Bright spot: High schools that offer free mental health care

Facing a youth mental health crisis, some schools are using digital screening tools like BIMAS-2 and DESSA to identify students needing behavioral support. Districts in Green Bay and Alexandria report positive results, but widespread adoption meets resistance due to costs, parent concerns, and limited capacity for follow-up support.

Paper Tigers captures the pain, the danger, the beauty, and the hopes of struggling teens—and the teachers armed with new science and fresh approaches that are changing their lives for the better.

A middle school in New Hampshire has piloted a program that focuses on dividing the school into different wings and offering classes on "mental wellness, conflict resolution, and healthy ways to communicate" with the goal of better addressing the emotional wellbeing of students. The outcomes have been promising thus far, with students reporting improved effects on their mental health.

A Massachusetts pilot program provided philanthropic funding to bolster mental health support in schools, with money for extra clinicians, social workers, and bilingual staff to help better coordinate with families. School officials say the additional resources have helped reduce suspensions and emergency calls and gotten students who would otherwise not have access connected to care, but future funding for the services is uncertain.

In the early 2000s, Minnesota implemented a systematic approach to address inadequate mental health access for students by contracting with outside agencies to place licensed mental health providers directly in public schools. The state expanded funding from $4.7 million in 2008 to over $20 million today, growing from therapists in just five schools to now serving 82% of the state's public school districts.

“Chill Rooms,” offer students a place where they can go and talk to “chill therapists” when they’re feeling anxious, stressed or just need a minute to reset during the school day. Some schools have even partnered with other organizations to offer creative forms of mental health care, like equine therapy. In the Northgate School District, the graduation rate has increased by 11% since incorporating Chill Rooms.

Kansas’ Mental Health Intervention Team Program pairs school districts with community health centers who bring therapists to the schools to give students better access to the mental health support they need. Between July 2022 and June 2023, more than 6,000 students participated in the program, and nearly half of participants showed improved behavior after receiving services, while 39 percent had improved attendance and 41 percent improved academically.

Amid a shortage of school counselors and social workers, Michigan school districts are emphasizing social-emotional learning with a new curriculum that draws on cognitive behavioral therapy. Through short lessons about how to disrupt negative thoughts and emotions, small-group sessions with mental health professionals, and expanded teacher training around suicide risk management, schools are creating a "culture of empathy" that students say has improved their sense of self-efficacy.

Elementary schools in New Hampshire are implementing several programs to help build resiliency in their students and reduce the risk of suicide. One program includes introducing trauma care coordinators, while another encourages students to write letters about their concerns. Both tactics have had positive results, evident through fewer recorded cases of problematic behavioral issues.

High school students in Tilton, New Hampshire are learning how to be peer counselors as part of a program that aims to destigimatize the notion of seeking help for mental health concerns. The program, which has been implemented across the U.S. and in several other countries, has been shown to decrease a person's risk of suicide and is now regarded as "a mental-health best practice."