Communicating About School Mental Health - A Graphic Toolkit
This toolkit provides recommendations on how to translate complex concepts about children’s mental health and school mental health into visual aides to enhance understanding. This graphic tool is designed to help you communicate with teachers about their role and the role of other adults on campus in supporting school mental health.
Data from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (August 2023)
This brief report examines the reported prevalence of sadness and hopelessness, suicidal ideation, bullying, fighting, and current substance use among high school age youth in the Southeast region’s eight states. These data are derived from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System.
Data from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (October 2020)
This brief report examines the reported prevalence of sadness and hopelessness, suicidal ideation, bullying, and fighting among high school age youth in the Southeast region’s eight states. These data are derived from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System.
What are School Mental Health Services? (September 2020)
School mental health services are very heterogeneous, ranging from population-level school climate interventions to intensive interventions for individual students. This short report illustrates terminology commonly used to classify school mental health services into three tiers.
School Mental Health Improves Treatment Access and Engagement (June 2020)
This short report provides findings from research studies on how school mental health improves treatment access and engagement for youth.
Data from the 2018 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (September 2019)
This short report provides statistics on the need for mental health services among school age children across the Southeast region. The report contains data from the 2018 Youth Behavior Risk Surveillance System.
Communication 101 for School Mental Health: School Administrators Perspective (January 2023)
How school administrators show up to lead school mental health initiatives is key to these initiatives’ impact and sustainability. Ensuring wellness for students in support of their learning and development is the responsibility of all adults on campus. School leadership may set the tone for how school mental health is prioritized and integrated. Whether you are in an administrative role, or in a position to inform or partner with school leaders, this session applies a school leadership lens to universal components of school mental health. It reviews core dimensions of school mental health and connects you to relevant resources. Participants will be able to communicate about the importance of student mental health in academic achievement, core concepts related to school and student mental health, and funding considerations, and they will be able to reference examples of school mental health strategies. We will discuss common questions, issues, and opportunities facing leadership who are starting or continuing efforts to advance school wellness
Implementation Support Series: Classroom WISE (July-August 2021)
The Classroom Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators (WISE) Implementation Support Series is a mental health literacy training for teachers and school staff that will be a key component of all school reopening plans in the 2021-22 school year. The free, 6-hour course, Classroom WISE, has been released by the Mental Health Technology Transfer Center Network Coordinating Office. The Southeast MHTTC hosted Office Hours to support Classroom WISE adoption and implementation at the local and state levels in our region. These Office Hours provide a preview of the Classroom WISE modules and information to help develop a Classroom WISE implementation plan.
Communicating about School Mental Health (July-August 2021)
This series provides state and local education agencies with information about how to most effectively communicate about school mental health to audiences who may not have a background in education or mental health. It provides strategies and tools that help navigate pitfalls and craft messaging likely to raise awareness, increase engagement, and convey the value of improving student wellness.
Part I shares key considerations for how to communicate about children’s mental health in ways that resonate with individuals who are not mental health professionals. It provides strategies and tools for making sure that teachers, principals, parents, caregivers and other allies learn what you would like them to know about school mental health and student wellness.
Part II: Making Sense of School Mental Health: A New Graphic Tool on the Role of Teachers (August 2021)
Part II provides recommendations on how to translate complex concepts about children’s mental health and school mental health into visual aides to enhance understanding. In this session, we provide a new graphic tool designed to help you communicate with teachers about their role and the role of other adults on campus in supporting school mental health. Participants will be able to access and implement the graphic tool with a full suite of support tools. View Graphic Tool Here.
MHTTC Network 8-part Training Series on SMH (February-May 2021)
The MHTTC Network hosted an 8-part training series using the National School Mental Health Curriculum: Guidance and Best Practices for States, Districts, and Schools. This resource was developed by the MHTTC Network in partnership with the National Center for School Mental Health (NCSMH) and aims to help states, districts and schools advance comprehensive school mental health and engage in a planning process for implementation. You can access the specific modules in the series or learn more about the series here.
Module 1: Foundations of School Mental Health
This module provides an overview of the National School Mental Health Best Practices: Implementation Guidance Modules resource, as well as the definition and core features of comprehensive school mental health.
This module reviews the definition and value of school mental health teams, as well as quality indicators and best practices to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.
Module 3: Needs Assessment and Resource Mapping
This module describes how to conduct and use data from needs assessment and resource mapping processes. The value of each is described as well as how they intersect to support school needs.
This module describes the definition, purpose and importance of mental health screening in schools. Six action steps to conduct screening are provided, as well as strategies to address common barriers.
Module 5: Mental Health Promotion for All (Tier 1)
This module reviews specific types of universal mental health promotion services and supports, followed by quality indicators and best practices.
Module 6: Early Intervention and Treatment (Tier 2 and 3)
This module reviews the importance of early intervention and treatment services and supports for students with mild distress, functional impairment, or at risk.
Module 7: Funding and Sustainability
This module includes the definition of school mental health funding and sustainability and opportunities to secure and leverage diverse funding sources and to sustain successful school mental health systems.
This module explains the purpose and value of documenting and sharing information about the impact of your comprehensive school mental health system.
The Southeast MHTTC created a comprehensive product catalogue of the resources and information they have published. Click here to view the full product catalogue. Additionally, these products are presented on the following pages of our website:
Key Resources
Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems: Foundations
Mental Health Services and Supports in Schools
Funding, Sustainability, and Impact
Diverse Populations, Equity, and Inclusion
