EARLY EDUCATION
Three-year-old Kara* was barely using words to communicate when she arrived at her early education center in September. She’d sit quietly, never disrupting, and struggled to participate in group activities and make friends. She avoided the other children and didn’t use words to tell her teachers when she needed a break or other support. With the help of her clinician, who nurtured her all year, working with her teachers and parents, Kara has learned to use her voice. She has made significant developmental progress; playing dressup is now her favorite activity!
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Early on, third grader Byron* was diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety. His anxiety made friendships and positive interactions with his teachers and parents difficult. During conflict, he’d have tantrum-like behavior; every problem was a “big” problem, met with “big” emotion. His clinician utilized movement and play therapy and taught him strategies to help him identify the size of a problem and the appropriate reaction. Heading into summer, Byron’s relationships and grades have improved, and he can better manage his emotions.
HIGH SCHOOL
Shirley,* a senior and performing arts major at a New York City high school, plans to be the first in her family to attend college. Yet as her year progressed, the demands of her rigorous schedule and the weight of expectations took a toll. She experienced anxiety and her grades began to fall. Knowing that help was available in school, Shirley sought out counseling. She learned coping strategies, reduced her anxiety, and her grades improved. She also switched her academic focus to a field that sparks joy, and she is busily applying to colleges.
These students, quite likely, wouldn’t have been able to make the strides they did when they did without the support of The Home’s school-based clinical staff. Our mental health professionals provide outpatient services within educational settings: in early learning centers, Boston Public Schools and throughout the North Shore in Massachusetts, and in New York City schools. Given that one in five U.S. children has a mental health disorder, yet very few receive care, meeting kids where they are—in school—is vital. School-based support removes the burden on families to provide transportation or find time for appointments, avoids waitlists, and it means that help is onsite when issues arise. It supports academic success as well as developmental growth. If a preschooler can come out of her shell and make peer connections, a third grader can learn to manage his emotions and build positive relationships, and a teen can advocate for herself and safeguard her mental health…well, those just might be the most important lessons of all.
