Depression and Rural School Mental Health: Best Practices

Abstract

With depression affecting approximately one out of ten young people, it is likely that many children and adolescents will experience this disorder. However, a lack of mental health practitioners in rural areas—as well as a number of other barriers to receiving care—means that rural youth who experience depression in these regions might not receive the mental health care they require. Incorporating mental health services into the school system is an innovative way of ensuring that children and adolescents experiencing mental health difficulties such as depression receive the care they need. This chapter outlines the current state of the treatment of depression in youth in rural areas and ways in which this treatment can be incorporated into schools. Additionally, this chapter reviews the core components of evidence-based treatment of depression, with an emphasis on pragmatic modifications and considerations when this treatment is implemented in a rural school-based context. Exemplar school mental health programs and a case vignette are provided and discussed.