High school students collaborate to foster cross-campus mental health

Sources of Strength is a student-led mental health prevention program operating in about 35 Maine middle and high schools, coordinated by NAMI Maine and the state CDC. The program trains peer leaders to act as "connectors" who listen to struggling classmates and guide them to trusted adults before problems escalate. Students report that peer support makes it easier to discuss struggles with someone experiencing similar pressures.

InFocus provides high school students with a safe space to discuss mental health and the stigma and challenges that come along with it. The group, led by a mental health coordinator, also teaches students different ways they can improve their mental health.

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.

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.

A rural school is taking a “try everything” approach to helping students cope with mental health struggles, which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. From providing various forms of therapy, to school-based clinic services and mental health education, school staff are leaning into more of a public health approach to mental health care. The services are also seeing support from parents and guardians as nearly all who were asked for permission to treat their child agreed, compared to just 70% before the pandemic.

The Uvalde Together Resilience Center run by The Ecumenical Center provides mental health services to students, parents, and teachers impacted by school shootings and living with trauma. The center provides mental health resources, and professional help, as well as a sense of community for those affected to heal.

After Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, three music therapists from Fundación Música y País (Music and Country Foundation) traveled to over 20 shelters for children in foster care, providing music therapy. The foundation expanded this work during the pandemic and continues to advocate for more professional music therapy services in Puerto Rico. Evidence suggests music therapy helps participants relax, eases feelings of anxiety and even helps some youth come out of their shells and become more expressive.

Connecticut colleges are implementing QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training to teach students how to recognize suicide warning signs, ask direct questions like "Are you thinking about suicide?" and connect peers to professional help. Since 2022, over 1,000 people have been trained through Connecticut Children's Youth Suicide Prevention Center alone, with hundreds more trained at individual campuses like Southern Connecticut State University.

Social prescribing connects people with nonclinical activities, like art classes, nature walks and book clubs, to help them manage their mental health systems. Groups like Art Pharmacy, local universities and even the Cleveland Clinic, are prescribing these activities as a way to treat underlying issues like isolation and social stress.

The Bridge Peer Counseling Center provides 24/7, free, anonymous counseling to students, by students. The student counselors are trained in crisis response and volunteer over 30 hours each week to keep the center running, ensuring mental health support is always accessible on campus.