Mental Health
Mental Health is a person's emotional, psychological and social well being. It is how people think, act and feel. Mental Health determines how people handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
Social Emotional development is fundamental to academic, behavioral, and social skills growth. Strong development of these skills leads to students having self-awareness, social-awareness, emotional regulation, responsible decision-making, and relationship-building competencies. School Mental Health professionals focus on supporting students to manage and resolve social, emotional, academic, and behavioral concerns that interfere with their learning and functioning at school. (DCSD Mental Health Services Flyer)
Our Intervention Team
Social/emotional support and intervention is a collaboration between administrators, teachers, parents, nurses, counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists. By building student skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, we prepare students for learning and for life. Our work covers prevention, as well as targeted and intensive intervention for those who need additional support.
Each school has a building-level mental health team that responds when a safety concern arises and they complete safety assessments in collaboration with their school administrators. If the crisis is more intense or widespread, the building may also engage the district crisis team.
District Mental Health Crisis Team
In the event of a student, parent, or staff member death or other traumatic situation, the Douglas County School District's Crisis Team takes action. The school mental health professionals and administrators work in conjunction with DCSD's District Crisis Team, Community Relations department and Safety and Security department, as well as Douglas County law enforcement entities when needed to provide assistance to our school communities.
How to find support and intervention
Each school employs a mental health team. Elementary schools have at least one school counselor and a school psychologist and/or school social worker. Each secondary school has multiple school counselors, school social workers, and at least one school psychologist. To locate your school’s mental health team, please check the building's website.