The Fulton County Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities (BHDD) provides clinical support to the Fulton County School system with school-based therapists to address the mental health of students. Youth receive school-based individual and/or group counseling and case management services from master’s level licensed and/or licensed eligible clinicians. Referrals for additional resources, including more intensive mental health services are provided as needed. Through the school-based mental health expansion and sustainability initiative, all children (insured, uninsured and underinsured) have access to trauma focused mental health services through in-person counseling at the school, telehealth and tele-psychiatry.
Program goals of the model include:
Text 4 Help
Through
the Text for Help Program, Fulton County middle and high school students can
send and receive confidential text messages and support from licensed
clinicians. The program, operated under the governance of Fulton County
Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities, is operated
365 days per year and 24 hours per day for students who may be in a crisis or
for those who want to help friends or classmates. Licensed clinicians on call
respond to text messages within 3 minutes of receiving the incoming text with
referrals and resources. Each Fulton County school that utilizes the Text 4 Help system has a
unique identifying code, however, in the case of a life-threatening situation,
not only are emergency responders immediately notified, but school personnel are contacted. The system
allows teens freedom to reach out for help without fear due to text messages
being routed through a cloaking server that keeps all information confidential. Text
4 Help is available for communication of any kind of concern, though it is
primarily intended for students to use when they need immediate mental health
assistance or have a drug/alcohol abuse concern for themselves or a friend.
- Contact Information: Students should contact their individual schools to receive more information.