The Importance of Mental Health Care in K-12

Mental health is an individual's overall well-being involving emotional, psychological, and social aspects. Individual mental health affects the way one thinks, feels, and acts. Mental health can fluctuate over time due to internal and external factors. If faced with several, it can result in poor mental health, impacting how one responds to stressful events, grades, and making healthy choices. Within the last ten years, all indicators of poor mental health have increased steadily amongst our adolescent population. From 2011 to 2021, the percentage of students that experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness, considered suicide, planned to commit suicide, and attempted suicide all increased. The increase in the percentage of students that experienced steady sadness or hopelessness was the starkest of them all: there was a 21 percent increase for females and an 8 percent increase for males. Though these statistics include the entire K-12 population, some groups were found to be more heavily affected by poor mental health than others. The above indicators were more common in LGBTQIA+, female, and minority communities. 

The rising rates of poor mental health in adolescents have also been tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and the struggle for racial justice in minority communities. In 2020, suicide became the second leading cause of death among 10 to 14-year-olds and the third for 15 to 24-year-olds. As previously stated, mental health affects how one thinks, feels, and acts. Poor mental health can lead to increased drug use and violence as a way to cope with internal and external factors. With our youth spending most of their day in the classroom, our education system must continue providing mental health care to our students. 

Both my middle and high schools had staff trained to assist students in times of need. In middle school, each grade had one assigned counselor we would report to when we needed to talk about things happening. Counselors and social workers were assigned in high school based on the student's last name. Both sets of staff were equipt to help students with their problems, but the social workers spoke to the mental health facilities in the area and student families when problems became more severe. I never experienced anything throughout my schooling that required me to talk to my counselor or social worker. However, I had someone close to me rely on their social worker for three of their four years of high school. Had it not been for the mental health support we were afforded in our education, I am not sure they would have ever reached out for the help they needed. 

Teachers can not be expected to handle all of their students' problems; frankly, they are not equipped to do so. With mental health rates on a steady incline, it is crucial to continue to provide our students with mental health care in schools. Adolescents spend over half of the year in school, and if their mental health is not doing well, we can not expect them to perform at their highest level in class.

A school counselor meeting with a student.

Aside from learning, student well-being should be the school's top priority. After the outbreak of COVID-19, many school counseling services were halted, pushing the weight onto parents and guardians, all while students' mental health continued to decline. 

To help our students grow, we must provide them with resources, including mental health services. Counselors and social workers can help students feel comfortable talking about what they are going through, but implementing support groups can also curate bonds between students and students with adults. The first step to a successful student is providing them with the means to care for themselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially.