GPISD Counseling Available For Students In Grades 6-12
Thanks to COVID-19, many in-person services have been forced to include a virtual option.
In response to the pandemic, the Grand Prairie School District is now offering virtual counseling for students in grades 6-12. This is in addition to the counseling on campus.
A trained licensed professional counselor is available before and after school, along with weekends through DialCare. The service is available through an app or on the phone.
“Having virtual counseling options are vital for students and families, especially when students are not physically on campuses,” said Dana Jackson, who is over the GPISD Counseling Services. “Our GPISD counselors and social workers provide the bulk of the virtual counseling supports via social emotional learning lessons, individual/small group counseling, social work hub, etc.”
Services provided virtually include:
*Individual/crisis counseling.
*Small group counseling.
*Weekly social emotional learning lessons through Google Classroom and Canvas.
*Safe spaces that foster discussion and connection.
*Resources for food, clothing, and other supports.
The DialCare link is https://www.gpisd.org/dialcare. The virtual counseling web page is www.gpisd.org/VirtualCounseling. Also, contact your campus counselor or social worker by going to the counseling services page on your school’s website, click on “our school” on the top menu, then “counseling services.”
DialCare is offered as a no-cost service to families.
“We are committed to ensuring that students have access to mental health services,” Jackson said.
Counseling Needs Are On The Rise
Jackson said counseling in general is on the rise due to COVID-19 and the connected concerns.
“What we are seeing is that anxiety is on the rise with students. The unknown and lack of control over daily life/planning due to COVID has caused many students that already had an issue with anxiety to struggle and those who did not, are expressing concerns with anxiety now as well,” she said.
She added that GPISD was already planning to provide the DialCare service before COVID broke out.
“Counselors and social workers expressed that families needed access to more counseling services options after school hours and on the weekends in order to support the work counselors and social workers are doing with the students during school hours,” Jackson said. “”In addition, cost has been a barrier for some families seeking mental health counseling from outside agencies. GPISD is trying to remove that barrier by offering DialCare.
“”GPISD values choice and we want to provide our families with as many options as possible to help students reach their fullest potential.””
