Lauren Rich: Working together to support children’s mental health


Lauren Rich: Working together to support children’s mental health

Raising happy and healthy children has always been the end goal for parents and educators alike. Parents and educators have always worked together to help our kids be academically successful as well as emotionally capable to lead enjoyable, stable lives. Now more than ever, schools are growing their capacity to serve both children’s academic and mental health needs.

Mental health not only means the absence of negative psychological problems but the presence of critical skills such as self-esteem, self-acceptance, resiliency and effective coping strategies.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that one in six school-aged children experience a mental health disorder each year. Concerningly, it’s estimated that up to 60% of students who need treatment do not receive it due to issues such as stigma and lack of access to services. Of the youth who do receive help, almost two-thirds do so only in school.

Schools can offer significant support to families trying to access mental health services for students in multiple ways.

First, they are in your community and our kids spend a lot of their day there.

Second, the school setting is well designed to provide context for prevention and intervention. School professionals such as school psychologists, counselors, social workers and school nurses are highly trained in many ways to help with a child’s mental health needs.

Third, these professionals are already familiar with the children in the school, and often children feel more comfortable accessing mental health support at school than in outside settings.

As a parent, caretaker or community member, you can collaborate with your school to help support your student’s mental health needs in the following ways:

  • Make sure you know the mental health practitioners in your school (e.g., school psychologist, counselor and nurse).
  • Advocate for school collaboration with community mental health providers.
  • Ask your school what their continuum of mental health supports are and how you can access them for your family when needed.
  • Support budgets, plans and initiatives that allow schools the funding to staff their mental health professionals.
  • Empower yourself and other families in the community to manage the decisions and resources needed to meet children’s mental health needs.
  • Advocate for a school climate that creates a sense of belonging and safety, promotes resilience, develops student social-emotional competencies encourages good physical and mental health and educates staff, parents and students on symptoms and help for mental health problems.

As one of these school professionals, school psychologists want to extend an invitation to parents as well as educators and other mental health providers to discuss and collaborate specifically on supporting students’ mental health and use of social media. While mental health challenges are widespread among school children, school professionals, families and community members can work together to help.

This year, the annual Utah Association of School Psychologists Fall Conference will be held on Oct. 25 at the Davis Conference Center. The theme of the conference is Social Media and Mental Health: Living a Balanced and Happy Life. This topic is vastly relevant and timely to parents and practitioners in schools.

Learning ways to help our students manage their mental health and technology engagement can have great effects on their lives and help to prevent suicide. Dr. Sarah Coyne from Brigham Young University will provide concrete tools and strategies for positive use of social media. She will also discuss preventions and implications for suicide prevention. Registration is now open on our website: uasp.wildapricot.org/events .

Lauren Rich
Lauren Rich

Lauren Rich is a school psychologist and related services supervisor for Davis School District. She is also currently serving as the president for the Utah Association of School Psychologists. [email protected] .




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