Supporting Vulnerable Families Through School-Based Mental Health Services: Results of Caregiver and Teacher Focus Groups

Abstract

Family perspectives facilitate participation and positive outcomes in child mental health treatment. In schools, families and teachers must cooperate to best meet children’s mental health needs, also making teacher perspectives important. In this study, caregivers and teachers participated in focus groups following the pilot year of a school-based mental health (SBMH) project. Participants noted successes and challenges of the project and suggested improvements. Although this study focuses on the SBMH project, many of the study implications are applicable to other school mental health programs and may be of value to school and community practitioners

School Personnel Experiences in Notifying Parents About Their Child's Risk for Suicide: Lessons Learned

“…In this study, mental health and counseling resources on the school campus were perceived to make a tremendous difference in providing mental health access and increasing acceptability of services. This finding is consistent with previous research of school staff and parent perceptions about the value of mental health services . School‐based mental health services can dramatically increase the number of children that receive needed mental health care .…”

“…There are few investigations of parent engagement with school‐based mental health services and personnel . However, qualitative research points to the potential value of on‐site mental health resources in fostering favorable attitudes among school staff toward parents and engaging families in services.…”

“…Moreover, teachers' perceptions of parental involvement affected whether they would make referrals for mental health services . Additional research suggests that school‐based mental health programs are generally perceived as helpful by both parents and school personnel, although parent engagement in programs may still vary . For example, consistent outreach (contacting parents multiple times through various methods), school culture that values parent involvement, and clinician views that parent involvement is important were linked to better parent engagement, whereas lack of consistent outreach and time on the part of school‐based clinicians in addition to logistical barriers faced by parents were linked to lack of parent involvement …”

The Difficulty of Bearing Witness: Experiences of Educators and Therapists with Childhood Trauma

“…This study also used a focus group approach. Focus groups provide opportunities to gain important insights into individual experiences and the comparable experiences of other participants during generative conversations (Wegmann et al, 2013;Xerri, 2018). Utilizing a combined focus group of educators and therapists helped establish a shared matrix of knowledge surrounding the negative stressors that can emerge when working with traumatized children.…”