Closing the gap in school mental health: A community‐centered model for school psychology

Abstract

Disciplines involved in the development and/or provision of services in school mental health have recognized the promise of evidence-based practices in meeting the growing unmet mental health needs of children, adolescents, and families in this country. As a result, School Psychology has strongly emphasized the development and dissemination of evidence-based practices through professional development opportunities and published literature. Despite these efforts, evidencebased practices are not implemented as widely or as effectively as intended. This article describes a community-centered (CC) model for closing the research-to-practice gap in school mental health. CC models emphasize both adopting new practices successfully and improving existing practices through a process of planning, implementation, and evaluation, and an exemplar framework based in a CC model is presented and applied to school mental health. The role of school psychologists in leading schools to adopt CC models is discussed, and next steps for changes to training, practice, and research paradigms are presented. C 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ready, Willing, and Able: Developing a Support System to Promote Implementation of School‐Based Prevention Programs

“…That is, a best practice process offers a guide for how evidence-based practices should be implemented rather than what or which evidence-based practices should be implemented (Splett and Maras 2011). A second key ingredient to an effective prevention support system is the emphasis on best practice process over best practice program and striking the necessary balance between best practice process structures and relationship building activities undertaken by the PSS.…”

“…Borrowing from the ''best practices'' vernacular typically used to describe empirically-supported programs or interventions, ''best practice process'' refers to a systematic decision-making process and set of strategies that can be used to drive implementation of evidence-based practices. That is, a best practice process offers a guide for how evidence-based practices should be implemented rather than what or which evidence-based practices should be implemented (Splett and Maras 2011). Examples of best practice processes include Getting to Outcomes (Chinman et al 2004), Communities that Care (Hawkins and Catalano 1992), Prosper (Spoth et al 2004), and Partnerships for Success (Julian 2006).…”

Exploring the Use of the Interactive Systems Framework to Guide School Mental Health Services in Post‐disaster Contexts: Building Community Capacity for Trauma‐Focused Interventions

“…Schools and more specifically, school mental health (SMH) programs have emerged as a critical force for shoring the gap between youth mental health needs and intervention accessibility. EBPs are commonly defined by approaches firmly based on the most recent advances in psychological research and theory (see Frick 2007) and are characterized as the most effective and empirically supported practices available (Splett and Maras 2011). To ensure high quality of these services, schools have been encouraged to implement evidence based practices (EBPs).…”

“…To ensure high quality of these services, schools have been encouraged to implement evidence based practices (EBPs). EBPs are commonly defined by approaches firmly based on the most recent advances in psychological research and theory (see Frick 2007) and are characterized as the most effective and empirically supported practices available (Splett and Maras 2011). EBPs in schools have been mandated through national laws and policies (e.g., the 2004 reauthorization of the individuals with disabilities act; policy changes encouraged by the President's new freedom commission goals and recommendations 2003), state specific policies, and endorsed by professional organizations (e.g., the national association of school psychologists; see Ysseldyke et al 2006).…”

Effective School Teams: Benefits, Barriers, and Best Practices

“…Whenever possible, school team members should use existing data to make decisions (Splett & Maras, 2011 ). Data can be used to accomplish a number of essential team tasks such as identifying needs and resources, setting goals, and evaluating programs (Powers, 2001 ).…”