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Mental Health Professionals at Your School
First, let’s take a look at the Behavioral Health resources that might be available at your school.

The Department of Behavioral Health operates a school-based program in over 70 public and public charter schools and is expanding into more. School-Based Mental Health Program (or SMHP) Clinicians offer prevention, early intervention and treatment services to youth and their families.

SMHP Clinicians:

• provide supportive services for teachers and staff (for example, conducting classroom observations to identify youth who may need mental health services and support)
• work within existing support services in the schools to help create a safer and more supportive school climate
• provide direct treatment services to students and families, and
• may serve on a Student Support Team (SST). We’ll talk more about Student Support Teams later.

Whether or not you have an SMHP Clinician at your school, all DC Public Schools have a social worker on staff. The social worker can provide the same services that SMHP Clinicians do.

DC Public Charter Schools may also have a social worker or mental health clinician. If you’re not sure of whom to contact to obtain mental health support for your students, you should speak to your principal or head of school.

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