Evidence Based School Psychiatry

The challenges of providing mental health services to school children are numerous and diverse, ranging from staffing shortages to insufficient funding to family resistance to administrative indifference. Yet with the U.S. Surgeon General estimating that approximately 20% of young people display signs of psychological problems, the need for such services – particularly for interventions that not only address mental health issues but also reinforce protective factors – is considerable.

This book describes key practices to bring school mental health programs to scale in a sustainable and effective manner. It emphasizes practices that facilitate the organization and delivery of evidence-based mental health interventions in schools. The volume addresses systems issues and practices that lay the groundwork for creating sustainable school mental health programs. It explores important considerations at the school, district, and state levels; tiered intervention as a framework to support school mental health; preparing the workforce; resource utilization and assuring cultural responsiveness and equity for under-served groups of students. In addition, the book focuses on recent and emerging evidence-based practices for practicably scaling school mental health in schools. Chapters examine systematic screening, followed by specific interventions, including just-in-time training and single session interventions. The book concludes with a focus on ways to address systemic barriers to school mental health, such as addressing the mental health of immigrants.

This book describes key practices to bring school mental health programs to scale in a sustainable and effective manner. It emphasizes practices that facilitate the organization and delivery of evidence-based mental health interventions in schools. The volume addresses systems issues and practices that lay the groundwork for creating sustainable school mental health programs. It explores important considerations at the school, district, and state levels; tiered intervention as a framework to support school mental health; preparing the workforce; resource utilization and assuring cultural responsiveness and equity for under-served groups of students. In addition, the book focuses on recent and emerging evidence-based practices for practicably scaling school mental health in schools. Chapters examine systematic screening, followed by specific interventions, including just-in-time training and single session interventions. The book concludes with a focus on ways to address systemic barriers to school mental health, such as addressing the mental health of immigrants.

by James C. Raines (Editor)
Though schools have become the default mental health providers for children and adolescents, they are poorly equipped to meet the mental health needs of their students