School-Based Therapy

​School-based therapy refers to the provision of counseling services to students during the school day, at the school.  Pine Lake simply provides the space for these services to take place within the school day. This is a more intensive support and long term approach to supporting students’ mental health needs in comparison to the brief, short-term check-ins offered by Pine Lake’s school counselors.  These services are provided by mental health therapists with specialized training to support the mental health needs of children. Therapists are able to diagnose and treat mental health disorders.  Services are delivered in the school setting during the school day and, if needed, can continue during the summer months.

Pine Lake Preparatory has partnered with local mental health agencies to make it easier for families and students to access mental health services.  The School-Based Therapy program provides support to students within the school building during the school day.

While Pine Lake Preparatory employs school counselors whose primary focus is supporting students with academic, personal, social, and college/career development issues, their role often involves providing guidance on course selection, career planning, conflict resolution, and coping strategies.

The Licensed Clinicians who have partnered with PLP to deliver School Based Therapy traditionally work in clinical settings and are trained to diagnose and treat mental health disorders using therapeutic techniques such as counseling and psychotherapy. 

Children and teens are good candidates for school-based mental health programming if they are experiencing any mental health symptoms that are consistently disrupting their daily activities such as schoolwork, friendships, relationships at home, sleep, etc. Common concerns addressed in therapy may include: stress, anxiety, depression, concentration issues, relationship stressors, etc. Families who may have difficulty getting to outside appointments are also good candidates for this program because it is delivered to students within school hours.

To collaborate with the outside service provider as needed to best support the student.  There is a two-way consent form that the school counselor may give you for use and/or disclosure of confidential information, which will allow communication between the provider and the school in an effort to create and maintain a plan of support for your student.  

Payment is based on the individual similar to your medical insurance. Healing Works Counseling is in-network and accepts most Blue Cross Blue Shield and Aetna insurance plans. Both Healing Works and Willing Hands offer families the option to utilize self-pay.

During  the referral process, parents/guardians will be informed of any financial obligation prior to the start of any services.

The therapist will work with you and your child to decide how often sessions should occur and how often parent/guardian participation is needed.  The therapist will also communicate with your child’s teacher and/or school counselor about the scheduling of ongoing appointments so as to ensure as little disruptions to their schedule as possible and to avoid the interference of important academic portions of the school day.

PLP will work to provide a quiet and confidential space in the school building.

Once therapy has been initiated, the therapist assigned to the building will be available through email and phone.  The therapist will share their contact information with you during your first session.  If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out directly to your child's therapist.

To schedule an appointment, you may contact your child's school counselor, who then will provide necessary referral documents.  Once the referral form is complete, the school counselor will forward the referral to the appropriate school-based therapist.  At that time, the assigned therapist will then contact the student’s family to set up an intake meeting.

Lower School:  

• Laura Finney:  Laura.Finney@PineLakePrep.org

• Donna Hicks:  Donna.Hicks@PineLakePrep.org

Middle School

• Heather Craddock:  Heather.Craddock@PineLakePrep.org

Upper School

• Amanda Dworsky:  Amanda.Dworsky@PineLakePrep.org

• Amanda Rhoda:  Amanda.Rhoda@PineLakePrep.org

• Dana Catchpole:  Dana.Catchpole@PineLakePrep.org