Bloomfield resident helps create state’s mental health guide

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Viviana Litovsky, of Bloomfield, was among the professional contributors to a new statewide guidebook created to help educators, schools and parents as they address school-based mental health challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Litovsky was appointed in 2020 to the Statewide Mental Health Working Group, which was established to develop a comprehensive school-based mental health resource guide to assist districts in addressing the mental health needs of all students. While work on the comprehensive guide continues, a subcommittee of the Statewide Mental Health Working Group created the “Quick Reference Mental Health Guide,” a user-friendly nine-page reference guide with links to state services, national resources and strategies and practices to address the mental health needs of New Jersey’s students and educators. 

“I am deeply honored to have been asked to serve as a member of the Statewide Mental Health Working Group,” said Litovsky, a 40-year veteran special educator and licensed psychologist. “The work has never been more important.

“As we mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic, this quick guide is urgently needed,” she continued. “Parents, students and educators need access to information, support and mental health services if they are to be resilient. COVID restrictions have upended every life in America and caused loss, grief and uncertainty. It is a national trauma. As we focus on maintaining our physical health, this guide shines a light on the importance of mental health.” 

In addition to her private clinical practice, Litovsky serves as the director of Westbridge Academy, a state-approved private nonprofit school in Bloomfield, serving students with social, emotional and learning challenges. She has been at the school since 1981, where she has served as school psychologist, director of clinical services, assistant executive director and, since 2001, director.

Litovsky earned a doctorate in school/community psychology from Syracuse University and also holds two master’s degrees: one in administration and supervision, and another in school psychology. 

The “Quick Reference Mental Health Guide” can be viewed at https://www.nj.gov/education/specialed/MHWG%20Return%20to%20School%20Mental%20Health%20Resources.pdf.

  COVID-19, Westbridge Academy