Mental Health

One in five youth have a mental health condition, with half of mental health conditions developing by age 14. Yet, less than half of youth with mental health conditions received any kind of treatment in the past year. Undiagnosed, untreated, and inadequately treated mental illnesses significantly interfere with a student’s ability to learn, to grow, and to develop.

BRIEF SUMMARY

One in five youth have a mental health condition, with half of mental health conditions developing by age 14. Yet, less than half of youth with mental health conditions received any kind of treatment in the past year. Undiagnosed, untreated, and inadequately treated mental illnesses significantly interfere with a student’s ability to learn, to grow, and to develop. Since children spend much of their productive time in educational settings, schools provide a unique opportunity to identify and treat mental health conditions by serving students where they already are. (NAMI)

KEY POINTS

  • Up to one in five kids living in the U.S. shows signs or symptoms of a mental health disorder in a given year.
  • Most children — nearly 80 percent — who need mental health services won’t get them.
  • With large caseloads, school counselors are usually not able to provide enough resources to all students who suffer from a mental illness.
  • Experts say that a comprehensive approach, families and school professionals working together, is the best approach to identifying and dealing with mental health issues in schools.
  • Whether treated or not, children with mental health issues go to school.
  • The problems that students with mental health issues face can tie into major problems found in schools: chronic absence, low achievement, disruptive behavior and dropping out.

RESOURCES

  • (Added 4/9/25, IDOE Update): Free Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) Training: IDOE and Indiana University are partnering up to offer free YMHFA. Participants will come away with a better understanding of how to work with a family member, student, co-worker or friend who may be in a crisis; as well as, assist them appropriately.  Participants will learn how often we may be impacted by mental health and how untreated mental health can lead to anxiety, depression, and, in some cases, thoughts of suicide. This is normally a training that costs more than $500 a participant and it is being offered to you for free. The course offers seven hours of professional growth plan (PGP) points as the pre-training is estimated to take two hours and the training session is five hours. YMHFA is an evidence-based training and meets the suicide prevention training requirements for education licensure. Register here. Contact IDOE’s Office of Student, School, and Family Engagement with any questions.
  • (Added 2/25/25, IDOE Update):  NEW FROM THE INDIANA DIVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTION (DMHA) AND INDIANA UNIVERSITY: Connect to Care (C2C) in Schools Study. DMHA and Indiana University are conducting the C2C in Schools study to identify effective strategies for improving youth mental health and preventing suicide – without burdening school staff. This survey was developed over four years with extensive input from educators and will provide schools with a report summarizing findings, an opportunity for an optional meeting to review findings, and recommendations to improve mental health and ensure suicide prevention.  C2C is seeking superintendents and high school principals to allow staff to participate in a confidential, brief survey, and participating staff will receive a $25 Amazon gift card. Email C2Cstudy@iu.edu with your school district and high school name to communicate your interest. Preview the survey here.
  • (Added 2/5/25), IDOE Update):  NEW FROM IU SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Echo for Educators:  Join fellow educators and mental health providers to enhance K-12 mental health support. These no-cost sessions will occur virtually from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. ET every other Wednesday from Wednesday, February 5, through Wednesday, April 16. Echo for Educators will provide mental health trainings for educators, general mental health literacy, guidance on identifying mental health issues, and more. See this flyer for a list of included topics and registration details.
  • (Added 1/20/25, IDOE Update): THE PARAMOUNT HEALTH DATA PROJECT: All IN Initiative Survey:  Indiana schools are facing a critical need for increased mental health support. The All IN for Mental Health In Schools Initiative aims to address this challenge by expanding student resource access and empowering educators. To guide our efforts, we invite you to participate in a brief survey. Your insights, as a leader in education, are invaluable in shaping positive change for Indiana’s students and educators. As a thank you for your time, participants will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card. Additionally, focus group participants will receive a $25 Starbucks gift card. Click here to take the survey.
  • (Added 11/12/24, IDOE Update):  Educator Mental Health and Wellness Mini-Grants – The Project AWARE State Team is excited to announce the availability of Educator Mental Health and Wellness Mini-Grants. The purpose of these competitive mini-grants is to enhance educator mental health/wellness within LEAs (local educational agencies) in partnership with mental health providers, community mental health centers, community organizations OR school mental health staff members (counselors, social workers, psychologists). The Division of Mental Health and Addiction intends to award 10 mini-grants for funding of up to $5,000 each. A maximum of one proposal may be submitted per LEA. Please click this link to apply before Friday, December 6.
  • (Added 11/12/24, IDOE Update):  Peer Mentoring Program Opportunity-DMHA and One in Five – Through a partnership with the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction, One in Five is thrilled to extend an invitation to apply for a partnership to pilot a Peer Mentoring Program in your school or school district. At One in Five, our mission is to revolutionize how we support youth living with mental health challenges by championing new models that prioritize their lived experiences and inner strengths. This grant allows any Indiana district to apply for support to pilot a youth-created, youth-driven peer mentoring program during the 2025-2026 school year. One in Five provides training and curriculum, staff support and coaching, and participant stipends. The grant opportunity webpage, including an informational webinar recording, information slides, and link to the application can be found here. Contact nicole@oneinfive.org with any questions.
  • (Added 7/8/24 IDOE Update): Free Sources of Strength (SoS) Curriculum for Kindergarten Through Sixth Grade :  Through funding provided by the Mental Health Awareness Training grant, IDOE has partnered with SoS to provide 20 kindergarten through sixth grade schools with the SoS curriculum. Each school that applies for the curriculum must have two staff members available for the virtual curriculum coach training on Thursday, September 12, and Friday, September 13, from 9:45 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. ET. Each coach must attend both days. Schools can complete the application for the curriculum here. Upon review of the completed application, both staff members will be sent a link to register for the curriculum training. Once both coaches are registered for the training, the curriculum will be sent to the school. Please allow three to five days for shipping. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, August 23, and the training registration deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 31. Contact Jason Murrey with any questions.
  • (Added 7/1/24): The Playbook, funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc., was developed to understand where opportunities exist to strengthen Indiana’s pipeline to practice for selected mental and behavioral health professionals.
  • (Added 4/23/24 Nick Abel, Butler):  Butler is still accepting applications for our Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) Certificate program for school counselors interested LMHC-A licensure in Indiana.  Now in its 11th year, the program has enrolled over 300 school counselors who needed a few courses to become license eligible – and we’d like to do the same for you!  Please see the information below or on our website and reach out to our program coordinator with questions!
    • Fall courses begin August 28 and end December 13, 2024
    • Typical 12-credit plan of study can be completed in two semesters.  Imagine applying for your LMHC-A next May!
    • Courses are fully online and asynchronous, but in the Butler Way: personalized and student-centered with plenty of optional opportunities to engage live with instructors and classmates
    • Instructors are experienced mental health professionals who emphasize practical knowledge and skills needed in MHC
    • Students needing fewer (or different) courses are more than welcome to contact us for more information!

