An evaluation of the impact of an integrated multidisciplinary therapeutic team on the mental health and well-being of young people in an educational setting

ABSTRACT

The mental health and well-being of young people and the accessibility of appropriate support is an increasingly salient matter in society. As mental health difficulties can disrupt education, providing pastoral care within education is mandatory within the UK, with established pathways for schools to seek specialist support from external agencies. This paper reviews services provided by a therapeutic team that is integrated within an Educational Trust, in the UK. The Trust comprises of a Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) secondary academy and an Alternative Provision (AP) academy (which includes Key Stage 3, Key stage 4 and a medical provision). A mixed methods design is used to evaluate the impact of the therapeutic team by considering; the accessibility of therapeutic support, targeted interventions for groups and individuals, and feedback from service users. Strengths and limitations of current methods used to measure the impact of the therapeutic team are discussed, including implications for subsequent academic years. The application of an integrated therapeutic team model to other educational settings is considered.

KEYWORDS:

• Mental health
• Education
• Integrated therapeutic team

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.