Mental Health in Schools
Mental health in schools is a major priority of late, and for good reason. Awareness of the mental health challenges of children and teens is growing. And because kids spend the majority of their time in school and often have difficulty accessing mental health care outside of school, these educational institutions have found themselves having to balance students’ emotional needs alongside their academic priorities.
This is a huge challenge. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 5 U.S. children between the ages of 3 and 17 has a diagnosable mental health disorder. These diagnoses include anxiety, depression, ADHD, and more. Without treatment, these conditions make it very difficult for kids to learn.
Since most of these kids are heading back to the classroom this month, we thought this might be a good time to focus on student mental health.
Factors that Affect Mental Health in Schools
There are many factors that contribute to students’ mental health problems. Many kids and teens experience intense pressure to perform academically, economic stress at home, family problems, bullying, or trauma. And the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these stressors. Research shows that the prolonged isolation, school closures, disrupted routines, and other pandemic-related issues severely impacted children’s mental health and academic development.
The good news is that schools are in a unique position to support student mental health as they have consistent contact with children and adolescents. Unfortunately, they also have limited resources to do so. This, combined with a lack of training and competing priorities makes it difficult for schools to implement comprehensive and effective mental health support systems for students.
A Comprehensive Program to Address School Mental Health
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), most public schools offer some type of mental health service to students, which is promising. In fact, 96 percent of public schools offered at least one type of mental health service in the 2021-2022 school year, though KFF wasn’t able to determine how many students were able to access these services. The most common services offered by these schools included individual counseling, case management, or referrals to services outside of school.
Ideally, KFF says that they would love to see schools offering outreach services that include mental health screenings for all students. These universal screenings are considered a best practice because they would allow schools to identify students with mental health needs and tailor the services they offer to the needs of their students. Unfortunately, only about a third of schools provide these services. The remaining schools do not offer them due to lack of resources, difficulty accessing providers, the burden of data collection, and/or lack of buy-in from school administrators.
Components of Comprehensive Programs
- Early intervention and screening: Universal mental health screenings can identify students who are at-risk and provide support early on.
- Mental health education and awareness: Schools can teach mental health topics as part of their regular curriculum to reduce stigma, teach coping skills, and help students and parents recognize possible symptoms.
- School-based mental health services: With the right resources, schools can provide counseling and support groups led by trained professionals like school psychologists and social workers.
- Partnerships with community mental health providers: When schools collaborate with local mental health providers, it is possible to refer students out if their needs exceed the school’s resources.
- Teacher and staff training: It is important to equip educators with the knowledge and skills to recognize students’ potential mental health problems and provide appropriate support.
- Positive school climate initiatives: These initiatives help to foster a safe, inclusive environment that promotes social-emotional learning and prevents bullying.
- Parent and family engagement: Parents play a big role in their kids’ mental health treatment, so it’s important that they are involved in any initiative to improve student mental health.
- Crisis response protocols: Sadly, many kids and teens experience suicidal ideation and other types of mental health emergencies. When this happens at school, the staff needs to be prepared with crisis response protocols.
Barriers to Comprehensive School Mental Health
Though many parents, teachers, and students agree that mental health in schools should be a priority, there are significant barriers to making that happen.
One major obstacle is funding. Hiring mental health professionals like counselors and social workers is expensive. Many schools simply don’t have the funding to do it. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a student to counselor ratio of 250:1, but the overall national average is more like 385:1. For elementary and middle schools, it’s even higher at 737:1.
Time is another big obstacle. Teachers already have a lot of material to cover in class, and schools have many other priorities to spend their time on. It’s difficult to integrate mental health programming into the school day without losing academic instruction time. It’s also true that addressing mental health concerns can improve academic outcomes by helping students overcome barriers that are affecting their ability to learn.
Despite these challenges, it seems that parents, schools, and the community at large are beginning to recognize that we must pay attention to mental health in schools. The costs of ignoring this issue are too high.
It’s clear that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to this problem, and strategies must be tailored to the specific needs and resources of each school community.
Ultimately, prioritizing mental health in schools can help promote overall well being and help all students thrive. By creating environments where mental health is openly discussed, support is readily available, and emotional skills are actively cultivated, schools can play a vital role in shaping a healthier, more resilient generation.
How Do I Find a Child Psychiatrist Near Me?
If you are looking for a child psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner to work with your child, Gladstone Psychiatry and Wellness can help. We have many talented prescribers who have extensive experience with children and adolescents, and we are in network with most major insurance plans. Give us a call at 443-708-5856 or email us at new.patient@gladstonepsych.com.