Mental health concerns are on the rise among youth, contributing to a growing need for school-based mental health services. However, challenges to service provision arise due, in part, to workforce shortages, service fragmentation, and inefficient allocation of staff time. The current study describes the professional competencies and time allocation of four school-based mental health professions (i.e., school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and school nurses) in order to demonstrate how schools can leverage the skills of their existing staff to coordinate a comprehensive approach to support student mental health. First, we identified the core clinical competencies needed to implement the key features of comprehensive school mental health systems. Then, we crosswalked these clinical competencies with the training standards of the four professions. Finally, we conducted a systematic review of the literature to understand how these professionals’ time is allocated, as well as their responsibilities related to the provision of mental health services. Results demonstrated that, although all four professions receive training in most of the core competencies needed to implement comprehensive school mental health services, their skillsets are often underutilized in day-to-day practice. Thus, we concluded that there are at least two untapped opportunities for school leaders to support student mental health—first, maximize the use of school mental health professionals through task-shifting (i.e., reassigning tasks less central to mental health service delivery to other staff), and second, implement an integrated model of school mental health services to efficiently leverage the mental health training of professionals.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12310-022-09535-0.
Using an exploratory phenomenological qualitative research design, this study investigated the lived experiences of 10 school counselors who integrate yoga into their comprehensive school counseling programs. Analysis of data revealed five significant themes and subsequent subthemes describing the participants' lived experiences of yoga integration within their school counseling programs. We include implications for research and practice.
Background
To support student mental health, school staff must have knowledge of evidence-based practices and the capacity to implement them. One approach used to address this challenge is a group-based telementoring model called
Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes
(ECHO). In other applications (e.g., healthcare settings), ECHO has been shown to increase healthcare professionals’ self-efficacy and knowledge of evidence-based practices leading to improved patient outcomes.
Objectives
This study examined the potential for ECHO to be used as a method for increasing school staff engagement and knowledge of evidence-based school mental health practices.
Methods
Using a quasi-experimental design, this study compared outcomes across two professional development experiences aimed at promoting school staff ability to provide evidence-based mental health services. School staff from four school districts participated in a school mental health training initiative. All participants (
N
= 57) had access to asynchronous, online mental health modules. A sub-sample (
n
= 33) was also offered monthly ECHO sessions.
Results
Tests of group difference in outcomes revealed significant increases in engagement with online learning (
d
= 0.58) and satisfaction (
d
= 0.82) for those who participated in ECHO as compared to those who did not. Knowledge about evidence-based practices was not significantly different between groups.
Conclusions
Results suggest that group-based telementoring may be a promising approach for improving engagement and satisfaction with training initiatives aimed at promoting evidence-based school mental health practices. However, further study of ProjectECHO using experimental designs is needed to make causal inferences about its effect on provider outcomes.
School counselors across the United States are implementing comprehensive school counseling programs, such as those following the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model. ASCA awards a designation honoring exemplary school counseling programs: Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP). Although a growing number of studies have examined RAMP status through survey methods and student outcomes, the need remains to understand RAMP through the lens of each school’s unique context and experience. We present a multilevel, qualitative, participatory, descriptive case study to examine a school counseling cohort preparing over a 2-year period to apply for RAMP, utilizing a district–university partnership. Given the expansive data gleaned from the present study, the results are reported in two articles; this is the first of a two-part study. Results highlight this RAMP cohort process, including the following themes: (a) the push and pull of deciding to participate, (b) collaborative supports, (c) facilitators’ integral and complex role, and (d) next steps.
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