The Growing Crises of Mental Health in Students
Overview 

The growing crisis around students’ mental health, and the scarcity of available care, has long been a concern of many educators and health professionals.  

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Interest among lawmakers, however, is a relatively new trend, sparked primarily by the spate of mass shootings. There is also a growing awareness of the stress and anxiety gripping so many teenagers, the role of trauma in their lives, overdue scrutiny over punitive school discipline policies, and the devastating effects of poverty.

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It’s the proverbial perfect storm, says Kathy Reamy, a school counselor in La Plata, Md., and chair of NEA’s School Counselor Caucus.

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“The public’s natural response is to say we need more mental health services and programs, and we do,” Reamy adds, But much of the national conversation has been inherently reactive, focusing on “crisis response”—to school shootings in particular—rather than a systematic approach to helping students with their mental health needs.

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Crisis management is obviously important, says Anderson, but communities must also understand the devastating impact untreated mental illness has on learning.

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“The research is very clear that when a school has a system-based, evidence-based, whole-school approach, all students are more engaged academically,” says Anderson.

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Such programs differ but they generally provide substantive professional development for staff, workshops, resources, and have social and emotional learning competencies integrated into the curriculum.

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According to a 2014 study by the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, students who receive positive behavioral health interventions see improvements in a range of behaviors related to academic achievement, beyond letter grades or test score 

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