The Clinical Intervention level includes services for students with immediate, urgent, and/or clinically significant behavioral health needs. Clinicians provide or refer students for crisis assessment and intervention and/or ongoing clinical treatment to address these needs.
Crisis intervention is a form of direct service delivery provided by BCHNP clinicians when a student is in need of immediate behavioral health attention. It may involve assessment, providing support, discussing coping strategies, referral to more acute care, and/or consultation with other adults involved in students’ lives (e.g., caregivers, providers, school professionals).
One of the benefits of providing these services in the school setting is that youth can be assessed by a behavioral health professional without the long waits that are often endured when a student is referred to external crisis intervention services, such as those at hospital emergency departments.
Having a behavioral health provider in the building helps ensure that students receive an appropriate level of care. Clinicians indicated that, without BCHNP services available during the behavioral health crisis in which they intervened, students may have received no care at all (in 78% of crises), may have been referred unnecessarily to more intensive settings such as hospital emergency rooms (in 24% of crises), or may have been subjected to inappropriate disciplinary action (in 9% of crises).
Individual therapy is the most comprehensive form of direct service delivery in which goals are collaboratively set and addressed through a combination of regularly scheduled ongoing one-on-one student sessions, consultation with other adults involved in students’ lives (e.g., caregivers, providers, school professionals), and/or referrals to and coordination with additional school and community-based supports for students and caregivers.
“The BCHNP clinician was exceptional with working through my trauma and safety issues at school. She made sure I understood the options I had whilst also being sympathetic. I enjoyed my time with her and I recommend her to anyone.”
“Therapy has helped me a lot with a lot of problems and was really good for me.”
“The BCHNP clinician has shed light about therapy onto my family.“
“The BCHNP clinician has been very supportive with my child’s needs. She has shown us what caring looks like.”
“Thank you for helping my child work through her stress and anxiety. I can see a big difference this year.”
“I think the services from the BCHNP clinician were great! She does a great job following up on community resources and makes sure we have everything we need!”
“The BCHNP clinician provided support to meet the student’s individual needs but also the needs of his family. She always went above and beyond to provide resources to help the student and his family get the support they need. The BCHNP clinician was always available to check in before and after school to discuss strategies to implement in the classroom and to reflect on what was working and areas of challenge. I have learned so much from working with the BCHNP clinician!”
“The BCHNP clinician creates a very strong bond with families and the school which allows us to better support them in order for the student to be successful.”
“The BCHNP clinician took the time to get to know each student on a very personal level. They felt safe and trusted her.”