# data[].attributes.body
To learn more about how to integrate education and mental health within schools read  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10488-010-0299-7

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Abstract

Education and mental health integration will be advanced when the goal of mental health includes effective schooling and the goal of effective schools includes the healthy functioning of students. To build a solid foundation for this reciprocal agenda, especially within the zeitgeist of recent educational reforms, a change in the fundamental framework within which school mental health is conceptualized is needed. This change involves acknowledging a new set of priorities, which include: the use of naturalistic resources within schools to implement and sustain effective supports for students' learning and emotional/behavioral health; inclusion of integrated models to enhance learning and promote health; attention to improving outcomes for all students, including those with serious emotional/behavioral needs; and strengthening the active involvement of parents. A strong research agenda to support these new priorities is essential.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (2009). Foundation commits $335 million to promote effective teaching and raise student achievement. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/press-releases/Pages/intensive-partnership-for-effective-teaching-091119.aspx.

Boyd, W. L., & Shouse, R. C. (1997). The problems and promise of urban schools. In H. J. Walberg, O. Reyes, & R. P. Weissberg (Eds.), Children and youth: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 141-165). ThousandOaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Brown, J. L., Jones, S. M., LaRusso, M., & Aber, J. L. (2010). Improving classroom quality: Teacher influences and experimental impacts of the 4Rs Program. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 153-167.

Article Google Scholar

Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, 20 U.S.C.§ 1400 et seq. (2004) (Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).

Jones, S. M., Brown, J. L., Hoglund, W., & Aber, J. L. (under review.) A school-randomized clinical trial of an integrated social-emotional learning and literacy intervention: Impacts on third-grade outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

Kutash, K., & Duchnowski, A. J. (2008). An empirical investigation of a parent support program: Parent connectors. Paper presented at the 21st annual research conference: A system of care for children's mental health: Expanding the research base, Tampa, FL.

Kutash, K., Duchnowski, A., & Lynn, N. (2006). School- based mental health: An empirical guide for decision makers. University of South Florida, The Louis De La Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, Department of Child and Family Studies, Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health.

Minow, M. L. (2001). Update on implementation of IDEA: Early returns from state studies. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved 9/20/08 from http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_update.html.

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2009). Preventing mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders among young people: Progress and possibilities. Committee on Prevention of Mental Disorders and Substance Abuse among Children, Youth, and Young Adults: Research Advances and Promising Interventions. M. E. O'Connell, T. Boat, & K. E. Warner (Eds.), Board of Children Youth, and Families, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002). Public Law No. 107-110.

Pianta, R. C., & Allen, J. P. (2008). Building capacity for positive youth development in secondary school classrooms: Changing teachers' interactions with students. In M. Shinn & H. Yoshikawa (Eds.), Toward positive youth development: Transforming schools and community programs (pp. 21-39). NY: Oxford University Press.

Chapter Google Scholar

Seidman, E., & Tseng, V. (2010). Changing social settings: A framework for action. In M. Aber, K. Maton, & E. Seidman (Eds.), Empowering settings and voices for social change. New York: Oxford University Press (in press).

Thomson O'Brien, M. A., Oxman, A. D., Haynes, R. B., Davis, D. A., Freemantle, N., & Harvey, E. L. (2006). Local opinion leaders: Effects on professional practice and health care outcomes [Electronic version]. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1.

Download references

Author information

Affiliations

1. University of Illinois at Chicago, Institute for Juvenile Research, 1747 W. Roosevelt Rd., Room 155, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA

Marc S. Atkins

2. Columbia University and New York Office of Mental Health, New York, NY, USA

Kimberly E. Hoagwood

3. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

Krista Kutash

4. W.T. Grant Foundation and New York University, New York, NY, USA

Edward Seidman

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marc S. Atkins.

Additional information

A paper prepared for the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Issues and Solutions Conference held September 23-24, 2009 in Nashville, TN.

