Mental Health in Jewish Day Schools

Consultation: Implementing the MTSS Framework

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) is a systemic approach adopted by public schools to promote students’ social-emotional well-being and proactively support students with mental health challenges. This framework integrates social-emotional learning, academic support, and mental health interventions at multiple levels.

• Tier 1: activities that foster positive social, emotional, and behavioral skills and well-being among all students.
• Tier 2: additional supports for students who demonstrate social-emotional struggles
• Tier 3: effective management of more significant chronic or acute mental health complications

Consultation: Implementing Bridge Programs

Gateways can help your Jewish day school build the infrastructure and services to support students with more significant mental health needs and/or those returning from hospitalization. Our model is based on BRYT: The Bridge for Resilient Youth in Transition, which was created by the Brookline Mental Health Center in Brookline, MA and is currently running in more than 140 schools nationwide. Bridge’s model is clinically informed, data driven, trauma and culturally sensitive, and replicable.

This program is designed to support students with significant social, emotional, and behavioral needs in the school environment where other interventions have not been successful, as well as students returning from an extended absence as a result of in-patient mental health treatment, medical hospitalization, brain injuries, or more.

The purpose of Bridge is to provide an emotionally and physically safe place (for short or medium term) within a school where students can be supported until they’re ready to re-enter the general school population. Bridge programs focus on four key areas: direct clinical supports to students, academic coordination, family engagement and care coordination.

Youth Mental Health First Aid Training

Mental Health First Aid helps you assist someone experiencing a mental health or substance use-related crisis. In the MHFA course, you’ll learn risk factors and warning signs for mental health and addiction concerns, strategies for helping someone in both crisis and non-crisis situations, and where to turn for help. The course takes 8 hours, spread out over 2 days.

Partnering with Mental Health Providers for In-School Therapy

We work with Jewish day schools to form partnerships with local mental health clinics that provide in-school therapy to students during the school day. This helps to meet the rising need for individual mental health therapy and the challenge of months-long waitlists for therapists.

Community of Practice for Mental Health Providers

Our offerings include facilitation of a regular Community of Practice meeting (held virtually) with mental health providers at Jewish day schools to share resources, engage in case conceptualizations, and engage in group problem solving.