Supporting students’ mental health in schools: what do teachers want and need?

ABSTRACT

There is a growing expectation in the UK for teachers to have an understanding of common mental health problems in young people. This study aims to identify the training needs of secondary school teachers to enable them to adequately support and educate their students around mental health. Nine focus groups, each with between four to eight participants, were conducted with secondary school teachers in the UK. Discussions were centred on the needs and wants of teachers in terms of mental health training, provision and advice. Participants were also shown three online resources as an example of existing training. Thematic analysis was used to structure the data. Participants wanted training on how to identify and provide early support for students who are struggling, without taking on the perceived role of a therapist. Participants also emphasised the strong need for practical, interactive and expert-led training that provides resources that can be adapted to individual settings. Implications and recommendations are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Teachers
• school
• training
• focus groups (FG); qualitative research methods

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the teachers who took part in this research for their help. The research materials can be accessed by contacting the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The PhD of the lead researcher (LS) is funded by The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, a charity aiming to improve mental health in young people. The Trust had no involvement in the research process, from study design to submission. PW is funded through a NIHR-funded postdoctoral fellowship [PDF-2016-09-092].

Notes on contributors

Lucas Shelemy

Lucas Shelemy is a PhD Researcher in Psychology at the University of Reading. His main research interest is mental health training, support and education in schools.

Kate Harvey

Kate Harvey, PhD, is Associate Professor of Health Psychology in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading, UK.  Her primary research interest is in understanding children and family eating, and she has extensive expertise in qualitative methodologies.

Polly Waite

Polly Waite is Associate Professor in the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading, UK where she is a NIHR Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Her specific research interest is in anxiety disorders in adolescence. In her additional roles as Director of the Anxiety and Depression in Young People (AnDY) Clinic and a Clinical Psychologist, her focus is on improving our understanding of anxiety disorders in teenagers in order to guide our development of more effective psychological treatments.