Guidelines toward more socially just mental health screening in schools.

Abstract

Mental health screening is a pivotal practice for promoting the social–emotional–behavioral (SEB) health and well-being of youth in schools. However, some aspects of traditional mental health screening practices may inadvertently perpetuate structural racism and unintentionally facilitate oppression and SEB disparities. We address this issue constructively by presenting an intentional approach to guide school psychologists and related professionals in implementing more socially just mental health screening in schools. Our guidelines are grounded within the four phases of the Participatory Culture-Specific Intervention Modeling (PCSIM) framework: system entry, culture-specific model development, culture-specific program development, and program continuation or extension. We propose that conceptualizing mental health screening within PCSIM methodology promotes more socially just practices by (a) displacing the implicit power of professionals, (b) giving transparent representation to local communities, and (c) employing methods that are recursive, culturally relevant, and intended to build capacity for sustained transformative change. Within each PCSIM phase, we recommend culturally responsive practices for professionals that foster equity in screening and SEB outcomes and discuss ways to resist practices that perpetuate oppression and disparities. We aim to convey a method for mental health screening that is not done to students and schools but rather done in partnership with and for the benefit of students and schools.

Adopting global perspectives in school psychology.

“…Participatory, culturally relevant intervention models support equitable approaches to schooling. Kiperman et al (2024) presented a conceptual guide to school-based mental health screening to reduce oppression and discrimination. Expanding educational equity by assessing differences and similarities in school climate across countries is another avenue for improving student outcomes, as discussed by Di Sano et al (2024).…”