Linderman Education Center is piloting universal screening for mental health for its student population to connect them with care as needed.

The digital-based tool screens students for depression and anxiety — both risk factors for suicide — as well as resiliency, according to Rural Behavioral Health Institute Executive Director and co-founder Janet Lindow. The optional screenings are part of the Livingston-based nonprofit’s “Screening Linked to Care” intervention program, which seeks to reduce youth suicide.

The program offers same-day care from a licensed therapist for youth who are identified at high risk of suicide.

“One of the biggest barriers to helping reduce suicide is identifying students who need help,” said Kayleigh Brown, the institute’s implementation director.

“It’s universal mental health screening to link students to mental health care that is appropriate and that they deserve,” Brown said. “We can find kids who maybe no one knows they are struggling with their mental health.”

The need is there. According to the latest Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 41% of high school students and 36% of seventh- and eighth-graders reported feeling so sad or hopeless for two or more weeks in a row that they stopped doing activities during the 2020-21 school year.

A report on suicide in Montana from the Department of Health and Human Services Suicide emphasizes that depression is “one of the most treatable of all psychiatric disorders in young people.” According to the report, from 2011 to 2020, the suicide rate among Montana youths ages 11 to 17 was more than double the national rate at 11.9 per 100,000. Montana’s high rate of suicide likely is linked to multiple factors occurring at the same time, the report states, such as: social isolation, lack of behavioral health services, socioeconomic status, access to firearms, alcohol use and stigmas associated with depression, among others.

While suicide is complex, mental health conditions are a factor, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide is preventable.

FOR KALISPELL Public Schools, implementing the free screenings is another step the district can take to address mental health and suicide prevention. In 2022, the district created a grant-funded schools health, wellness and suicide prevention specialist position following a suicide cluster among teens ages 14 to 19.

Over a span of more than 16 months, eight teens died by suicide. Seven of eight youths attended Flathead and Glacier high schools. The position, filled by Ben Dorrington, was also established to address the mental health impact wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Linderman, which serves Flathead and Glacier students, is one of 30 schools around the state delivering Screening Linked to Care. About 6,500 students were screened as of Feb. 21, according to Lindow, with 62 schools committed to implementing it by fall 2023.

Currently, there is no cost for Linderman to participate. That’s a result of grant funding the Rural Behavioral Health Institute has received through the state public health agency, most recently from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Grant program to support the Screening Linked to Care program through the 2024-25 school year, according to a press release.

Lindow said the institute is seeking more money so that all Montana schools can offer universal screening. She said the screener costs $6 per student a year and about $32 if a student needs same-day care.

“We estimate that [about] 10% of all students screened will need same-day care,” Lindow said.

DORRINGTON SAID the screening is quick and effective at reaching more students than a counselor could in a typical session. He said it takes around 10 minutes of the school day to complete and school officials receive feedback within a minute.

He has also observed that for some people it is easier to open up about mental health through a tool like a screener taken on the computer versus face-to-face with a counselor or therapist, particularly on topics such as suicidal thoughts or substance abuse.

In his office at Linderman, Dorrington opened the screener on his computer to give a quick demonstration and show how the questions adapt to responses. Students may also skip questions.

“Once I’m done, it’s scored and categorized. If it’s red, it means check in with this kid today,” Dorrington said.

Ideally, students are screened at the beginning, middle and end of the school year.

“Our goal is to make sure we’re identifying kids who are having a hard time functioning because of their mental health so we can support them and make sure we have resources in place,” Linderman Director Jodie Barber said. “Are kids coming to a place where they feel accepted and can move on to the next step in life, make gains and feel supported?”

When it comes to suicide prevention, Dorrington agreed that it can be difficult for the average person to recognize the warning signs and seek help.

“We relied on kids going to counseling offices, or parents calling teachers, or other students coming to the counselors and saying, ‘My friend is suicidal,’” Dorrington said. “It’s really hard if you’re not in the field of mental health to know what to look for.”

“Instead of trying to create this complex puzzle of who is at high risk for self-harm or suicide — we can just actually go and ask the people themselves,” he said.

Dorrington supports the idea of regular, universal mental health screening in schools. The challenge comes down to staffing, both in the public and private sectors, to meet the needs a universal screening would reveal.

Starting with a smaller student population at Linderman has been manageable so far, Dorrington said, with the availability of telehealth.

If universal mental health screenings were implemented at Glacier and Flathead high schools, which have a combined enrollment of roughly 3,099, it might be a different story.

“What we’ve got to figure out is how many kids can we test maximum but still have services available so we’re not pulling from what we’re already doing [in schools],” Dorrington said.

Having enough mental health service providers to meet the student needs is a statewide issue, according to Brown and Lindow. The Rural Behavioral Health Institute is working on establishing a network of providers that students and families can easily see.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.

Help is available

If you’re feeling suicidal, talk to somebody.

Call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or call the Trevor Lifeline for LGBTQ+ individuals at 1-866-488-7386. Text the Trevor Lifeline at 678-678.

If you don’t like using the phone, or don’t have access to one, connect to the Lifeline Crisis Chat at crisischat.org or the TrevorLifeline chat at www.thetrevorproject.org.