A Whole-School Approach to Mental Health Promotion

AbstractThere are a number of challenges and debates surrounding the implementation of mental health interventions in schools. These include recognising the complexity of influencing factors and the interdependency of key components; the critical importance of monitoring school-based implementation in particular contexts; employing multimethod evaluation designs that can capture the complexity; and judging success using mental health and educational outcomes. These factors are shaped by both mental health and educational research. The prevention paradox focusing on the whole population ‘prevents’ more illness than targeting programs to specific individuals, and is exemplified in school mental health promotion that utilises an ecological or whole school approach. MindMatters, an innovative Australian mental health promotion and pr evention program, illustrates the challenges in this new field of endeavour. Its design and implementation are consistent with recommended effective practice, a comprehensive program that targets multiple health outcomes in the context of a coordinated whole school approach (Jané-Lopis, Barry, Hosman, & Patel, 2005). MindMatters moves beyond the sole focus on the curriculum to acknowledge the key roles of teacher professional development and whole school change within a strengths-based approach. As recommended by Jané-Lopis et al. (2005) measures of key school mental health outcomes are being used, ranging from absenteeism and drop-out rates to the development of social skills and academic achievement. The MindMatters evaluation suite of five separate yet interrelated evaluation studies illustrates some of the complexity involved.

Download Full-text

Promotion of social and emotional competence

Health Education ◽

10.1108/he-03-2014-0039 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 115 (3/4) ◽

pp. 339-356 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Line Nielsen ◽

Charlotte Meilstrup ◽

Malene Kubstrup Nelausen ◽

Vibeke Koushede ◽

Bjørn Evald Holstein

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Response Rate ◽

Emotional Competence ◽

Mental Health Promotion ◽

Future Research ◽

Content Type ◽

Social And Emotional ◽

Whole School ◽

Whole School Approach

Purpose – Within the framework of Health Promoting Schools Up is an intervention using a whole school approach aimed at promoting mental health by strengthening social and emotional competence among schoolchildren. Social and emotional competence is an integral part of many school-based mental health interventions but only a minority of interventions measure changes in competences. The purpose of this paper is to present the intervention Up and document changes in social and emotional competence among schoolchildren before and after the intervention. Design/methodology/approach –Up consists of four components: education and activities for schoolchildren; development of staff skills; involvement of parents; and initiatives in everyday life at school. Up was implemented in two Danish schools in 2010-2011. Social and emotional competence was measured among 11-15-year old schoolchildren before (response rate 96.2 per cent, n=589) and after (response rate 83.9 per cent, n=532) the intervention. Findings – Changes in level of social competence were assessed by the prevalence of a high level of social and emotional competence before (33.3 per cent) and after (40.8 per cent) the intervention (p-value=0.01). Research limitations/implications –Up provides valuable experiences for adapting evidence-based mental health promotion to the Danish school system which is characterized by democracy, autonomy and inclusion. Future research should study the implementation and effect of Up in larger scale studies. Practical implications – The comprehensive description of Up serves as important information for policymakers and practitioners working with mental health promotion. Originality/value – The whole school approach intervention Up has the potential to promote social and emotional competence and reduce socioeconomic differences in social and emotional competence among schoolchildren.

Download Full-text

Supporting a whole-school approach to mental health promotion and wellbeing in postprimary schools in Ireland

School Mental Health ◽

10.1017/cbo9781107284241.011 ◽

2015 ◽

pp. 112-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aleisha M. Clarke ◽

Margaret M. Barry

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Mental Health Promotion ◽

Whole School ◽

Whole School Approach

Download Full-text

Teacher Mental Health Literacy: Results from a State-wide Survey in Schools

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckaa165.275 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽

Author(s):

U Bauer ◽

O Okan ◽

F Faulbaum

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Health Literacy ◽

Mental Health Literacy ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

School Mental Health ◽

Health Problems ◽

Mental Health Promotion ◽

Parental Mental Health ◽

Whole School

Abstract Background Teachers have an important role to play in context of mental health literacy (MHL) promotion of school-aged children. Their MHL is seen as the counterpart of student`s health literacy. Especially vulnerable schoolchildren such as those affected by adverse life events (e.g. parental mental health problems) can benefit from programs. In addition, the whole school environment has impact on school mental health promotion. Yet, only little evidence is available on teachers MHL in Europe. The aim is to provide evidence from a state-wide survey on the state of MHL of teachers in Germany. Methods Based on semi-structured interviews with school teachers from all school types in one federal state, including primary and secondary schools, a MHL online questionnaire was developed. The survey was conducted in in 2017 in N = 2500 teachers in Germany. Descriptive and regression analyse have been performed. Results Teachers feel considerable uncertainties when working with children affected by adversities related to parental mental health problems. Dealing with the social family background seems hard. Teachers state that they don`t feel comfortable when aiming at mental health promotion of affected children or children in general. Data also show that they may tend to make misjudgements, and that they are not sufficiently trained to address mental health issues in the classrooms. Regression models show that the degree and quality of teaching mental health is affected by differences across school forms, satisfaction with and engagement of school principals in mental health action, learned strategies to respond to parents, and experienced stress, burden and exposure during their work. Conclusions Increasing teacher MHL and the environmental capacities and responsiveness towards school mental health promotion should be an important capacity building strategy. Policy support for school mental health promotion is a critical means to sustain effective whole-school approaches.

