Prioritizing mental health and wellbeing
Mental Health is a part of a whole person’s wellbeing. Supporting our mental and physical health helps us to function and feel contentment in our lives. Poudre School District and the mental health team care about you as students, families, staff and humans and prioritizes student mental health and wellbeing.
PSD's team of mental health professionals offers a comprehensive approach to serving students and families by blending school resources with community resources. School-based and school-linked programs provide students with early intervention, crisis intervention, prevention and treatment to address their specific needs.
How the mental health team serves the PSD community
The mental health team:
- Offers overall mental health support to students and their families
- Provides students access to mental health services and other resources both within PSD and in the community, reducing barriers to services
- Responds to crisis situations with students, schools and within the PSD community
- Trains and educates student groups to support their peers (QPR Suicide Prevention Training).
- Supports and trains staff on mental health issues like grief and loss, QPR Suicide Prevention and Trauma Informed Lens for Educator training
Connecting with students
Students are usually referred to a PSD mental health specialist by a teacher or staff member, who has identified them as someone who might benefit from additional support. The student might be struggling with a family crisis, experiencing a loss or dealing with another personal or overwhelming issue.
Working together: The mental health specialist works with the student and their family to identify what the issue is and connects them to the appropriate resources both within PSD and within the community to address their needs.
The goal: To address the child's/family's immediate and long-term needs and help them reach a stable place emotionally so the child can access and continue their education successfully.
Services students receive from mental health specialists:
- An Initial consultation
- Assessment of need and identification of the issue
- Review of services or supports already in place
- Connection to appropriate services
- Ongoing support
- Follow-up and evaluation
Students in immediate crisis: If a mental health specialist is contacted about a student expressing suicidal thoughts or experiencing another immediate crisis that involves their safety, parents are contacted immediately and included while a plan and team of support are organized for the student. See the how you can help resources available on this page or visit the PSD Suicide Prevention web page.