About this article

Cite this article

Atkins, M.S., Hoagwood, K.E., Kutash, K. et al. Toward the Integration of Education and Mental Health in Schools. Adm Policy Ment Health 37, 40-47 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-010-0299-7
Download citation

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Get shareable link

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Keywords

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Toward the Integration of Education and Mental Health in Schools - Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Education and mental health integration will be advanced when the goal of mental health includes effective schooling and the goal of effective schools includes the healthy functioning of students. To build a solid foundation for this reciprocal agenda, especially within the zeitgeist of recent educational reforms, a change in the fundamental framework within which school mental health is conceptualized is needed.

# data[].attributes.body
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Crisis Assessment Team (mobile county team): 866-830-6011

California Youth Crisis Line: 1-800-843-5200

Crisis Text Line: text START to 741741

Didi Hirsch Mental Health 24-hour Crisis Line: 1-877-727-4747

Deaf or Hard of Hearing Text Support: text HEARME to 839863

# data[].attributes.body
Maintaining a positive mental health and treating any mental health conditions  is crucial to stabilizing constructive behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. Focusing on mental health care can increase productivity, enhance our self-image, and improve relationships. Nurturing mental health doesn’t just improve our daily functioning, but it can also help us control or at least combat some of the physical health problems directly linked to mental health conditions.

# data[].attributes.body
During intermediate schooling a child is faced with tons of changes in their home life as well as school. So, having different outlets to resort to as a student is very necessary. To make a students feel welcome and safe in the learning environment, as future educators it is our responsibility to  teach others about mental health. In order to do so we as teachers need to first educate ourselves on the topic and understand the different forms in which mental health presents itself. Only then can we teach others about it and  reach out to students’ households, as they are often left out of the loop. Including family in the teaching of this topic is essential, especially because that is where the student returns to at the end of the day. People in students environments should be as knowledgeable on these topics as possible to avoid counter-alliances. Counselors, school psychiatrists and guidance techs are also reliable resources for students to reach out to if plausible. These people if students are able to reach them, are a great outlet for students. That is because most of the time they know their information is confidential. Schools should opt to have multiple outreach programs, and support groups that have a main focus on the variety of mental health issues and illnesses there are and how to help those struggling. Schools could have a place where students can write down anonymous notes for a counselor/faculty member to read and reach out to the student if necessary. Online programs could also be perfect for students that don’t feel comfortable talking in person. There they would be able to express themselves and connect with others without having the extra anxiety that comes with talking to an unfamiliar person.

# data[].attributes.body
Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.

# data[].attributes.body
Mental health disorders affecting children and adolescents can range from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to autism, depression, eating disorders, schizophrenia, and others. Students suffering from these conditions face significant barriers to learning and are less likely to graduate from high school

# data[].attributes.body
Mental and physical health are equally important components of overall health.  For example, depression increases the risk for many types of physical health problems, particularly long-lasting conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Similarly, the presence of chronic conditions can increase the risk for mental illness

# data[].attributes.body
Mental health affects everyone but especially those in a impressionable and adolescence age because youth with poor mental health may struggle with school and grades, decision making and their health which in the end will affect their life later on.

