Mental Health Blog
Featured Articles
Will to Wellness
All Articles
July 3, 2025
School-based mental health services had become increasingly popular in the decades prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the explosion of distress levels coupled with the influx of pandemic-related funding opportunities led to an even greater presence of mental health services in school settings. As schools and society at large continue to adapt to a new normal, it may be a good time to step back and reassess the scope and effectiveness of school-based programs.
June 10, 2025
School refusal behavior (also known as school avoidance), on the other hand, is largely an anxiety-based condition. It is not a psychiatric diagnosis per se, but rather it is a complex syndrome influenced by temperament, genetics, cognitive factors, plus family and school environments. It affects both boys and girls and can involve an unwillingness to attend school at all, and/or an inability to remain in school for the entire day.
May 13, 2025
Moods shift when May approaches, as rigid schedules filled with alarm clocks, bells and packed agendas are finally coming to an end. To ensure a safe, supportive and mentally healthy season, schools and families should work together to establish a summer safety plan for students that continues to provide much-needed structure and resources for families to promote a sense of wellbeing and stability for the student.
May 8, 2025
The mere mention of the words “middle school” can be enough to send chills up the spines of educators, parents, and students. The middle school years are widely recognized as a time when chaos can ensue because of the intersection of hormonal changes, increased academic demands, and a growing orientation toward peer relationships instead of family relationships. It is also the time when certain neurodevelopmental, mental health, or medical symptoms might manifest for the first time or worsen due to both brain and biological maturation.
April 30, 2025
In October 2021, when former U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy declared youth mental health the “crisis of our time,” something shifted in the hearts and minds of educators across the country. Educators and parents knew it was happening; they could see the mental health of their children and teens worsening in their homes and classrooms. They read stories in the news that teen anxiety, depression and suicide were rampant and exposure to social media and gun violence was making matters worse.
April 23, 2025
Shaping children into the student role and managing behavior in the classroom have always been important parts of a teacher’s job. Historically these tasks have been challenging enough considering that all students in the same grade level are not equally mature, some are struggling with neurodevelopmental and/or mental health issues, and each have been raised within specific family and cultural contexts that shape behavioral expectations.
mental health RESOURCES
Explore, Watch & Learn
Videos
Watch leaders in the field discuss the growing youth mental health crisis, plus hear optimistic stories of hope and healing from school districts nationwide.
Podcasts
MINDBEAT by Effective School Solutions is the definitive go-to podcast for all topics related to school-based mental health.
Case Studies
Explore real-life stories and the remarkable journeys of schools that have joined forces with Effective School Solutions.