School Mental Health Services

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (BHDD) is the leading School Mental Health (SMH) services provider across South Carolina. SMH provides school children diagnostic services, intervention services and a range of treatments including individual, group, and family therapy. 

Master's-level mental health professionals (MHPs), specializing in the provision of school-based mental health care, provide SMH year-round utilizing evidence-based practices. MHPs assist students, families, and schools in developing comprehensive behavioral healthcare plans to address needs that may interfere with student educational success and overall well-being. MHPs promote whole-school wellness and support school leadership as they navigate the intersection of social, emotional, and academic outcomes of students. SMH provides non-stigmatizing and easily accessible services to children and their families in a school setting.

Services

Individual Therapy Sessions

• BHDD offers convenient and flexible therapy sessions that may be provided at school, home, at one of our outpatient mental health clinics, or via telehealth.

Group Therapy

• BHDD offers a variety of therapy groups to provide ongoing support and treatment for children.

Family Treatment School Mental Health

• Therapists work closely with families to ensure all aspects of each child’s needs are addressed and supported.

Crisis Intervention School Mental Health

• Therapists are trained to respond to crisis situations in real time and are able to access BHDD's mobile crisis team if additional support is needed.

Year-Round Services

Services continue during the summer months. Children and families are encouraged to participate to maintain and build on progress made during the school year.

SMH provides school children diagnostic services, intervention services, and a range of treatments including individual, group, and family therapy, across the state.

The following are core features of BHDD School Mental Health:

SMH Professionals: All BHDD school mental health professionals are master's-level clinicians specializing in the provision of mental health care for school-aged children. Research shows that direct practice in the school setting improves academic performance and attendance and reduces suspensions (Anthony & Sebian, 2011). MHPs also engage in universal prevention activities at the group, classroom, grade and whole school level. School MHP’s are trained in clinical assessments, evidence-based evaluations, and interventions. They facilitate psychiatric evaluations, consultation, and crisis intervention. MHPs provide parent and teacher training on mental health issues. MHPs develop individualized treatment plans in partnership with the student and family to meet the student’s needs.

Children and Families: SMH provides an opportunity for the early identification of behavioral and emotional health needs. MHPs provide family-friendly services in school settings during and after school hours for family convenience. Crisis response and classroom supports allow MHPs to intervene in ways that support students in school settings and reduce rates of discipline referrals that often lead to reduced class time for students and demands on caregivers that impact their time at work. SMH is sensitive to student and family culture. SMH effectively addresses barriers and stigma that negatively impact care and are a consistent and accessible way for student and families to access mental health services in their communities. Having programs on-site improves school climate by reducing discipline problems, which allows teachers to spend more time teaching.

Schools and Communities: MHPs are employed by BHDD and supervised by the local BHDD mental health center but integrate into the school community alongside the school’s staff. SMH supports, develops, and strengthens schools' referral networks and relationships with qualified local providers. SMH facilitates a streamlining of referral criteria and establish protocols and referral linkages with outside agencies that ensure appropriate and timely interventions for students. SMH provides comprehensive access to care by directly linking students to medically necessary psychiatric treatment and evaluation.

BHDD School Mental Health improves access to community mental health services for children and their families. The information exchange and collaboration that develops among teachers, counselors, administrators, and school-based mental health staff improves early identification and treatment for children in need. SMH helps increase school attendance, decrease discipline referrals and reduce youth involvement with the juvenile justice system. These positive outcomes for students and their families also positively correlate to a decreased risk for violence in the school and community.