Mental health promotion in the upper level of comprehensive school from the viewpoint of school personnel and mental health workers

Abstract

Prevalence of mental health problems among adolescents varies from 10 to 30%. Therefore, mental health promotion in school has risen as a very important developing area in public health services. The need is international. Despite the large number of projects and recommendations on the promotion of schoolchildren's mental health, the literature does not offer a comprehensive theoretical description of what mental health work with people of this particular age really is as a whole. The theory can be constructed by combining and comparing the viewpoints of the different parties--the employees, the schoolchildren and their families--as well as previous knowledge of the subject. The purpose of this research was to produce a description of the concepts used by employees when addressing the subject of promoting mental health in the upper level of comprehensive schools (grades 7-9). The description has been produced by analysing interviews with nine people who work with schoolchildren, as well as workgroup memos related to the development work. The respondents work in the fields of primary healthcare, specialised healthcare, the education authority and social services. The analysis was conducted by applying the grounded theory method. The research target was a Finnish upper-level comprehensive school with 446 pupils. Four key concepts were found: The concept of a school environment comprises the physical and social conditions in the school, the curricula and other instructions. Human resources comprise representatives of various organisations, their competencies and time-consumption opportunities. The schoolchildren and their families and also their friends are key operators and partners. The concept of work to promote mental health is related to enhancing the school's conditions, recognising problems and offering help, co-operation and joint agreement. The produced description clarifies the overall picture of mental health work in schools and facilitates the finding of key development areas.

The role of mental health nurses in supporting young people’s mental health: a review of the literature

“…This theme examines professionals working in partnership with parents and the challenges placed upon professional boundaries when young people do not want inclusion of their parents. Puolakka et al (2011) reminded us that young people should not be seen in isolation from parental involvement. He argued that families are central to young people's emotional wellbeing.…”

“…Quality provision is pivotal to supporting young people's emotional health and wellbeing. Oliver et al (2008) and Puolakka et al (2011) see the need to have a health professional who has a physical presence within school. Communication between school and health professionals is an issue as the absence of specialist mental health professionals, such as CAMHS, is significant (Pryjmachuk et al, 2011;Bartlett, 2015).…”

The impact of an educational mental health intervention on adolescents' perceptions of mental illness

“…Schools play a very important role in promoting mental health (Johansson & Ehnfors 2006). Puolakka et al (2011), support that mental health promotion in schools has risen as a very important developing area in public health service. Considering all this, adolescents are an ideal target group for addressing a study concerning mental illness, which will increase their awareness about mental illness and provide them information, and furthermore potentially promote mental health in the community.…”

“…Furthermore, modifying public perceptions about mental illness could promote policy changes favourable to psychiatry (Austin & Husted 1998). Because the promotion of mental health is a more extensive concept than preventing mental health problems (Puolakka et al 2011), it is crucial to promote an understanding of the nature of mental health and mental illness as a means of changing policies and practices in education, employment, law and healthcare, which are critical to mental health (Herrman 2001).…”

Cluster‐randomised controlled trial of an occupational therapy intervention for children aged 11–13 years, designed to increase participation to prevent symptoms of mental illness

“…There is a clear need to prioritise children's mental health and wellbeing to reduce the long‐term burden on health care services internationally (Friedberg, Crosby, & Friedberg, ; Polanczyk et al., ). To meet the needs of children clinically impaired by mental health conditions, including those who go undiagnosed and untreated, health services would need to support up to 30% of all children (Polanczyk et al., ; Puolakka, Kiikkala, Haapasalo‐Pesu, & Paavilainen, ; Rijlaarsdam et al., ). Secondary mental health services are only funded to support the most severe presentations, the top 3% (Mental Health Commission, ), so an alternative is to offer preventative interventions.…”