Life changes and transitional periods are one of the biggest risk factors for behavioral health-related problems in children. Whether your child is starting middle school, welcoming a new sibling to the family, dealing with parental divorce or experiencing a parent’s military deployment, change can be stressful for everyone involved. While you may not be able to control the change from happening, or prevent the feelings that come with it, there are ways you can lend comfort and help your child cope in a healthy way.
Starting the School Year: Reducing the Risk of Underage Drinking
Times of transition, like the start of a new school year, are high-risk for underage drinking or drug use. This handout offers tips to help reduce your child’s stress and prepare them for challenges they may face.
Helping Your Child Transition from Summer to School
The back-to-school transition can be tough for kids and parents. This handout shares simple tips—like adjusting routines, managing emotions, and building structure—to help your child feel confident and prepared.
Preparing for Deployment: Supporting Your Child's Behavioral Health
Parent military deployment can be a difficult time of transition for children and families. This handout provides tips for parents on how to help prepare their child before parent deployment as well as signs of separation anxiety that might appear once the deployment has begun.
Children’s Exposure to Domestic Violence
Professionals can play a critical role in assisting domestic violence victims and their children. This document provides information about signs and symptoms of children’s exposure to domestic violence and several steps to consider to better serve individuals and families experiencing domestic violence.
Trauma-Informed
A trauma-informed approach to the delivery of behavioral health services includes an understanding of trauma and an awareness of the impact it can have across settings, services, and populations. It involves viewing trauma through and ecological and cultural lens and recognizing that context plays a significant role in how individuals perceive and process traumatic events, whether acute or chronic.
Mental Health Program Directory
The Mental Health Program Directory provides a single place for North Dakota citizens to search for mental health services that meet their needs. This registry allows users to: Search by location and other details View program information, including program name, address, and phone number.
Public Behavioral Health Clinics
North Dakota's Health and Human Services agency operates eight regional human service centers that provide behavioral health services to North Dakotans. Each center serves a designated multi-county area.
Minor in Possession (MIP) Education Program
Early intervention is an important piece of the behavioral health continuum of care and helps to reduce the risk of harmful behaviors such as drug and alcohol use. Research shows that individuals who start drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely than individuals who start drinking at the age of 21 to meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder at some point in their lives.