“When we ask families and students, overwhelmingly most prefer to receive support in the school building, Battle over school mental health and SEL in part due to proximity and convenience. President Joe Biden wants to double the number of mental health professionals in schools. But is this the proper place in civil society for mental health services to reside?

Suicide Prevention in Schools

• Following the assessment of students’ needs, the coordination with mental health professionals becomes crucial to devising tailored support plans.
• WHO technical report series promoting health through schools.
• A study conducted by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), found that between 2016 and 2020, the number of children ages 3–17 years diagnosed with anxiety grew by 29% and those with depression by 27% (LeBrun-Harris et al., 2022).
• Most were secondary school pupils (57%), most were girls (61%), and most were White British (81%), reflecting the local population.

This policy review suggests that over the past two decades, there has been a growing trend toward advocating universal approaches that target all school populations (i.e., students, teachers, and school staff) and that aim to reduce the population burden of mental health conditions. This policy review of global manuals and guidelines reveals that the UN agencies have made significant efforts to orient national governments and their schools to the importance of promoting the mental health and wellbeing of school-age children worldwide, a feature that has gained acute significance since the COVID-19 pandemic. The third conceptualization of comprehensive, embodied within FRESH and also within Health-promoting Schools, views comprehensive school health as an approach or framework for addressing health, including mental health, in a planned, integrated, and holistic approach while aiming to improve students’ educational outcomes (17).

RESOURCES

The production of school mental health guidelines and manuals is a public health policy approach used by UN agencies; such documents are widely acknowledged for their credibility, practicality, and global relevance, both for high-income countries (HIC) and low-middle-income countries (LMIC). An additional challenge is that the language of “social and emotional wellbeing” is more typically used by the education sector than “mental health,” which is more commonly used by the health sector. There are expectations that schools have the capabilities to deliver actions to prevent, promote and support mental health problems. United Nations policy documents are oriented toward comprehensive school-health frameworks for student mental health and wellbeing that include mental health within wider health-promoting approaches. UN policy documents commonly recommended a comprehensive school-health framework aimed at integrating actions to prevent, promote, and support mental health problems within the school community. Schools are increasingly recognized as important settings for mental health promotion, but it is unclear what actions schools should prioritize to promote student mental health and wellbeing.

Providers of mental health services in schools

Promoting this culture of self-care not only benefits the individual but also creates a more resilient school community, equipped to handle the challenges that come with life both inside and outside the educational setting. Training for these student volunteers often includes recognizing the signs of mental distress, understanding confidentiality, and knowing when to refer a peer to mental health professionals or counselors for further assistance. For instance, literature classes can explore characters’ emotional responses and coping mechanisms, while science lessons can discuss the psychological and physiological aspects of mental health. This endeavor not only educates but empowers students to recognize signs of distress in themselves or others, potentially catalyzing early intervention.

In recent 5 years, mental disorders among children and adolescents have increased at an alarming rate 14, 15 and relevant policies calling for a greater role of schools in promoting student mental health have been issued in different countries 16–18, making educational settings at the forefront of the prevention initiative globally. According to Greenberg et al., today’s schools need to teach beyond basic skills (such as reading, writing, and counting skills) and enhance students’ social-emotional competence, characters, health, and civic engagement . This scoping review followed the framework of Arksey and O’Malley and holistically reviewed the current evidence on the potential impacts of school-related factors or school-based interventions on student mental health in recent 5 years based on the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and PsycExtra databases. The promotion of mental health among children and adolescents is a public health imperative worldwide, and schools have been proposed as the primary and targeted settings for mental health promotion for students in grades K-12. Meanwhile, “Only one-third (34%) of schools provide outreach services, which includes mental health screenings for all students.”