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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

William B. Allen, PhD, Cherokee Health Systems, 6350 West A. J. Hwy, Talbott, TN 37877, Algeria, (423) 587-7337, bill.allen@cherokeehealth.com

School-based health services should involve a collaborative effort to target health holistically. Educational health, physical health, and mental health are all integrated. In this session we will discuss a continuum of mental health services and ways to integrate these efforts with physical health services to promote educational health. The school-based mental health service continuum includes: parent and teacher training, primary prevention programs, motivational interventions, behavioral assessment and planning, individual and group counseling, mental-health based alternative school programs, and community liaison. Mental health promotion and mental illness prevention programs will receive a heavy emphasis in our discussion. You will see data showing a significant increase in teacher ratings of empathy in three treatment schools with a primary prevention program, compared to one school used as a control group. We will discuss more intensive counseling programs, and the benefits, challenges, and drawbacks to school-based treatment versus clinic-based treatment for children with emotional and behavioral problems. As a group, participants will generate ideas for increasing parent involvement in school-based mental health interventions. We will also examine methods for integrating health care services in the schools, in the clinics, and elsewhere in the community. This session will conclude with guidance for planning strategically for the implementation of the mental health service continuum in schools. Participants will leave with a copy of the slides used, a list of resources, and a copy of a set of handouts dealing with parenting, discipline, and interventions for emotional problems.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

• List 5 to 7 different methods for impacting the mental health of school children.
• Discuss the rationale for prioritizing prevention programs.
• List two research-based outcomes of prevention programs.
• Describe at least two benefits and two potential weaknesses of school-based (vs. clinic-based) mental health therapy.
• Generate three or more ideas for increasing parent involvement in school-based parent training.
• Develop an initial strategic plan for creating one or more school-based mental health interventions.

Keywords: Mental Health Services, Access to Health Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation