Child Adol Ment H Uk
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Child Adol Ment H Uk · Feb 2021
ReviewReview: Delivering mental health support within schools and colleges - a thematic synthesis of barriers and facilitators to implementation of indicated psychological interventions for adolescents.
Increasing the role of schools and colleges in the provision of mental health services for young people has the potential to improve early intervention and access to treatment. We aimed to understand what factors influence the successful implementation of indicated psychological interventions within schools and colleges to help guide increased provision of mental health support within education settings. ⋯ Increased utilisation of schools and colleges as a setting for early intervention has been proposed as a means of improving access to mental health treatment, but successful implementation of mental health interventions within educational settings is challenging. Based on a synthesis of current evidence, we recommend that young people and education professionals should be involved in the selection of school-based interventions to ensure they are acceptable and practical to deliver within the logistical constraints of the school environment. Those delivering interventions within schools, as well as staff involved in identifying young people who might benefit from these interventions, must receive high-quality ongoing training and support. Senior school leaders play an important role in championing mental health interventions and developing a school culture that prioritises mental well-being. Health and education policy should be designed to promote a cross-sector focus on the emotional health of young people. There is a lack of evidence on the implementation of indicated psychological interventions within sixth form and further education colleges.
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Peer-supported youth hotlines have been in operation for many years but studies on the acceptance of this hotline model or on the demographics of the callers are lacking. This study was performed to examine the utilization of a metropolitan peer-supported youth hotline between 2010 and 2016. ⋯ Peer-supported youth hotlines are well accepted and frequently utilized by adolescents to get help for mental health issues. Our data indicate that peer-supported youth hotlines could be utilized to identify youth at risk for depression and suicide. Further research should evaluate whether peer-supported youth hotlines could serve in the prevention and in early mental health intervention, and how they could be effectively linked to other mental health resources in the community.