WTCSB offers SCIP OP – outpatient therapy services from the School Counseling Intervention Program. The program allows you to enroll your child in therapy services at school. There’s no need for an office visit – we’re in multiple schools across Suffolk, so it’s likely that your child’s school offers our services.
Mental Health Support in Virginia Classrooms for Children With Mental Health Conditions or Developmental Disabilities
SCIP OP offers support for at-risk children with mental health or developmental conditions.
These conditions may make it difficult for them to:
- Attend or participate in school
- Complete tasks at school or home
- Socialize with others
- Express thoughts and emotions appropriately
We work with these children during school hours, helping them with stress, trauma and everyday issues they find too overwhelming or upsetting to deal with on their own. Children, especially those who have mental health or developmental conditions, often struggle to talk to others or to express their emotions. In SCIP OP, we use active therapy to encourage the children to communicate with others, think for themselves and express their feelings appropriately.
Some of the tools we use include:
- Games
- Stress balls and fidget toys
- Making bracelets or other crafts
- Kinetic sand and slime
This might sound just like play, but these activities are an important part of therapy. We use them to keep children active and engaged, and to encourage them to think and learn.
Related: Talking To Your Kids About Mental Health
How to Sign Up for SCIP OP Services
Call WTCSB directly at 757-403-7768. If no one answers, please leave a message saying you’d like to sign up for outpatient therapy services at your child’s school. If you already have a case manager at WTCSB, you can also contact them if you prefer. You can also contact your child’s school directly to ask about SCIP OP.
In the following video, WTCSB clinician Krystina Richardson talks about SCIP OP – outpatient therapy services from the School Counseling Intervention Program.