Salem Program To Offer Rapid Mental Health Services To Students

SALEM, MA — A new Salem Public Schools program is making mental health services available to students on demand in response to the increasing challenges that families have reported in accessing care amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The district is partnering with Cartwheel Care and the Brookline Center to provide telehealth counseling with licensed clinicians on a rapid basis with no waitlists.

"Too many of our students and families struggle with access to quality and timely behavioral and mental health care," Salem Public Schools Director of Support Services Ellen Wingard said. "We see the impact of this every day in our classrooms and know, as a district, we must attend to
this if we are going to ensure academic achievement for all."

The program allows students to be referred by a staff member and within seven days receive an appointment with a licensed therapist. One-hour sessions are then available weekly for two to four months. Additional services may be available upon referral.

The program is available to about 100 students per year who might not otherwise have access to mental health care through insurance, language barriers or transportation. Cartwheel accepts all major insurance plans, and services are provided at no charge to families with MassHealth plans or uninsured families.

"It Is essential for us to expand our counseling bandwidth during a time of acute need for our youth," Salem Superintendent Steve Zrike said. "Establishing this partnership was in direct response to extensive input from families throughout the pandemic about challenges faced accessing mental health services for their child."

Salem Public Schools is one of about a dozen districts across Massachusetts participating in this program.

"Salem students who have spent months on therapy waitlists are now being seen by a licensed Cartwheel therapist within days," Cartwheel CEO Joe English said. "We're working in close collaboration with Salem school counselors and staff to reinforce the support they provide to students every day."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)