The unmet needs of students have been coined a mental health crisis, where up to 20% of children present with some form of diagnosable behavior disorder. The stress of COVID-19 has intensified this need and schools are seeing unprecedented levels of associated behavioral health issues in the form of student internalizing and externalizing behaviors.
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on students’ mental health with emergency rooms across the country noting a 31% increase in mental health-related visits among adolescents. Further, a recent NY Times survey of school counselors found that nearly all the counselors, 94 percent, said their students were showing more signs of anxiety and depression than before the pandemic. The outbreak of mass shootings this weekend (15 people dead and more than 60 others wounded across eight states) further illustrates the urgency of this crisis.
This presentation demonstrates the necessity of universal student screening and multi-tiered systems of support to identify and assist struggling students. Educators, administrators, and teachers can take an active role in improving students’ mental health, and our system can help them.
A presentation at the Southeastern School Behavioral Health Conference in Spring 2021.