All district students are eligible to receive confidential counseling with a mental health therapist through our Full Service Schools program. 

Students - If you or someone you know are interested in receiving confidential behavioral health services, please visit your School Counselor or complete the attached Full Service School Referral form and email this form to the Full Service School Social Worker assigned to your school. 

• Calm Classrooms link to explore a variety of mindfulness exercies. 
• Local and National resources
• Bullying can be reported by phone at 904-390-2255 or by text at 390Call@Duvalschools.org
• National Suicide Prevention Line: 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to 741741
• United Way prevention and intervention helpline operates 24/7 211 or 904-632-0600. 
• On Our Minds with Noah & Zion is a new youth mental health podcast hosted by teens, and created by our friends at PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs.
• Yoga4Change Free yoga videos.
• #BeThere is the campaign for Action Alliance
• #HereForYou is the campaign for Active Minds
• #MentalHealth4All is the campaign for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• #SeizeTheAwkward is the campaign for The Jed Foundation
• #Tools2Thrive is the campaign for Mental Health America
• #NotAlone is the campaign for NAMI

Trying to tell the difference between what expected behaviors are and what might be the signs of a mental illness isn't always easy. There's no easy test that can let someone know if there is mental illness or if actions and thoughts might be typical behaviors of a person or the result of a physical illness.

Each illness has its own symptoms, but common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following:

• Excessive worrying or fear
• Feeling excessively sad or low
• Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning
• Extreme mood changes, including uncontrollable “highs” or feelings of euphoria
• Prolonged or strong feelings of irritability or anger
• Avoiding friends and social activities
• Difficulties understanding or relating to other people
• Changes in sleeping habits or feeling tired and low energy
• Changes in eating habits such as increased hunger or lack of appetite
• Changes in sex drive
• Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions or hallucinations, in which a person experiences and senses things that don't exist in objective reality)
• Inability to perceive changes in one’s own feelings, behavior or personality (”lack of insight” or anosognosia)
• Overuse of substances like alcohol or drugs
• Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes (such as headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing “aches and pains”)
• Thinking about suicide
• Inability to carry out daily activities or handle daily problems and stress
• An intense fear of weight gain or concern with appearance

Mental health conditions can also begin to develop in young children. Because they’re still learning how to identify and talk about thoughts and emotions, their most obvious symptoms are behavioral. Symptoms in children may include the following:

• Changes in school performance
• Excessive worry or anxiety, for instance fighting to avoid bed or school
• Hyperactive behavior
• Frequent nightmares
• Frequent disobedience or aggression
• Frequent temper tantrums

Nami.org

Validate what he/she is saying. People want to feel heard, especially when they are struggling with difficult emotions or experiences that might make them feel very alone. You don’t have to pretend you are feeling the same way as your friend. Just listening non-judgmentally and saying, “That sounds hard” can help. “Validation communicates to another person that their emotions make sense given the context they are in,” explains Dr. Macchia. “Even if you have never been in that particular situation or felt an emotion quite as strongly, validating your friend shows that this is not an ‘overreaction’ or an ‘underreaction.’ It is how they feel and that is perfectly acceptable. ”

Ask how you can help. It shows you care, and helps take some of the guesswork away. What he has to say might surprise you. If he doesn’t have an answer ready, it might encourage him to start thinking proactively.

Be understanding of her limitations. For example, if your friend is depressed, don’t expect her to go out with you every time you invite her. But do keep asking, and let her know that her company is valued.

Don’t gossip. It is often very difficult for people to open up about mental health challenges. If a friend confides in you, respect his trust and don’t share more than he would want. Know that it is okay to go to an adult for help if he needs it, however.

Change the subject. Listening is important, but sometimes so is providing some welcome distraction. All of your conversations don’t need to be about your friend’s mental health. Sharing what is going on with your life, talking about something you’re both interested in, or taking a break and going for a walk or doing yoga together might make her feel good.

Childmind.org