School based Mental Health Program

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

New Hanover County Schools and the New Hanover County Health Department joined forces to provide an additional support service for students and their families via the School Based Mental Health (SBMH) Program. A licensed clinical therapist, employee of the health department, is available to provide mental health services such as evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with moderate to severe behavioral and emotional problems. School based mental health services are available to students and their families at the child’s school. Through our partnership, we currently have 32 therapists, 4 clinical supervisors and 1 program manager who serve all the county’s elementary and middle schools. We have also expanded to include J.C. Roe Center which incorporates three programs for middle and high school-aged youth. 1. The Turning Point Program which educates the district’s students who are serving a long- term suspension from their home school. 2. The Choices Program which provides an alternative setting for students who are serving a 5-to-10-day short-term suspension from their home school. 3. The Transition Program which serves students who need a transition period before they reenter the traditional school setting. Our School Mental Health Program provides psychotherapeutic services to include individual, family, and group therapy to any student, and no student is turned away due to being underinsured or uninsured. There is no out-of-pocket cost to the parents.