MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
The School District of Onalaska strives to be a community resource for families, students and staff that values collaboration to facilitate the learning, growth and recovery of all by providing access to mental health resources and addressing barriers to interventions, while ensuring compassion, dignity, equity and inclusion.
WHAT IS MENTAL HEALTH?
Mental Health encompasses emotional, psychological and social health. It influences cognition, perception, behavior, and decision making. Mental Wellness is more than the absence of illness. It is fulfillment and a sense of satisfaction with life, the presence of positive emotions and moods, as well as the ability to productively cope with stressors and contribute to the community.
WHAT IS A COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM?
A Comprehensive School Mental Health System (CSMHS) creates opportunities for students and staff to engage in social and emotional learning (SEL) and increases equity by ensuring all students and staff have access to the prevention, early intervention, and treatment supports that they need, when they need them, free of consequence or stigma to increase protective factors while decreasing risk factors (Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction).
Along with family and community involvement, a CSMHS provides a continuum of services and supports that:
Promotes better academic outcomes
Increases quality access to care
Results in higher graduation rates
Focuses on early identification and intervention
Promotes mental health and wellbeing
Reduces the prevalence and severity of mental illness
Increases student engagement and connectedness to school
Decreases the need for restrictive placements
Promotes positive school climate and school safety
