student mental health services expansion

(Image: Courtesy Lisa Krogman)

Young people in King County have been in need of more access to mental health services in a time when the Surgeon General has declared youth mental health a public health crisis.

“There was a mental health crisis as students came back to school in the wake of COVID,” said Noir Goldberg, a 2024 graduate of Ballard High School and former executive board member of the Seattle Student Union. “So many students were suffering but were having a hard time finding a therapist in their community because of steep demand.”

In 2023, as part of Washington state’s Healthy Youth Survey, more than half of King County 8^th and 10^th grade students reporting feeling nervous, anxious or on edge for several days out of the past two weeks. While this percentage has decreased since the height of the COVID pandemic, it is a sign of potential anxiety among a large share of students. To help address this youth mental health crisis, we’re working with the City of Seattle and community providers to expand mental health services at Seattle middle and high schools.

About the mental health expansion

School-based health centers are health clinics serving elementary, middle, and high schools throughout King County. They operate in partnership with Best Starts for Kids, the City of Seattle, Public Health – Seattle & King County, community partners, and school districts.

In addition to primary care, these school-based health centers also offer mental and behavioral healthcare to students. Public Health will be able to significantly expand mental health services at school-based health centers serving middle and high schools in Seattle thanks to an annual $5.6 million investment from the City of Seattle beginning in 2024. This expansion includes hiring 21 new mental health therapists to provide counseling to students, doubling the staffing capacity of the mental health services at school-based health centers in Seattle’s middle and high schools.

Outside of the school-based health centers, the funding has been used to contract with community organizations to staff schools with behavioral health care coordinators, a new position that will help students navigate the behavioral healthcare system and match them with appropriate care within the school and community.

What this means for students

The funding for this expansion was in part brought about by student activism, thanks to the work of students in the Seattle Student Union.

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Read our Op-Ed from school-based nurse practitoner Lisa Krogman, ARNP, one of the many professions who called on decision-makers to increase access to mental health services in school. “A call to expand school-based health centers.”

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“I’m really excited to see the impact this will have on students,” said Noir, who is now in college and serves as a mentor to the Seattle Student Union. “When we facilitate care for the entire student – not just the education – it makes learning so much easier.”

“I see students who are experiencing depression, trauma, and adjustment disorders,” said Daisy Ortiz, one of the new mental health therapists at Garfield High School. “I see students who are challenged by life and academic stress. I work with them on coping skills to manage stressors. Sometimes, I help them get academic accommodations. This work provides them hope and helps reduce the stress, knowing they have somewhere they can reach out to for more help.”

New mental health supports

Seattle public middle and high schools offer an array of mental and behavioral health resources for students. Mental health therapists are just one part of the mental and behavioral health resources available. In addition to treatment by mental health therapists, other services include outpatient counseling for students who need more intense supports, social work resources for students who are dealing with housing or food insecurity, tailored mentorship programs, family support workers, and more.

Twenty-one new behavioral health care coordinators will help students navigate the resources to ensure they get the care they need. The behavioral health care coordinators will integrate into the school environment rather than working only within the school-based health centers. And, these new behavioral health care coordinators will support staff by taking on the complexity of resource navigation for students, freeing staff to focus on other student needs.

These behavioral health care coordinators will be employed by three established community organizations which were selected via a competitive request for proposal process. The selected organizations are Hallowell-Todaro ADHD Center; Communities of Rooted Brilliance and Refugees Northwest (a program of Lutheran Community Services Northwest).

The role of a school-based mental health therapist

Any student in Seattle Public Schools has access to no-cost mental health services at the school-based health centers. School-based mental health therapists provide care at the school, making it convenient for students to attend appointments. Over summer breaks, students can pause therapy or continue appointments virtually via telehealth or in-person at community clinics.

In response to demand from Seattle students and families, the school-based health centers will work to hire new mental health therapists and community agencies who are culturally matched with the students they serve.

“We are therapists of color, which I think is very important for representation,” said Daisy Ortiz, one of the new Mental Health Therapists at Garfield High School. “Sometimes kids of color don’t feel safe to go to a therapeutic environment but seeing someone who looks like them can help them feel safer. Serving students who look like me helps break down barriers to accessing mental health services.”

About school-based health centers

School-based health centers offer health services to students at their school – usually for no cost to the student.  When students can get the health services they need, their well-being and school participation benefits. These health centers extend throughout King County, including 38 clinics in elementary, middle, and high schools.

For more information about the school-based health centers, including a list of schools and program partners, visit the school-based health center webpage.

Additional mental health resources

If you or someone you know is in need of immediate mental health support, free help is available:

• Teen Link is a confidential and anonymous help line for teens. You can call, text, or chat online.
• Crisis Connections is a 24-hour crisis line for mental health, substance use, or assistance with basic needs.
• 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24-hours by call, text, or online chat.
• More information about youth mental health resources available on the City of Seattle’s Department of Education and Early Learning webpage

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This article was originally published in the Public Health Insider on March, 20, 2025. It is reposted with permission from Public Health—Seattle and King County. Learn more or read the blog at publichealthinsider.com.

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