Download Full-text

Implementation quality of whole-school mental health promotion and students’ academic performance

Child and Adolescent Mental Health ◽

10.1111/j.1475-3588.2011.00608.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 45-51 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Katherine L. Dix ◽

Phillip T. Slee ◽

Michael J. Lawson ◽

John P. Keeves

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Academic Performance ◽

School Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Promotion ◽

Implementation Quality ◽

Whole School

Download Full-text

Promoting Mental Health in School—Young People from Scotland and Sweden Sharing Their Perspectives

International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction ◽

10.1007/s11469-019-00202-1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 (6) ◽

pp. 1521-1535

Author(s):

Catrine Kostenius ◽

Sebastian Gabrielsson ◽

Eva Lindgren

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Young People ◽

Main Theme ◽

Mental Health In Schools ◽

Whole School ◽

Starting Point ◽

Being There ◽

Whole School Approach ◽

Taking Action

AbstractThe rate of mental ill health has increased among children and youth during the past decade in Scotland and Sweden. School is important in influencing both health and education. The starting point for health promotion in school involves those who are affected, the students. The aim of this study was to describe and understand how mental health can be promoted in school from the perspective of young people. A total of 14 Scottish and Swedish young people aged 15–21, 11 girls and 3 boys from 3 municipalities, participated in 4 focus groups. The phenomenological analysis resulted in one main theme: Everyone is being there for each other encompassing three themes without any relative order of precedence: being in a safe, inclusive, and well-informed space; meeting adults who are available, listening, and taking action; and feeling significant and being of significance to others. Based on these findings, we suggest the following aspects to be essential when aiming to promote mental health in schools: (1) value and appreciate young people’s experiences, (2) view everyone in school regardless of age or profession to be an important piece in the mental health promotion puzzle by adopting a “whole school approach,” (3) foster a listening culture that focuses on building enabling relationships, (4) promote health and learning simultaneously to increase health literacy, (5) educate about mental health to minimize stigma and increase confidence in taking appropriate action.

Download Full-text

Parents’ Perspectives of School Mental Health Promotion Initiatives are Related to Parents’ Self-Assessed Parenting Capabilities

Journal of Psychologists and Counsellors in Schools ◽

10.1017/jgc.2015.28 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 16-34 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Helen Askell-Williams

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Parent Engagement ◽

School Mental Health ◽

Information Provision ◽

Mental Health Promotion ◽

Whole School ◽

School Based ◽

School Initiatives

Achieving broad-scale parent1 engagement with school initiatives has proven elusive. This article reports survey data from 287 Maltese parents about their perceptions of the quality of their child's school's initiatives for promoting students’ wellbeing and mental health. Findings indicate that, on average, parents rated school initiatives highly. However, a MANCOVA of respondents grouped into three categories of Self-Assessed Parenting Capabilities (low, medium, high) showed that parents who held low perceptions of their own parenting capabilities also held significantly lower perceptions of the quality of schools’ mental health promotion initiatives. Less favourable dispositions towards school mental health promotion initiatives by parents with relatively low-parenting capabilities have implications for the design and delivery of school-based initiatives. For example, typical parent engagement, support and information provision activities (e.g., parent-teacher meetings, newsletters) might be less well received in families that arguably have a greater need to engage with such initiatives. This study has implications for whole-school mental health promotion initiatives that seek to include all parents.

Download Full-text

Implementing a Mentally Healthy Schools Framework based on the population wide Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion campaign

Health Education ◽

10.1108/he-07-2015-0023 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 116 (6) ◽

pp. 561-579 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Julia Anwar-McHenry ◽

Robert John Donovan ◽

Amberlee Nicholas ◽

Simone Kerrigan ◽

Stephanie Francas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Promotion ◽

Time Management ◽

School Setting ◽

Mental Health Promotion ◽

World Health ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Content Type ◽

Whole School ◽

Healthy Schools

Purpose Mentally Healthy WA developed and implemented the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework in 2010 in response to demand from schools wanting to promote the community-based Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion message within a school setting. Schools are an important setting for mental health promotion, therefore, the Framework encourages schools to adopt a whole-of-school approach to mental health promotion based on the World Health Organisation’s Health Promoting Schools framework. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A process evaluation was conducted consisting of six-monthly activity reports from 13 participating Western Australian schools. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with key school contacts in November 2011 with nine schools who had signed partner agreements prior to July 2011. Findings The schools valued promoting the mentally healthy message and the majority felt the programme was implemented successfully. More intensive implementation was facilitated by a proactive and enthusiastic school “champion” who had influence over other staff, and who did not have too many competing priorities. Factors inhibiting implementation included a lack of effective time management, lack of whole school commitment, and evaluation demands. Originality/value Act-Belong-Commit is a positive, proactive message making it easier for teachers to talk about mental health with their students. For schools reporting implementation success, the Mentally Healthy Schools Framework raised the profile of mental health in the school setting and fostered a sense of belonging among students.

Download Full-text