SHARED WISDOM

  • (Added 10/2/23): Playbook Project Background: The Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research, with generous support from Lilly Endowment Inc, is coordinating the development of a Playbook with “plays” (strategies) focused on identifying opportunities for strengthening Indiana’s mental and behavioral health workforce. The project focuses on the post-secondary training pipeline to full licensure for professionals whose practice is dedicated to mental and behavioral health. Bookmark the Playbook Project web-page and check back monthly for updates.
  • (An Update from IDOE 5/5/23): May is Mental Health Awareness Month – May is Mental Health Awareness Month. During Mental Health Awareness Month, you can show your support for Mental Health by spreading the word in your school and community. FSSA’s Department of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA) and Project AWARE have created a Youth Mental Health Resources document to help promote student well-being and mental health. Contact DMHA with any questions.
  • (CounselorTalk, March 2023): Jennifer Dodson shares a compilation of Mental Health resources shared with her by school counselors in Indiana.  You can find that HERE

  • Question: I like to know the process of setting up therapeutic services in my school.

    • Responses:
    • I contacted the Bowen Center. We have one about 20 minutes from our school. They are very helpful and willing to come to the school to help.
    • We have connected with a couple of mental health providers in our area. One services primarily our students with medicaid — providing school based therapy and school based case management.
      We also found there was a need for our students with private insurance and lack of providers. The second provider was contacted to service our students with private insurance. They only provide school based therapy services.  Each provider gave us referral forms to use. I meet with the child’s parents and discuss counseling services outside of the school. Parents are usually looking for a provider but do not know where to begin. I discuss providers in the community and the ones who come to school. Parents decide if they want their child to have therapy services and how they want them to receive them. I make a referral after I have obtained their permission. Once I refer, the mental health center arranges the intake, sets up appointments and the billing process.
      Parents sign releases allowing the provider to communicate with the school.
    • Our process is nearly identical to (the above).  The only difference is that parents have us set up the initial intake appt.  Also the intake appt takes place at school.
  • Indiana has been selected as 1 of 9 states to be a part of the National Coalition for the State Advancement of School Mental Health, through Center for School Mental Health (CSMH). CSMH will provide technical assistance to Indiana schools with use of the SHAPE System, a school performance and mental health assessment system. A benefit of this assessment system is that it will help to expand the capacity for schools and districts to meet the social, emotional, and mental health needs of their students and staff. For more information, please contact Jeff Wittman or Kristan Sievers-Coffer.

CONTENT FEEDBACK

If you have suggestions, feedback, or resources, please email counselor1stop@inspiresuccess.org and let us know.