Mental Health Support & School Providers
Mental Health
Mental Health is a person's emotional, psychological and social well being. It is how people think, act and feel. Mental Health determines how people handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.
Social Emotional development is fundamental to academic, behavioral, and social skills growth. Strong development of these skills leads to students having self-awareness, social-awareness, emotional regulation, responsible decision-making, and relationship-building competencies. School Mental Health professionals focus on supporting students to manage and resolve social, emotional, academic, and behavioral concerns that interfere with their learning and functioning at school. (DCSD Mental Health Services Flyer)
Our Intervention Team
Social/emotional support and intervention is a collaboration between administrators, teachers, parents, nurses, counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists. By building student skills in communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, we prepare students for learning and for life. Our work covers prevention, as well as targeted and intensive intervention for those who need additional support.
Each school has a building-level mental health team that responds when a safety concern arises and they complete safety assessments in collaboration with their school administrators. If the crisis is more intense or widespread, the building may also engage the district crisis team.
District Mental Health Crisis Team
In the event of a student, parent, or staff member death or other traumatic situation, the Douglas County School District's Crisis Team takes action. The school mental health professionals and administrators work in conjunction with DCSD's District Crisis Team, Community Relations department and Safety and Security department, as well as Douglas County law enforcement entities when needed to provide assistance to our school communities.
How to find support and intervention
Each school employs a mental health team. Elementary schools have at least one school counselor and a school psychologist and/or school social worker. Each secondary school has multiple school counselors, school social workers, and at least one school psychologist. To locate your school’s mental health team, please check the building's website.
Process for Contacting Staff Members:
1. Contact the Mental Health staff member at your school (see your school's website)
2. Contact the school administrator who oversees the mental health staff
3. Contact Stephanie Crawford-Goetz, Mental Health Director:
scrawford@dcsdk12.org 720-841-5226
Jennifer Talley, Administrative Assistant. 303-387-0260
Resources:
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Colorado Crisis Services
Latest Research on Suicide:
National Institute of Mental Health
Back to School:
Back to School Care Package -
Big Life Journal
Executive Functioning:
Executive Functioning Basics for Parents - English
Executive Functioning Basics for Parents - Spanish
School Psychology Internship
DCSD internship Information and Application Process
School Social Work Internship
DCSD internship Information and Application Process
Animal Assisted Intervention
DCSD School Social Work and School Psychology Careers
DCSD Hiring Information and Application Process
Our district is a mutual fit district. After receiving applications to the social worker and psychologist candidate pools for all open positions in the district, our first step is a phone screening interview to learn more about your experience, credentials, and preferences. Once candidates are in the pool, the hiring process moves to buildings. Principals and their teams reach out to external candidates whose preferences and experience may be a fit to arrange interviews. Interviews provide an opportunity to make sure there is a fit on both sides for open position(s) in the building. Staff are not hired centrally and assigned to buildings.