(Priscilla Du Preez via Unsplash)
Green Bay public school students will have access to therapy services in the summer, marking a shift in how it is handling its students’ mental health.
The service will be available to students district-wide as a result of student services in the district becoming more adequately staffed, according to Yahoo News. Students can choose between having sessions at the school or the clinic of the associated mental health provider. They will also be able to keep the same therapists they’ve been working with throughout the school year.
Having mental health services on campus can help ease transportation and allow students to remain among their peers, according to a community mental health expert.
Bree Decker, community engagement director with Connections for Mental Wellness, said a lack of mental healthcare in the summer can pose challenges for kids throughout the year.
“I do see a general trend in line with the pandemic that, where kids typically fall off on their mental health care in the summer, kids are now carrying mental health care through the summer,” Decker said. “Poor mental health doesn’t just stop in June. There’s more awareness and a willingness to continue.”