Background: Youth mental health needs have worsened following COVID-19. Rising demand for school mental health services is straining capacity. Several states have added policies requiring mental health education, yet these vary widely and barriers to operationalization exist. Purpose: This paper explores the onerous landscape of mental health…

Most recent data confirms that the transition and learning "gap between youth and young adults (ages 14-24) with and without disabilities remains significant despite decades of federal and state legislation intended to improve education and employment opportunities" (Cheng & Shaewitz, 2020, p. 28). Researchers have highlighted that…

Background: Mental health care is critical to improving mental health but factors associated with student utilization are poorly understood. Methods: Data were from high school students (N = 2933; mean age = 15.7 ± 0.6) enrolled in a California cohort. We examined associations of sociodemographic factors, substance use, and mental health symptoms…

Project Cal-Well is a cross-agency mental health initiative led by the California Department of Education focused on building capacity for sustainable school-based mental health systems in local educational agencies (LEAs) throughout California. As part of a series highlighting the work of Project Cal-Well partners in Cohort 2 (2019-2024), this…

Rates of depression in youth are continuing to increase at a steady rate, yet these youth often do not receive mental health services (Bertha & Balázs, 2013; Thomas et al., 2011). Schools are an ideal setting to connect youth to mental health services; however, many barriers exist with respect to schools having adequate resources and access to…

Background: Mental disorders most likely manifest during adolescence, providing opportunities for schools and professionals to implement standardized mental health literacy (MHL) interventions to support improvement of mental health outcomes. Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an MHL intervention (the Guide) on knowledge, stigma,…

This study utilizes archival data from a district-based initiative aimed at improving the provision of school-based mental health services. It dives deep into the stories of adolescents who were classified and receiving special education supports, which included school-based counseling. These students endured challenging family contexts. A…

Many schools and communities conduct regular surveillance surveys to monitor student mental health risk. These surveys rarely ask about use of mental health services, despite the potential importance of this information to support service planning and resource allocation. The current study developed and tested the Adolescent Mental Health Support…

Schools offer an advantageous setting for the prevention, early identification, and treatment of mental health problems for youth. However, school mental health (SMH) services are typically not based on evidence for effectiveness, nor are they efficiently delivered, with SMH practitioners (SMHPs) able to only treat a small number of students in…

Schools offer an advantageous setting for prevention, early identification, and treatment of mental health problems for youth. However, school mental health (SMH) services are typically not based on evidence for effectiveness, nor are they efficiently delivered, with SMH practitioners (SMHPs) able to only treat a small number of students in need.…

The prevalence of psychological distress is increasing in the Philippines, a country with limited resources for mental health programs. It is worthy to investigate the possible predictors for psychological distress among Filipino youth as they are one of the vulnerable populations to psychological distress. The present study aimed to explore the…

School climate surveys are commonly used to solicit youth perspectives about their experiences in schools. However, to move climate surveys from solicitation towards a more youth-centered, partnered practice for school improvement, guidance is needed from the youth themselves about how and in what ways they hope adults respond to their survey…

High school athletes are not immune to mental health challenges. The persistent lack of state or national mental health guidelines for athletes has impacted high school athletes' abilities to access and apply resources in a mentally healthy manner. This can impact not only a high school athlete's career but can leave lasting effects on collegiate…

Objective: To examine short-term (i.e., post-intervention) outcomes from a randomized controlled trial comparing a school-based telehealth-delivered depression prevention program, Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Adolescent Skills Training (IPT-AST), to services as usual (SAU). We expected IPT-AST would be acceptable and feasible and that IPT-AST…

School counselors are the first personnel called on in a school to provide daily student mental health support. However, complications such as additional non-counseling duties and high student to counselor ratios exist which limit the time school counselors have available to support student mental health needs. While the number of youths needing…