Does your child get anxious about going to school every morning? Does your teenager have trouble interacting with other kids? Is it difficult for your child to stay focused and on-task when assigned long-range projects or papers? Are there times when behavioral situations arise in the classroom, and interventions by a mental-health professional – in the moment – would more effectively and positively impact your child? For more than 5,000 students in public, parochial and private schools in the City of St. Louis and 10 surrounding counties, learning the mental-health skills they need when they need them is happening every day, thanks to more than 50 clinicians who work in our School Partnership Program.

Teachers are often the first people to recognize when kids need extra support. Saint Louis Counseling’s Chief Program Officer Saundra Barker, MSW, LCSW and Executive Director Tom Duff, MSW, LCSW discuss how partnering with schools and providing mental-health services within the buildings is not only equipping children and adolescents with necessary tools and resources for dealing with situations as they happen, it’s also helping parents and those on the front lines understand certain behaviors and mental-health conditions and how to handle them. And, it’s working. Find out how in this week’s #MentalHealthMatters podcast #10.