Vermont Student Assistance Professionals
Empowering Vermont’s Youth with Prevention, Education, and Support
The Association of Student Assistance Professionals is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase and promote the effectiveness of Student Assistance Programs in Vermont. For over 30 years the Association of Student Assistance Professionals of Vermont has been an organization that has been your voice to advocate for SAP’s/Prevention Professionals in schools.
The ASAP Board will meet Wednesday, July 16th via Zoom, 11:00 – 12:00PM. We will be discussing goals for next year. Please join us. Email Debby Haskins for next meeting link. See you in July!
Students at Mount Mansfield painted this crosswalk, along with another leading to the front entrance of the school. It was a fun and rewarding project, and SAP Sara Mabley is happy to share tips and inspiration with anyone interested in bringing crosswalk art to their own school community.
The History of Student Assistance Professionals in Vermont
The Student Assistance Program of Vermont is modeled after the Employee Assistance Program developed during the war to assist employees in dealing with whatever mental heath issue is surfacing in one’s life.
In the late 80’s, Ellen Morehouse developed the SAP, which VT adopted. In fact our first conference had Morehouse train counselors in her model. The first SAP’s worked part time in area high schools reaching out to high risk students. As time progressed the program became much more uniformed.
The basic tenets of the program is hiring a substance misuse counselor who is available to all students, without a diagnosis, to guide them in whatever their mental health issues are. SAP’s provide prevention education to classrooms, facilitate groups, offer staff and parent trainings, and work with administrators in developing and updating policies. SAP’s do not provide treatment, rather they screen, assess and offer resources.
