School Mental Health

This snapshot highlights key characteristics of effective school mental health (SMH) and the strategies that 13 federally funded Safe Schools/Healthy Students (SS/HS) grantees have used to build and sustain comprehensive mental health programs.

Students who are mentally healthy come to school ready to learn, to develop academic and social skills, and to contribute to a positive school environment. They possess a strong sense of self, respect for others, and the ability to express a range of emotions constructively and appropriately. Taken together, these traits enable children and adolescents to thrive in schools and beyond.

Since children spend many of their waking hours in school, schools are uniquely poised to address students’ mental health needs and to provide a positive environment that fosters mental health—not just for those who have mental disorders, but for all students.

Working with community mental health agencies, the SS/HS sites featured in this snapshot identified and mapped out needs and resources and provided effective mental health promotion, prevention, and treatment services.