Stretching the Boundaries: Schools as Therapeutic Agents in Mental Health. Is it a Realistic Proposition?

Abstract

It seems self-evident to suggest that our schools should play a part in the identification and the response to school-age pupils with mental health problems/mental illness. Schools have a number of unique advantages as both preventative and curative agents in the mental health discourse. The notion of schools playing an extended role in the health, mental health and safety of children, enshrined in the UK Children Act, 2004, has resulted in further demands on educational professionals to meet a broader care agenda. The school as a site for mental health work appears to be an enlightened rather than radical proposition, yet often there are cultural and systemic barriers to implementation. This article aims to highlight some of the main obstacles to the promotion of therapeutic interventions in schools and proposes that there is a considerable gap between the rhetoric of joint-agency cooperation and the reality of applying mental health strategies in an educational setting. A number of recent UK government programmes have reflected a shift in thinking towards adopting more therapeutic interventions and this is particularly evident in the primary school strategies to improve behaviour and attendance. In tandem, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services have, through training initiatives and the use of primary mental health workers, actively promoted mental health issues in schools. Yet, despite these initiatives, it is arguable that many schools remain ill-equipped to recognize and respond to mental health problems in school-age children. I believe that schools have a pivotal role to play, but there must be fundamental changes before effective change can take place.