Notes from the Counseling Department

Happy New Year!  A bit of a later blog post this month, as we have been getting back into the rhythm of the school day after some time off.  We've been busy as well, working to do the state-mandated SBIRT screening with the 8th grade students.  SBIRT stands for Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment and is a jointly created program from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).  It is designed to begin conversations with children and adolescents about their use of alcohol and other substances, quickly screen them to gauge where they are in terms of using, and offer small interventions and resources to help them think about their habits (or lack thereof).  You can read more about the use of SBIRT in Massachusetts schools here . As we (psychologist, counselors and school nurse) implement these screenings, it occurred to us that we view these conversations as routine. We t