School-Based Mental Health Systems: Psychological Care for Children and Youth
A special issue of Behavioral Sciences (ISSN 2076-328X). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Psychology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 July 2025 | Viewed by 152
Special Issue Editors
Interests: assessment of adolescent behavior; school based mental health systems and service provision; special education law
Interests: implementation science; comprehensive systems of school mental health; school-based mental and behavioral health service and assessment; violence and risk assessment; integrating behavioral health into primary care
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
School-based mental health systems are fragmented across a collection of programs and an assortment of school-based mental health professionals. In this Special Issue of Behavioral Sciences entitled “School-Based Mental Health Systems: Psychological Care for Children and Youth”, the Guest Editors aim to address the compartmentalization of school-based mental health systems with a focus on achieving a reduction in implementation overload. By addressing the connections of programs and professionals across the multi-tiered system of support frameworks often utilized in educational institutions to address the spectrum of student needs, this Special Issue aims to encourage teaming and information sharing within comprehensive school-based mental health systems. We invite papers from across the school-based mental health fields: school counseling, school psychology, school social work, school nursing, and across the collection of school-based mental health programs: interconnected system frameworks, social and emotional learning, character education, positive behavior interventions and supports, mental health first aid, response to intervention, multi-tiered systems of support, and special education.
Prof. Dr. Nicole Skaar
Dr. Erika Franta
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- school mental health
- school behavioral health
- comprehensive school mental health systems
- multi-tiered systems of support
- social and emotional learning
- positive behavior interventions and supports
- public and private partnerships
- specialized instructional support personnel
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Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Enhancing Social-Emotional Health: The Impact of the Sisters of Nia Intervention on Black Girls in Rural Schools
Authors: Shundrell McMullan, MS, Jennifer Ani, MS, Kayla Bates-Brantley, Ph.D., BCBA-D, and MacKenzie Sidwell, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Affiliation: Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations, Mississippi State University
Abstract: Within the educational system, Black girls frequently encounter racial discrimination fueled by unjust policies, which can have detrimental effects unless they are supported by protective factors. While social-emotional interventions are implemented in schools, concerns remain about their effectiveness for minoritized populations. This study evaluates the impact of a culturally informed intervention, Sisters of Nia, designed to enhance social-emotional health through interdisciplinary partnerships among educators and mental health professionals. The intervention aimed to increase protective factors for five adolescent Black girls in a rural public school in the southeastern U.S. Using a single-case design with a changing criterion approach, we measured positive interactions with teachers and peers, along with racial identity using the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity-Teen (MIBI-T) and self-concept with the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale-2nd Edition (TSCS-2). Results indicated an increase in positive teacher and peer interactions from baseline following the intervention. Although a paired samples t-test revealed statistically non-significant changes in MIBI-T and TSCS-2 scores, there was an overall increase post-intervention. The researchers highlight the importance of representing the perspectives of Black girls and provides recommendations for inclusive research practices in school-based mental health initiatives, emphasizing the potential of interdisciplinary collaboration to support social-emotional well-being.
Keywords: Black girls, protective factors, cultural interventions, social-emotional, interdisciplinary collaboration.
