Supporting Student Mental Health and Learning through Effective Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Professional Workforce Preparation

Dear Colleagues,

Recent reports from the Surgeon General, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association indicate that an increasing and concerning number of students in the U.S. are experiencing mental health challenges. In the wake of the pandemic, a generation of youth is struggling with mental health, and rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts are skyrocketing. This is especially true among girls and LGBTQ+ youth, who are experiencing the highest rate of sadness and hopelessness in a decade.

Schools represent a crucial setting to reach and help children. School mental health programs offer students and caregivers access to various support, ranging from prevention and early intervention to intervention. At the same time, student mental health needs are increasing; however, resources for addressing these needs are scarce. Many school districts are facing barriers such as a lack of educator training for identifying mental health needs, shortages of mental health providers, and teachers and administrators who are experiencing severe burnout and their own unaddressed mental health needs in the wake of the pandemic.

Encouragingly, well-documented, evidence-based strategies to best support students' mental health include providing advanced training and professional development for educators, school staff, and mental health providers, building workforce capacity, and fostering collaboration among education and mental health system professionals to augment traditional school mental health support. These efforts have proven effective in increasing access to mental health treatment for students and caregivers and decreasing burnout among school professionals.

This Special Issue highlights innovative, practical, and evidence-based strategies to help schools and educators support student mental health, describing effective professional development programs and best practices for advancing practice, research, and policy in building the capacity of schools to address student mental health.

Article Domains:

Effective professional development:

1. Leadership (in all its forms, not just principals or superintendents);
2. Educators;
3. Mental health professionals;
4. School staff (e.g., bus drivers, lunch aides, etc.).

Training and workforce capacity:

1. Pre-service, graduate, and in-service training in support of interprofessional practice;
2. Training to alleviate and address staff challenges (burnout, isolation, retention problems, capacity building).

Advancing practice, research, and policy:

1. Examples of practice around building trust and understanding about student mental health needs for stakeholders;
2. Models of educator evaluations and school outcome measures that account for the essential elements of comprehensive student school mental health strategies;
3. Fostering effective community partnerships and collaborations for student mental health;
4. Developing collaborative data systems to inform mental health interventions for students.

Dr. Brian Daly
Dr. Elizabeth Mellin
Prof. Dr. Mark Weist
Guest Editors

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• mental health–education system partnerships
• school behavioral health (SBH)
• school mental health
• youth
• workforce development
• professional development