Finding mental health services in your local community is not always easy. Different states and cities offer different youth mental health resources, and this can make it difficult for some parents and teens to find the help they need. Accessing school-based care is often particularly hard, but in Virginia, there have been a number of statewide initiatives developed to support students.
If your child has been diagnosed with a mental health condition and you live in Virginia, being aware of these new school-based mental health programs can make it easier to access care. This post will focus on these Virginia statewide mental health initiatives, as well as the local services and resources designed to address the mental health care gaps in Virginia schools.
Virginia’s Right Help, Right Now Program
Governor Glenn Youngkin’s Right Help, Right Now plan has expanded the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, mobile crisis units, and crisis centers across Virginia. This plan focuses on pre-crisis mental health prevention, including urgent school mental health services in Virginia, and tele-behavioral health in K-12 schools and higher education settings.
By the end of 2025, the Right Help, Right Now program had made major strides in addressing youth mental health in Virginia, including:1
- Launching a statewide marketing campaign that increased traffic to 988va.org and boosted 988 engagement to 30,582 calls, 3,406 chats, and 3,342 texts in November 2025 alone
- Expanding Virginia school-based mental health programs from 6 to 23 divisions, serving over 20,000 adolescents across the state
- Creating new behavioral health career pathways to support professionals in underserved communities
- Developing a list of evidence-based practices for adults and youth to guide future Medicaid behavioral health redesign
- Fully funding the necessary number of mental health crisis centers in Southwest Virginia and Hampton Roads.
This three-year, $1.4 billion transformation of the state’s behavioral health system continues to grow and provide much-needed youth behavioral health services in Virginia.
Mission Prep Healthcare specializes in mental health treatment for teens aged 12-17, offering residential and outpatient programs for anxiety, depression, trauma, and mood disorders. Our therapies include CBT, DBT, EMDR, and TMS, tailored to each adolescent’s needs.
With a structured, supportive environment, we integrate academic support and family involvement to promote lasting recovery. Our goal is to help teens build resilience and regain confidence in their future.
Growing School Mental Health Services in Virginia
Virginia’s Office of Behavioral Health and Student Safety created the Community School Model in 2024 to support basic student needs, emotional and mental health, family and community engagement, and student engagement and motivation.
Over recent years, the Virginia Community Schools Fund has provided grants to 13 school divisions, which include a total of 59 schools across the state. Each division outlined its goals for utilizing the funds, with better mental health outcomes listed as a goal for Carroll County, Loudoun County, and Radford City. Some of the Virginia school-based mental health programs involved expanding counseling, tele-mental health services, and trauma-informed professional development for educators and staff.2
In addition, some schools chose to use their Virginia youth mental health funding to create calming spaces, peer mentoring programs, and in-school clinics for Virginia student mental health support.
Virginia Youth Suicide Prevention Programs
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Virginia’s young people, making Virginia youth suicide prevention programs more important than ever. Within Virginia public schools, there are state-issued guidelines for suicide prevention efforts. Areas of focus include fostering protective factors, promoting schoolwide mental health awareness, and implementing prevention strategies.2
Protective Factors
Protective factors are characteristics and conditions that have the potential to reduce a student’s risk of suicidal behavior. Examples include a positive mood, problem-solving skills, coping mechanisms, a strong support system, mental health access for students in Virginia, and a safe school environment.
Schoolwide Awareness
To increase awareness of mental health issues and suicide prevention, schools are encouraged to share teen mental health resources in Virginia. For example, implementing anonymous reporting systems allows students, parents, school staff, and community members to report concerns safely. In addition, Virginia schools are also sharing messaging around suicide prevention through posters, social media campaigns, school announcements, and bulletin boards.
Prevention Strategies
More comprehensive suicide prevention strategies are being implemented as part of schoolwide Virginia youth mental health initiatives. One key area of focus is administering a mental health screening tool to all students, which can help identify those at risk of suicidal behavior.
Identifying and monitoring vulnerable groups within schools allows students to receive support earlier and more effectively. Risk factors that contribute to student vulnerability include homelessness, military families, chronic illness, disabilities, and diagnosed mental health conditions. School counseling services in Virginia schools are designed to be geared toward these higher-risk students.
Ensuring that youth suicide prevention programs in Virginia public schools adopt recommendations provided by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) helps standardize protocols. Additional teen mental health resources in Virginia are available through the VDOE website.3
Finding Adolescent Mental Health Care Options in Virginia
The Virginia Community Service Board (CSB) and Behavioral Health Authority (BSA) Directory provides a list of CSB locations, including the areas they serve and links to the appropriate websites for more information. There are currently 40 CSB and BSA entries in the directory statewide, covering towns and counties including Chesapeake, Arlington, Norfolk, Newport News, Alexandria, Hampton, and Roanoke.
Finding adolescent mental health programs in Virginia is as simple as searching for a CSB or BSA by name or entering your zip code to find the nearest location and connect to the appropriate resources for your child.
Depending on your child’s specific behavioral health concern and the severity of their symptoms, different levels of mental health care may be recommended.
Inpatient Mental Health Treatment
For severe mental health concerns, including those involving immediate safety risks, inpatient mental health treatment may be appropriate. Inpatient treatment typically occurs in general hospitals or psychiatric hospitals and focuses on short-term stabilization during acute crises.
The Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services operates nine behavioral health facilities, one of which is specifically designed for children and adolescents. The Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents has a team of child psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, nurses, social workers, activities therapists, teachers, and behaviorally trained direct care staff to address a wide range of mental health concerns.4
Residential Mental Health Treatment
If your child is experiencing behavioral and emotional symptoms that interfere with their everyday life, but there are currently no safety concerns, they may do well in a residential mental health facility. Mission Prep has two residential mental health facilities providing adolescent treatment and support in Waterford and Leesburg. These facilities enable Mission Prep to treat children across Northern Virginia, including the communities of Loudoun County, Fairfax, Arlington, and the surrounding areas.
Outpatient Therapy
For adolescents who experience mild to moderate mental health symptoms, but who still require professional support, outpatient mental health treatment may be a good fit. Weekly outpatient therapy in Virginia can include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, and other evidence-based therapeutic approaches for teens.
Mission Prep: Supporting Youth Mental Health in Virginia
If your child has a mental health condition that is affecting their daily life, Mission Prep offers a range of adolescent mental health programs in Virginia. From inpatient centers to residential facilities and outpatient programs, we offer the level of care your teen requires for their mental health journey. Contact us today to speak to a member of the Mission Prep team and learn more about Virginia adolescent mental health care near you.
References
- Secretary of Health and Human Resources. (n.d.) Right Help, Right Now. https://www.hhr.virginia.gov/initiatives/behavioral-health/
- Virginia Department of Education. (n.d.). Virginia Community Schools. https://www.doe.virginia.gov/programs-services/student-services/integrated-student-supports/virginia-community-school-framework
- Virginia Department of Education. (n.d.). Suicide Prevention Resources. https://www.doe.virginia.gov/programs-services/student-services/prevention-strategies-programs/suicide-prevention-resources
- Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. (n.d.). A Life of Possibilities for All Virginians. https://dbhds.virginia.gov/
