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Above: From left: Lindsay Kithan, Granada Huntley East Chain (GHEC) social worker Carrie McGregor, and GHEC Middle and High School Principal Taylor Topinka. Kithan has recently started offering physical-therapy sessions to GHEC students.

Granada– The Granada Huntley East Chain (GHEC) School District has contracted with Lindsay Keethan, an outpatient therapist, to provide school-related mental health services to students. As per the agreement, Kithan will visit GHEC for weekly one-on-one meetings.

While these sessions are not free, financial assistance is available for students who are uninsured or otherwise unable to pay for them. The purpose of the agreement is to improve access to mental health services for GHEC students by removing barriers that prevent students from receiving mental health treatment.

There can be many barriers for students with mental health problems. They may not be able to access treatment due to financial issues, transportation problems, or a lack of local mental health professionals. These barriers are especially important in rural areas covered by the GHEC district, where students must travel to Mankato, Rochester or the Twin Cities to attend in person.

“Sometimes when you go to a counseling center, the length of stay is three months. When we live in this place, kids can meet with them every week.” said GHEC social worker Carrie McGregor.

When barriers prevent students from accessing treatment, untreated mental health issues can worsen academic outcomes for students and their peers. McGregor said the Covid-19 pandemic is taking a toll on students’ mental health, and that improvements to school mental health services were needed even before the outbreak.

“In order for our children to be successful, we need to make sure their mental health is in a stable place.” McGregor said.

Mental health treatment in the school environment has significant differences compared to treating adults.

One of the challenges of working with students can be the difficulty of identifying mental health issues. Symptoms may not present themselves immediately and without a formal evaluation it may be difficult to link them to a specific cause.

“It could be ‘I haven’t done my homework’ or ‘I’m getting into trouble with my peers at school.’ Things that teachers and other school staff often see.” said Kithan.

Eventually, if a child can treat the source of the high stress, it may lead to counseling.

“Even if the root is not really known, see how much influence it has in the child’s life.” said Kithan.

Keith, anxiety, followed by depression, are the two most common issues she works with students with.

School-based therapy can have some major benefits; In addition to making mental health treatment more accessible, school-based services allow therapists to work directly with teachers and parents to meet the needs of students outside of treatment sessions.

“The big difference is being open to using a more team approach, whether it’s parents, school staff, foster parents,[etc.]Using that integrated approach is often the most effective, and that’s less common with adults.” said Kithan.

Once in a therapeutic environment, students can be more outgoing than adults.

“Sometimes children can identify things and tell facts better than adults.” said Kithan.

Kithan currently has the capacity to see three to four students in a half day, but if there is enough demand this could be expanded to seven or eight students per course. She typically works with students ages five and older, and when appropriate, can work with parents and students in one session.