Talladega City Schools adds online mental health program for high school students
ABC 33/40 News
High school students in the Talladega City School district will soon have a new mental health resource.
The program will be completely online and optional for students.
Its main goal is to give a student a safe space to address their own mental health. It will serve as an educational tool for other students.
“Talking about mental health and the importance of it," said Phyllis Seals, Mental Health Services Coordinator.
The program is said to be the first of its kind in the state.
Hilinski’s Hope, a national mental health organization, will partner with the Talladega City Board of Education to launch the program.
It will consist of six online modules. Each will contain education sections and a mental health self evaluation
"The program will talk about things such as where do you go for support, coping skills, prevention, things of that nature. It’s all evidence based," said Seals.
Seals says the student mental health evaluations will be monitored by the school system.
If a student falls into a risk category the districts therapist will be able to identify them faster and offer help such as individual or group therapy.
“We are looking to break that stigma associated with mental health. And with a program such as this it would allow us to be able to let teenagers know that it is okay to have issues and to find those safe people in their schools in which they can talk to whether it’s the counselor mental health coordinator or even their teachers to make sure that we can provide the services to make them healthy as possible," said Danyell Butler Coordinator of Elementary Schools Talladega City Schools.
The program is said to launch by the end of January.
The program will also have a parental component to educate parents on mental health.
The school board is looking to expand its mental health resources to also include elementary and middle school students.
