Fourteen licensed mental health providers from Bassett Healthcare’s School-Based Health Clinics (SBHC) visited The Uplands in November 2025 for a day of team connection and restoration. These providers, representing 21 locations across 18 schools, only have a few opportunities each year to gather in person as a full team.
Recognizing the high levels of secondary trauma in the mental health field, combined with large caseloads and the commitment to remain available during the school year and summer months, the team understands the emotional toll this work takes on caregivers—including themselves. Supporting children in the school districts they serve often means working with students from chaotic home environments and families facing multigenerational struggles. These realities have lasting impacts on the professionals. Clinicians strive to improve and positively influence children’s mental health while navigating systems that frequently offer limited resources—a challenge they manage daily.
The goal of this training day was to provide space for connection, self-care, and restoration. The team enjoyed good food, positive energy, and the acknowledgment that their work is essential to the growth of students and the broader community. Taking their own advice about “carving out time for self” was a fitting theme for the day.
The clinicians arrived through the season’s first significant snowfall to a light breakfast and warm beverages. They began with a group discussion on how their mental health fares throughout the year, followed by a grounding yoga session focused on personal coping strategies. During free time, some clinicians relaxed in the hot tub and sauna, socializing and laughing in a setting that felt like a gesture of gratitude for their daily work. Others braved the snowy outdoors for a brisk walk.
Lunch featured health-inspired dishes, including Spanish tortillas made with Uplands garden-grown potatoes, root vegetable salad, sourdough bread with local cheeses, and an immune-boosting elderberry cordial. In the afternoon, the group shared inspirational stories and explored creative ways to engage clients through art, creating lanterns around the theme of “light”—how to be the light and offer light to those in need. The day concluded with a surprise celebration for a colleague retiring after 20 years of service, complete with dessert and a heartfelt toast.
The Bassett SBHC mental health team left The Uplands feeling more connected, refreshed, and ready to bring their own inner light to themselves, each other, and the students they serve.
