School Social Workers ARE mental health experts!

From the School Social Work Association of America position statement School Social Workers’ Role in Addressing Students’ Mental Health Needs and Increasing Academic Achievement:

• School social workers provide mental health services in schools and have specialized training to meet students’ social-emotional needs. Schools often are one of the first places where mental health issues are recognized and addressed (Eklund, Meyer, Splett, & Weist, 2020; Lyon & Bruns, 2019). 

• School social workers serve as the primary mental health providers for students and may be the only counseling professionals available to students and their families to initially identify and provide interventions for those issues. (Kelly, Thompson, Frey, Klemp, Alvarez, & Berzin, 2015; Massat, Kelly, & Constable, 2016).

• Research indicates between 18-20 percent of students have mental health issues significant enough to cause impairment to major life functions (Lyon & Bruns, 2019), yet only one in five receives the necessary services (Eklund et al., 2020; Kelly et al., 2015). Furthermore, certain students, including students with disabilities, students of color, and students from low income families, are at greater risk for mental health challenges, but are even less likely to receive the appropriate services (Massat et al., 2016; Teasley, et al., 2017; Vera, Buhin, & Shin, 2006). 

• Students with untreated mental health issues may develop more significant problems which can greatly impact their educational experience and result in poor educational outcomes and possibly dropping out of school (Lyon & Bruns, 2019; Teasley et al., 2017; Wegmann, Powers, Swick, & Watkins, C. S., 2017) 

• School social workers design and implement school-based programs to promote a positive school climate among all students. They work with the entire student body to identify students in need of more intensive interventions and connect these students to additional services in the community where needed (Iachini, Berkowitz, Moore, Pitner, Astor, & Benbenishty, 2017; Kelly et al., 2016; Thompson et al., 2019). 

• School social workers also serve as a resource to the principal and other educators, providing consultation and training on identifying students with mental health needs and a referral process when services are sought. 

• Working more closely with individual students and their families, school social workers additionally create a bridge between the school and the community when linking such services. This coordination is critical in a successful school and community partnership to maximize limited resources, facilitate better service delivery, and maintain communication between partners (Kelly et al., 2016; Massat et al., 2016; Thompson et al., 2019).

For the full brief:  School Social Workers’ Role in Addressing Students’ Mental Health Needs and Increasing Academic Achievement

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