Butler Area School District will staff its eighth therapist through Glade Run Lutheran Services starting this fall, superintendent Brian White said.

In a school board meeting June 12, White said the district was able to staff an additional therapist because Glade Run’s reimbursement amount for existing therapists exceeded the district’s projections.

“Glade Run gets a reimbursement through other sources ... insurance, the government,” White said at the meeting. He said that the reimbursement amount was enough to support an additional therapist.

White said the need for mental health resources in schools was expressed by parent and student requests, as well as through a waiting list.

According to a Glade Run brochure describing the School Based Services Mental Health Partnership Program, students can ask their school counselors for a referral form, which must be signed by a parent or guardian. In some cases, White said, the suggestion to see a therapist can come from a teacher, guidance counselor or a parent.

Therapists will be working in different school buildings, depending on student request, he said. White stated that the need for therapists in specific schools around the district will be assessed in August.

“The therapist is in the school building serving as another staff member,” said Sheila Talarico, vice president of development and external affairs at Glade Run. “The nice thing is that students have access to therapy in the school day.”

Therapists have their own space in the school buildings, similar to guidance counselors, Talarico said. She noted that therapists also have their own specializations.

Maggie Caesar, vice president of clinical programs at Glade Run, said staff works with the students’ schedules to ensure therapy sessions are not disruptive to their learning. Therapy takes place once a week during non-core classes, study halls, lunches or extracurricular activities.

Cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy are among the most common therapeutic models used with students, Caesar said. Staff receives some training in trauma-informed practices, and group therapy, family therapy, and parent and child interaction therapy also are offered.

School-based behavioral health services are important because they help diminish barriers to families accessing mental health resources, Talarico noted. These barriers might include lack of transportation and an underlying stigma of going to public space to see a therapist, she said.

“For us, it’s really important to provide services where people who need them are, like in schools,” she said.

The partnership also offers the opportunity for parents, teachers, guidance counselors and therapists to collaborate, Caesar said.

“The school-based environment gives us a really unique perspective on student interactions,” she said.

Caesar said school-based counseling also provides some relief to faculty, who often are juggling their teaching load with their students’ emotional needs.

“Teachers are called to teach and also called to be counselors in the middle of math class,” Caesar said. “They need support too. We ask teachers to do a lot with a little bit of time.”

“We are very grateful that schools made the investment in their students’ mental health,” Talarico said.

Mental health goes hand in hand with academic success, she said.

White said the district’s contract with the behavioral health provider began in 2019.