Process Evaluation of Training Model for School-Based Mental Health

Abstract

There is a need to examine collaborative mental health practices in geographic regions serving high populations of under-represented minority and low socio-economic status youth in order to reduce the barriers in access to care and support. In response, a counselor education program at a large land-grant university in the Southwestern United States worked in collaboration with a local school district to create a school-based mental health program. The program provides no-cost and timely mental health counseling services to students and their families using a practicum training model. This article presents process evaluation data that examine program level functioning during the implementation stage of the training model. Implications for program improvements in the next phase of implementation are discussed as well as implications of this type of service delivery model within the context of counselor education and social justice.

Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary findings of a school‐based intervention for recently arrived immigrant middle‐school students

“…In addition, these school districts have also encountered a shortage of bilingual mental health counselors with appropriate training to assist immigrant students (Chen et al, 2010). From a social justice perspective, German and Falco (2019) identified the need for schools to examine collaborative mental health practices in geographic regions that serve underrepresented minorities and lower socioeconomic status youth to develop ways to reduce the disadvantages experienced in access to care and support. Therefore, bringing the needed services into the school setting is critical for psychology professionals to reduce disparity and treatment barriers among marginalized populations (Yakushko & Morgan Consoli, 2014).…”