Implementation science has grown considerably in school mental health over the past decade, driven by the persistent gaps between knowledge about "what works" to promote student well-being and what is typically delivered in schools. In 2014, Owens and colleagues outlined an implementation research agenda for the field of school mental…

Public schools are a major provider of mental health services for children in the US. Mental and behavioral health services range from universal programming to individualized clinical supports to address student needs. These services in schools are delivered by various professionals including non-teaching and teaching school personnel,…

The purpose of this special series is to highlight how the measurement of integrity, both treatment integrity and integrity for implementation strategies, can support intervention development, evaluation, and implementation research. The seven papers and one commentary in this special series illustrate how diverse measurement approaches are used…

The rising prevalence of mental health challenges among youth has created a pressing need for effective, feasible, equitable, and contextually relevant interventions. Educators and school mental health professionals face critical challenges in helping students overcome such barriers to school success. This makes the need for school-based…

Anxiety is the most common mental health problem that occurs with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and due to creating a more inclusive learning environment, children with ASD are placed in general education classrooms. Thus, addressing anxiety problems for children with ASD in school settings become critically important. This systematic review and…

School social workers are integral to the school mental health workforce and the leading social service providers in educational settings. In recent decades, school social work practice has been largely influenced by the multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) approach, ecological systems views, and the promotion of evidence-based practice.…

Implementing targeted (Tier 2) interventions for youth at risk of developing behavioral health concerns is critical for a comprehensive approach to school mental health. Given challenges in school-based implementation of targeted interventions, identifying factors associated with their implementation may contribute to a better understanding of…

The purpose of this paper is to determine how youth with anxiety recruited for a school-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) compare demographically and clinically to clinically referred youth with anxiety who participated in an RCT conducted in community mental health clinics. Youth ("N" = 99) with anxiety aged 12-15 years were: (a)…

The current youth mental health crisis has highlighted a substantial unmet need for effective, accessible, culturally sensitive mental health services and interventions. Schools have the potential to address this gap through the provision of evidence-based mental health interventions and services that meet the needs of their diverse student…

Exposure to trauma at a younger age has been associated with an increased likelihood of developing PTSD. School-based interventions have been utilized to address traumatic stress and PTSD symptoms in children. However, to date, no meta-analyses have been performed to evaluate the strength of intervention impacts on PTS symptoms in school-aged…

Traumatic events are becoming more prevalent in youth, especially considering the increase in disaster exposure, impacting the wellbeing and mental health of youth. Youth in rural communities are more adversely impacted due to a lack of access to available support and services. Interventions geared toward treating traumatic stress are needed for…

Mental health problems are increasing among children and adolescents. School-based mindfulness interventions are gaining popularity worldwide and may be a way to decrease depression and anxiety symptoms in students. However, before introducing large-scale mindfulness interventions in school settings, more research is needed on feasible, easily…

This study used conjoint analysis, trade-off methodology employed by marketing researchers and health economists, to examine preferences of parents for school- and community-based interventions for childhood ADHD. Participants were 29 mothers (86.2% Caucasian) of boys aged 5-13 years with or at risk of ADHD. Mothers completed a conjoint survey…

Despite the prevalence and negative consequences of depressive disorders among youth, as well as the need for schools to adopt and implement a continuum of mental health services to address depressive disorders, school mental health providers receive very limited guidance in the selection and application of appropriate evidence-based depression…

Learning collaboratives (LCs) have often been used to improve somatic health care quality in hospitals and other medical settings, and to some extent to improve social services and behavioral health care. This initiative is the first demonstration of a national, systematic LC to advance comprehensive school mental health system quality among…