# data[].attributes.headline
Paramount unified school district- Alondra Middle School

# data[].attributes.subject
Paramount unified school district- Alondra Middle School

# data[].attributes.body
At Alondra Middle School there are a total of 932 students but only two counselors and 1 social worker are available to those students if they need to talk to someone about anything. In a recent interview, I did with one of the students in the 7th grade currently attending this middle school I ask them a series of questions regarding resources their school has surrounding the topic of mental health. This was actually the middle school I went to back in 2013 to 2016 and not much has changed since I have been there regarding the number of resources they have surrounding mental health except for one or two things. The first question I asked the student was "Does your school provide any services that seek to help/promote mental health?". Of course, she answered with yes they have counselors there at the school but they also have a system in place where a student is able to write on a notecard any concerns they might have or if they want to report something to a counselor and the counselor would read it and reach out to the student if needed. This could also be done anonymously. These cards are used for a variety of things such as reporting bullying or any suspicious activity so there is no way to tell if any of the students are using them to report any mental health issues they may be experiencing and want to talk about with a counselor. The student also has not seen any posters or anything around the school that encourage students to take care of their mental health. Along with my interview, I did some research on the school's website to see if there was anything else they provided that maybe the student wasn't aware of and I did find a PowerPoint with tips on dealing with mental health and taking care of your well-being at home during the year and a half the kids were online. But it was very hard to find since it was under the parent resources section. Sometimes parents are not that involved in a kid's schooling so many kids probably don't know it is there. Along with this PowerPoint, I found something called the "counselor/social worker corner". This part of the website had multiple doors you could choose from such as "coping skills", "hotlines", and "study skills". when I asked the student about this they said it was something that was created while they were online. Behind the door of hotlines, you first see links to the suicide hotline, an app you can download for teens to talk to someone over text about anything you are struggling with, self-care tips, LGBTQ+ hotlines, and as you go through the slides there is also pdfs to apps and information on taking care of yourself and your wellbeing. This is a great resource that is provided to kids but it was quite difficult to navigate through and it is not promoted to students as much anymore since they are now back in person. It was almost like they associated isolation with bad mental health and assumed kids were fine when they came back to in-person school.
The next question I asked the student was whether or not they would use any services if the school provided any and if they have used the services already provided. The answer was no to both of those questions mostly due to fear the student has with there being no confidentiality when it comes to talking with an adult at school. They felt if they shared any issues they were having with a counselor, they would just go around the student and tell their parents. If it weren't for this part the student said they would use any mental health services if provided.
Lastly, I asked the student if they have at least one staff member or faculty member on campus they feel they could talk to about anything on campus. The student responded by listing about 4 teachers and 1 security guard. They said these teachers make their classroom a comfortable and open environment where they feel like they could tell them anything. The student then said, "I feel more comfortable talking to a teacher rather than a counselor."

# data[].attributes.headline
Fountain Valley School District - Masuda Middle School

# data[].attributes.subject
Fountain Valley School District - Masuda Middle School

# data[].attributes.body
Masuda Middle School is a public school in the Fountain Valley School District that has a population of 759 students. As of the 2021-2022 school year Masuda middle school implemented a mental health and wellness newsletter which is sent out once a week on "Wellness Wednesday". The newsletter covered a wide range of content related to Physical/Emotional Wellness and Social-Emotional Learning. Currently at the school there is one counselor and one psychiatrist for the almost 800 student body. We interviewed a teacher that has been there for 5+ years and when asked if she believes that mental health is important, she stated "Yes, more important than anything else that could be offered to them. All student are dealing with something related to their mental health, whether it's stress, anxiety, depression, relationships, etc... They need services to provide help to both themselves and their care-givers". When interviewing a student that currently attends the middle school, a 8th grader that has been attending for the last 3 years, was asked if he knew about the different services that were provided to them and he stated "They talk about it but there's never anyone who specifically there to help with that". Although the teacher said there were people who would constantly be there to provide those services, the student said something different, this could be a result of lack of communication between the staff and student. As of this moment, when you visit their website, the first thing that you see is a banner for mental health, in that link there are many different sources that is provided to the students and parents to help cope with stress, and different services that they can reach out too when they are struggling with different issues they are facing.

# data[].attributes.headline
Helendale School District- Riverview Middle School

# data[].attributes.subject
Helendale School District- Riverview Middle School

# data[].attributes.body
Having a total of 132 students within their middle school, there’s two counselors available for students according to their last name. Counselors mainly provide students with academic support, they are limited insofar as dealing with high levels of trauma. They work off a MTSS (multi-tiered system of support). Where tier 1 provides a base level support to anyone that needs it, tier 2 provides check ins with specific individuals, and tier 3 provides students who need additional support with resources. When presented with such, these students are recommended to an outside agency called, Care Solace. Here they are able to connect with more qualified personal that can help suit their specific needs. They also recently issued student wellness test to assess the entire population.