Clinical Services
The Gifford School's clinical team provides an umbrella of clinical programming that helps students make psychological and social progress while engaging in educational opportunities. We deliver integrated clinical services that address complex clinical presentations within a milieu setting. The school is an important part of a team that includes families, providers, and collaterals dedicated to comprehensive and coordinated mental and behavioral health services.
Staff clinicians work collaboratively with teachers by sharing a developmental and clinical perspective to effectively address a wide variety of clinical presentations. Clinical programs are woven into the fabric of the student's school life. Our trained clinicians assist students in meeting the various challenges they face. While one student might be depressed and withdrawn, another might show intense hyperactivity with attention deficit. Many students at Gifford have had problems making friends and trusting others. The school assesses each student's needs from a holistic perspective and helps develop support and coping strategies.
Family involvement is viewed as an essential ingredient to student success. Family meetings and parent support groups are led by Gifford clinicians and experts in related fields and provide parents with opportunities to share experiences and find support.
The clinical director coordinates the efforts of all of Gifford's clinical staff, which is made up of a psychiatrist, an educational psychologist, social workers and clinical interns.
Gifford's affiliation with community mental health centers enhances the clinical services provided to students and families. Graduate interns from nearby colleges and universities participate in supervised, clinical field work training programs at Gifford, which enriches and supports Gifford's clinical services.
