Counseling supports play a central role in the Chapel Hill Academy curriculum.
Each Chapel Hill Academy student is assigned a counselor, and multiple counselors are available to students throughout the school day. Individual counseling is available to all students at all times, and may also be formally scheduled when indicated in a student’s I.E.P.
Overseen by certified School Psychologists, the goals of our counseling program are:
Virtual Calming Room
The Virtual Calming Room is a place for students, staff, and families to find tools and strategies for managing emotions and feelings.
Chapel Hill Academy would like to thank our colleagues in the School Counseling Department of the Penn-Delco School District for allowing us to use their Virtual Calming Room and all the resources contained within.
There are often simple strategies that can be employed to deescalate a particular situation identified by staff. All Chapel Hill Academy staff members are trained in verbal deescalation using Crisis Prevention and Intervention, and our teaching staff is skilled in determining when a child’s needs require assistance outside the interventions available in the classroom.
Counselors provide a variety of therapeutic options to guide students toward thoughtful decisions about their behavior, academic, social and emotional choices. Anger management, self-advocacy, decision making, developing positive peer relationships and support for families are just a few of the services offered through our counseling program. Our counselors plan and coordinate the social skills instruction, which is implemented in all classrooms.
In addition to their individual work with students, our counselors collaborate with teaching staff to implement ongoing strategies to ensure the studentโs continued success.
All students are encouraged to seek assistance from their counselor when they need it, before their frustration may cause them to behave in ways that may be disruptive to the educational process. In this way, they learn to regulate their emotions, and build the self-esteem necessary for successful learning and personal growth.
Our Counselors
Our Behavior, Academic, Social and Emotional (B.A.S.E) program also utilizes counseling supports at Chapel Hill Academy. Click here to learn more about the B.A.S.E. program now.
At Chapel Hill Academy, our counseling staff is committed to supporting the mental health needs of our students.
Our counselors, listed above, provide individual counseling services to all students to ensure students with disabilities can fully benefit from the program. These services are delivered based on individual need and can include but are not limited social skills classes, individual crisis counseling, in class intervention, and specialty groups. Counselors are available to focus on school related issues, emphasizing practical social/emotional skills necessary to demonstrate educational progress. The Chapel Hill Academy counseling staff maintains an on-going relationship with professionals in the community (i.e. treating psychiatrists, psychotherapists, CMOs, behaviorists, pediatricians, DCP&P, etc.) and as such, with appropriate releases, are fully willing to work cooperatively to work with each students outside mental health professionals. Below you will find a list of mental health crisis and support services to help with information and referral, locating treatment options, and addressing crises.
Mental Health Resources for Youth, Young Adults, and Families
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – Call or Text 988 – The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States.
Screening Service Hotlines in Each New Jersey County – https://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/dmhas/home/hotlines/MH_Screening_Centers.pdf – (For psychiatric emergencies, crisis intervention services, information and referral) – Designated screening services provide crisis intervention, stabilization and treatment, and mobile outreach is available to those experiencing acute psychiatric distress.
2NDFLOOR โ New Jersey’s youth helpline โ Call 1-888-222-2222 – The New Jersey statewide youth helpline, called 2NDFLOOR, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to youth and young adults ages 10 โ 24 to help find solutions to the problems they face at home, school or play. The helpline is supervised at all times by a mental health professional. Youth are provided with relevant and appropriate links to information and services to address their social, emotional and physical needs. Calls to the 2NDFLOOR youth helpline are anonymous and confidential, except in life-threatening situations.
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of New Jersey – NAMI New Jersey (NAMI NJ) is a statewide non-profit supporting individuals and families affected by mental illness through education, support, advocacy and public awareness programs. Local NAMI NJ chapters provide regular support group meetings. Find your local county NAMI NJ chapter on their website, at this page.
New Jersey Children’s System of Care (CSOC) – http://www.nj.gov/dcf/about/divisions/dcsc/ โ 1-877-652-7624 – CSOC serves children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral health care challenges and their families; children with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families; and, children with substance use challenges and their families. CSOC is committed to providing services based on the needs of the child and family in a family-centered, community-based environment.
SAMHSA’s National Helpline – Call: 1-800-662-HELP (4357) – SAMHSA’s National Helpline is a free, confidential, 24/7, 365-day-a-year treatment referral and information service (in English and Spanish) for individuals and families facing mental and/or substance use disorders.
SAMHSA’s Online Treatment Locator – findtreatment.gov – Confidential and anonymous resource for persons seeking local treatment for mental and substance use disorders in the United States and its territories.
Project Healthy Minds – https://www.projecthealthyminds.com/ – A non-profit specializing in getting people the resources they need in their specific area and need area. Text HOME to 741741 for free, 24/7 crisis counseling
