Education and Outreach Services

Program Pop-Ins serve as a virtual “office hour” every Wednesday 10am – 11am.  ISD staff can communicate directly with a TCHATT team member via Zoom with questions about referral processes, the Trayt School Portal, Education and Outreach Services, and other program-related questions.  

The Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) program is a virtual learning collaborative of independent school district staff (Pre-K through 12th Grade) and our subject matter experts in fields of psychology, psychiatry, counseling, and education.  Through evidence-based mental health education and case-based learning, ISD staff gain skills and confidence in addressing mental health with students on their campuses. 

• Free mental health education workshops
• Discuss live, real-time student concerns
• TEA-approved CE credits
• Every Tuesday Morning 9am – 10am

Educators experience significantly high rates of burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious trauma.  In addition to professional development activities, we offer educators a virtual space for self-care development.  Through guided activities and discussions, ISD staff learn about evidence-based strategies for self-care and burnout prevention.  Every Thursday morning 9am – 10am, join us for a virtual session guided by a mental health professional.

Education and Outreach Services offers ISDs and campuses customizable professional development aimed at increasing knowledge and awareness of child and adolescent mental health and substance use.  Topics can be selected by campus staff to meet the needs of students and communities.  With increased awareness comes the ability to intervene earlier, leading to more positive outcomes for student health, academics, and wellbeing.  Please reach out to our Education team to discuss such topics as suicidal ideations and non-suicidal self-injury, substance use, trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, and coping strategies to name a few.  

Students benefit from increased mental health literacy to increase knowledge and awareness of mental health symptoms, peer supports, and help-seeking behaviors.  We offer free activities, presentations, and resources for students Pre-K through 12th Grade that are developmentally appropriate and evidence-based.  Topics can be selected by campuses and delivered to small groups of students or to large, assembly-style groups of students. These topics range from general mental health awareness, cannabis-impaired driving, suicide prevention, emotional intelligence, social-emotional learning (SEL), and everything on the broad spectrum of child and adolescent behavioral health.

We believe in a universal prevention model in which ALL students learn about mental health, as opposed to targeting specific groups of students.  

• Red Ribbon Week and similar events
• Student Assemblies
• HOSA Meetings
• Student Council
• Sports Teams

We also offer various groups for children and adolescents including:

• Body Project
• Blues Program
• Coping Cat
• CAT Project
• DBT Skills

Parents benefit from activities, presentations, and resources aimed at increasing knowledge, awareness, and skills in child and youth mental health as well as activities that strengthen the parent-child relationship.  In addition to mental health literacy presentations and activities we also offer group parent training through our Group Triple P (Positive Parenting Program) offered during the day and in the evening. We encourage campuses to invite our teams to speak to parents:

• PTA Meetings
• Parent Teacher Nights or Goals Days
• SHAC Meetings
• Community Events
• Customized Parent Education Nights

Youth Aware of Mental Health (YAM) is a TEA-approved, 5-session researched-based program promoting increased knowledge and awareness of mental health in adolescents. Students build problem-solving skills and emotional intelligence through discussions, role play, and mental health literacy activities.

When compared to other similar interventions, YAM is proven to be more effective in improving adolescent mental health and is associated with significant reductions in suicide attempts and severe suicidal ideations.

ISDs create and sustain a culture of mental health awareness, supports, and open communication by bringing YAM to your campuses.  This program is delivered free by TCHATT teams of Certified YAM Instructors across a 3-5 week timeframe to students in 8th – 12th Grades.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a school engage?

Any principal, counselor, teacher, school staff member, parent, community member or student can contact their local YAM Health-Related Institution to start the process of bringing YAM to their ISD or school. Once contact is made, we strongly encourage information sessions be held and attended for all stakeholders; to include the superintendent, school board members, principals, school staff, parents, community members, and students to ensure all questions about the program are addressed.

How much money and time will YAM cost my school?

Investment The program is offered at no cost to your school/district and the estimated value of this program is incalculable when considering its correlation with healthy adolescent development, depression prevention through fostering resilience, and increased mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviors. Time Depending on your school’s class schedule, YAM can be delivered as follows: two and a half 90-minute classes on a Block schedule or five 45–60-minute classes on a Traditional schedule

Who participates in YAM?

The program is appropriate for 8th through 12th graders. YAM is a universal prevention program, meaning all students within a grade should receive the intervention, not just a subset of students. When considering which class is best for YAM, please consider: (1) subjects in which students are used to participation-based learning, and (2) teachers who will encourage student engagement with their enthusiastic endorsement of YAM and its goal of mental health awareness.

What is my role in YAM?

We ask for your help in the planning stages to: (1) identify the grade level, teacher, and class where YAM can be delivered most effectively; (2) designate a point-of-contact to take the lead on logistics and communication; (3) identify who should be trained as a helper and/or Certified YAM facilitator; and (4) plan a safety protocol in the event of an emergency during YAM delivery.

Is parent consent required to participate in YAM?

Whether or not parental consent is required is a campus/district decision.

Who leads YAM?

A certified YAM facilitator and a trained helper will work with your students. All instructors have prior experience working with groups of youth as teachers, social workers, counselors, school psychologists, or youth workers. Our facilitators and helpers are fully vetted and screened to allow them to work with your students.

Why aren't teachers of record encouraged to be in the room during YAM?

A key objective of YAM is to provide students with a space, in which facilitator-student confidentiality is assured, where they can openly and safely discuss mental health issues, which can include topics that some students might not feel comfortable discussing in front of teachers or staff members they interact with on a daily basis. Facilitators will inform the appropriate school personnel if they are concerned, at any time, for a student’s mental health concerns. If there is a student who requires a paraprofessional to be with them during YAM that is perfectly fine! The YAM instructor will spend a few minutes before the first session begins to let them know what is going on and how to best support the student during YAM.