Community Mental Health Counseling - School counselors provide academic support, mediation, and short term/solution-focused individual counseling.  Should your child require ongoing individual counseling or long-term therapy, please reference this list of Community Mental Health Providers for a sample of counseling services available in the YCSD community and surrounding area.  This list is for general information purposes only.  Appearance on this list does not constitute an endorsement and descriptions of services from providers is not exhaustive.

Free Counseling - The New Horizons Family Counseling Center provides free services to families of children attending public schools in Gloucester, Hampton, York County, Newport News, Poquoson, New Kent, and Williamsburg/James City County.  Families may be referred to the Clinic by teachers, principals, counselors, school psychologists, or school social workers.  The Center is staffed by advanced counseling graduate students at William & Mary.  Licensed faculty of the School of Education provide supervision for all counselors. Both day and evening services may be available.  Services are provided in Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, and York County.  Each session lasts about 55 minutes and the duration of each family’s counseling is decided by the counselor and family together, based on the family’s needs.  Click here to access a referral form.

NAMI Family-to-Family Support - The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) offers a free, 8-session education program for family, friends, and significant others of those living with a mental health condition.  NAMI Family-to-Family provides information about anxiety, depressive disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other mental health conditions.  Other topics include communication, problem solving, treatment, and recovery.  This course is designed to increase advocacy skills, while helping participants maintain their own well-being.  Participants meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-8:30 PM.  For more information and to register, contact NAMI Williamsburg at 757-220-8535 or info@namiwilliamsburg.org.   

Military-Connected Parent Support - The Military Child Education Coalition is offering weekly webinars to military-connected families on topics of financial aid and preparing for the empty nest.  Titles include: Preparing to Fly: Leaving the Nest, Understanding Financial Aid for Military Families, and Reflect and Connect: Social Emotional Learning.  

Comfort Zone Camp Grief Support - Comfort Zone Camp (CZC) serves children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, primary care giver, or friend.  All programs are offered at no cost to families.  CZC provides a safe, nurturing  environment where kids can have traditional camp fun, while at the same time acquiring tools to help them cope with their loss.  Click here for more information.

Parent Toolkit - The Parent Toolkit offers benchmarks and tips for your child's academic, physical, and social emotional growth specific to your child's grade level.  It is designed to help you track and support progress at each age.

Teaching Responsibility - The Center for Parenting Education offers helpful tips on the challenging topic of teaching responsibility to children and teens, including:

• Obedience vs. Responsibility
• How Involved Should You Be?
• The Dual Roles of Parents
• How Self-Esteem Leads to Responsibility
• Over-Indulgence and Teaching Responsibility

Click here for more information on how to help your child learn this valuable life skill.

Attendance Matters - Did you know, by 9th grade, regular attendance is a better predictor of graduation rates than 8th grade test scores?

• Missing 10 percent, or about 18 days, of the school year can drastically affect a student’s academic success.
• Students can be chronically absent even if they only miss a day or two every few weeks.
• Attendance is an important life skill that will help your child graduate from college and keep a job.

Make school attendance a priority and make every day count!  Click here for more information on how to help your child succeed in school with the habit of good attendance.