School Mental Health Policy

Kiana Shelton, therapist and licensed clinical social worker at Mindpath Health in Katy, Texas, shares her experience supporting a mother with postpartum depression who found encouragement and friendship through a Facebook group. Younger users in particular may be more prone to comparison, bullying, and over-identifying with medical or mental health content. In 2023, the American Psychological Association (APA) issued guidelines on social media best practices for adolescents. Studies and surveys suggest certain patterns of use may worsen mental health, especially when scrolling is out of control. Heavy or unhealthy use of social media can fuel stress, comparison, and disconnection. In their second experiment, the research team tested how a therapy chatbot would respond to mental health symptoms such as suicidal ideation or delusions in a conversational setting.

Mental health issues have a profound impact on students, affecting not only their academic performance but also their long-term well-being and Carter Center School-Based Mental Health Resources opportunities. These issues can be triggered or exacerbated by the pressures of academic performance, social relationships, and the transition through different educational stages. Mental health issues in educational settings encompass a wide range of conditions, including anxiety, depression, trauma, and behavioral disorders.

Get in touch about Children’s Mental Health Week

Schools report that the most common limitation to providing mental health services for students is inadequate funding. Schools often face a range of challenges in supporting students’ mental health, including identifying and implementing best practices and coordinating across agencies. Additionally, SAMHSA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have developed joint guidance to support states in implementing effective payment and delivery models for school-based behavioral health services.

Resources for developing a whole school or college approach

• Students’ mental health challenges encompass overall social, emotional, and behavioral health challenges such as feelings of anxiety, depression, stress, loneliness or thoughts of self-harm.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted education and led to increased stress, anxiety, and other mental health issues among pupils 1,2,3,4.
• Mental health is addressed in education policy through the integration of mental health services, training for educators, and the establishment of supportive environments in schools.
• Researchers are only beginning to understand the complicated relationship between social media and mental health.

Peer support networks for school and college mental health leads (PDF, 187 KB, 3 pages) has further information and a list of nationally available networks. Most health-related policy documents should be stored in this platform, regardless of the UN agency that produces them, but our inclusion of two additional search approaches was with the intention of mitigating this potential bias. For example, FRESH is a top–down strategy that encourages governments to initiate and develop policies on school health, including creating a school-health system, and then working with schools to implement this approach.

Our example risk assessments below show the kind of approach a small business might take. The standards help identify and manage six areas of work design which can affect stress levels – demands, control, support, relationships, role, and change. You should assess the risk of stress, and its impact on mental and physical ill-health, in the same way as you assess other work-related health and safety risks. Every day, we provide education leaders with unbiased information and opportunities for collaboration.