What is School-Based Mental Health?
Murray City School District’s School Based Mental Health (SBMH) Team includes School Social Workers and School Psychologists licensed through the Utah State Board of Education. They serve as imperative members of the school team supporting tier one social and emotional learning. In addition, these team members are knowledgeable in prevention and intervention strategies across MTSS, PBIS, restorative practices, trauma-informed practices, childhood development, and community resources.
SBMH Team members use their professional knowledge and skills to guide students toward school and life success. Students often face barriers and challenges that limit their ability to successfully progress academically, emotionally, and socially. SBMH team members use the MTSS framework to effectively target student needs, reduce barriers, and build skills within students. The foundation of the implementation starts by assessing school needs, planning service delivery, and collecting and evaluating data. SBMH Team members use a tiered approach to deliver schoolwide tier-one prevention programs. In addition, tier two and three interventions and supports are implemented and utilized based on school and student needs.
SBMH Team members provide mental health services conducted by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed School Psychologist, or Certified Social Worker (CSW) supervised by a MCSD LCSW. Available mental health services include individual, family and group counseling, parent psychoeducation and support groups and crisis support. Social workers utilize techniques from evidenced based models. Group counseling can include the following topics:
- Mindfulness
- Healthy Relationships and Social Skills
- Parenting
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Coping Skills
- Grief and Loss
- Healing after a Traumatic Event
- And more
Key Concepts of School Based Mental Health Practice:
- Home-School-Community Linkages: Academic achievement and behavior are profoundly impacted by the environment, including relationships and interactions across home, school, and community settings. Facilitating communication and promoting linkages across these systems is a central characteristic of school social work practice.
- Ethical Guidelines and Educational Policy: School social workers follow professional ethical guidelines and carry out federal and state educational policy to provide the highest level of school social work practice. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics and School Social Work Association of America (SSWAA) Ethical Guideline Series define expectations for ethical school social work practice.
- Education Rights and Advocacy: School social workers address the ways in which structural inequalities and school processes affect school quality and educational outcomes. School social work practitioners are expected to raise issues of diversity and social and economic justice that lead to school failure and educational disparities. School social workers should be able to balance their mandate as school employees to advocate for students and families with their mandate as social workers to help change policies and practices that undermine the dignity and worth of students.
- Data-Based Decision Making: SBMH Members use the best current research to design and implement interventions. Services should be informed by the research literature, adapt empirically supported interventions to fit student needs, and routinely evaluate the effectiveness of policies, programs, and practices.