Upper Dauphin Area Psychological Services
Contact Information
Coordinator of
Mental Health & Psychological Services:
Trystanne Bowman
Phone: 717-362-6481
School Psychologist
At UDASD, the school psychologist works with school teams to support and evaluate students with significant academic, behavioral and/or social-emotional difficulties. They provide services to students, teachers and/or parents through classroom consultation, behavioral/academic interventions, and short-term counseling. Parents must give initial consent for any psychological evaluation which may be recommended by teachers or other team members. They assist with crisis intervention/prevention and are an advocate for educational equity.
School Psychologist Roles and Responsibilities:
- Assess needs, develop, and implement plans to promote student safety and crisis prevention/response.
- Collaborate to generalize student skill development across varied environments
- Collaborate with teachers, parents, and administrators to find effective solutions to learning and behavioral problems.
- Conduct evaluations to determine eligibility for Special Education Services, determine social-emotional development, and assess cognitive and academic functioning.
- Provide psychological counseling to help resolve interpersonal or family problems that interfere with school performance.
- Help families and schools manage crises such as death, illness, or community trauma.
- Promote tolerance, understanding, and appreciation of diversity within the school community.
- Identify and implement programs and strategies to improve student progress.
- Use evidence-based research to develop and/or recommend effective interventions.
School Counselors
Our counselors are professionally trained to counsel students individually or in small groups on issues such as depression, anger management, grief and loss, self-esteem, crisis management, divorce, bullying, conflict resolution, study skills, time management and many other issues. When the counselor deems it necessary, he/she will contact the parent and may recommend counseling through an outside agency. Please feel free to contact your child’s assigned counselor by phone or email to discuss your students’ needs.
Bullying Information
What is Bullying?
A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself (from Olweus’ website). For bullying to occur, three major components must be present:
- Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions.
- Bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time.
- Bullying involves an imbalance of power or strength
Bullying may involve the following components:
- Derogatory comments and bad names
- Social exclusion or isolation
- Physical harm such as hitting, kicking, shoving, and spitting
- Telling lies and spreading false rumors
- Having money or other things taken or damaged by others
- Being threatened or being forced to do things by others
- Racial comments
- Inappropriate comments about an individuals sexual orientation
- Harassment via cell phone or Internet
Anti-Bullying Policy at UDASD
The UDASD has a policy to deal with bullying within its schools. More information about the policy may be found at the following link: Bullying Policy
Students experiencing bullying should first talk to the school’s guidance counselor or principal to discuss their concerns. If the student does not feel comfortable talking to those resources, the student may submit the information using the Safe2Say Program. Community members may also submit concerns to the building principal or use the Safe2Say Program.
Bullying Prevention Resources
The Pennsylvania Department of Education, Office of Safe Schools, reminds individuals about the availability of a Bullying Consultation Line. The toll free number will allow individuals experiencing chronic and unresolved bullying to discuss effective strategies and available resources to deal with school-based bullying. This supportive resource was developed in cooperation with the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and is available at no cost to students, parents/guardians and school districts across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The consultation line number is: 1-866-716-0424. Messages can be left 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and will be returned during normal business hours.
