Detroit public school students will soon have access to new services to help them effectively manage symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress, under a partnership with a University of Michigan program.
TRAILS — Transforming Research into Action to Improve the Lives of Students — will bring mental health resources to all 110 public schools in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, reaching the city’s 50,000 students and 4,000 staff as part of a $3 million expansion over the next three years.
The U-M program began working with Ann Arbor Public Schools in 2013, and has trained more than 400 school mental health professionals in 64 counties, impacting an estimated 3,000 students across Michigan by decreasing their symptoms of depression and anxiety.
The program’s track record spoke to Detroit district officials, who identified student mental health as a key priority in the district’s Blueprint 2020. It expects the partnership with TRAILS to help improve social and academic outcomes across all grade levels.
“This partnership and associated funding starts the process of building an integrated system of support and care for students where we properly apply real-time screenings, intervention and support on school campuses to our families and students,” said Nikolai Vitti, the district’s superintendent.
The program provides training to school staff on two evidence-based mental health approaches — cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness — and then pairs each school with a local mental health provider who has been trained as a TRAILS coach.
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