics and communications, that might be affecting the student.
• Push-ins – Therapist supports a student with self-regulation and implements coping skills in the classroom.
• Teacher Consults – Therapist supports a student by advocating for the student’s needs, while providing teaching strategies for the classroom.
• Classroom Observations – Therapist observes a student in classroom and documents behaviors as they relate to treatment goals.