Improving School Relationships through Classroom Conversations about Mental Health
First Presenter's Institution
University of South Carolina
First Presenter's Brief Biography
Tucker Chandler has been working as a Research Specialist on the School Behavioral Health Team (Psychology Department) at the University of South Carolina since August 2021. Her role is to provide implementation support on two grant-funded awards, the PCORI-funded Partnering for Student Wellness (PSW) project and the Early Supports for Student Success (ESSS) project funded by the Institute of Education Sciences. Her main roles on these projects include managing the Stakeholder Advisory Board, coordinating data collection, supporting data management efforts, and assisting in dissemination processes. Tucker received her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) degree from Winthrop University in 2018 before working for a non-profit campus ministry from 2018-2020 with the primary duties of fundraising and managing a student leadership team. Immediately following this, Tucker attended the University of Georgia where she worked as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Health and Aging Lab before receiving her Master of Social Work (MSW) degree and a certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership in May 2021.
Second Presenter's Institution
University of South Carolina
Second Presenter’s Email Address
chehoski@sc.edu
Second Presenter's Brief Biography
Brooke Chehoski is currently the lead research manager on the School Behavioral Health Team in the Psychology Dept at the University of South Carolina, a position she has held since 2019. In this role, she has managed two multi-site randomized controlled trials including a comparative-effectiveness trial currently funded by PCORI. Brooke spent most of her professional career as a non-profit project manager. After completing her MSW in 2015, she led a collegiate substance use intervention program and was a forensic interviewer at a child advocacy center. She has been a volunteer Guardian ad Litem since 2017 and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Family Promise of the Midlands.
Third Presenter's Institution
University of South Carolina
Third Presenter’s Email Address
kfigas@email.sc.edu
Third Presenter's Brief Biography
Kris Figas is a doctoral student in the Clinical-Community Psychology program at the University of South Carolina. She received her BA in Psychology from Miami University and EdS in School Psychology from the University of Cincinnati. Kris is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) who has worked in diverse public and private school settings spanning preschool through high school. She has experience facilitating MTSS implementation and coaching teams in data-based decision making at the individual through systems level, delivering social-emotional intervention across tiers, and coordinating family, school, and community resources in under-resourced settings. Currently working in a research capacity, Kris’s work centers on improving the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based school behavioral health practices, primarily at the systems level.
Fourth Presenter's Institution
University of South Carolina
Fourth Presenter’s Email Address
mniles@email.sc.edu
Fourth Presenter's Brief Biography
Madison Niles has been a Research Specialist on the School Behavioral Health Team in the Psychology Department at the University of South Carolina since August 2022. Madison has assisted with many ongoing projects in support of other team members, primarily assisting with the Partnering for Student Wellness Project (PSW). Madison also manages the team of undergraduates in the lab, connecting the students with projects and overseeing their efforts. Madison graduated in 2022 from the University of South Caroliina with a Bachelor’s in Experimental Psychology (BA), where she was involved with the School Behavioral Health Team and the Behavioral Medicine Research Group.
Document Type
Event
Primary Strand
Mental Health
Relevance to Primary Strand
This presentation connects to the mental health strand through its emphasis on outcomes associated with a teacher-implemented universal school mental health literacy program (Tier 1). In particular, the presentation addresses the teachers’ role in supporting student behavioral and mental health, as teachers implemented the mental health literacy program and provided qualitative feedback on the observed impact within classrooms and the broader school community.
Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics
Climate and Culture
Brief Program Description
This presentation will expand understanding of how school-based mental health literacy programs can not only improve mental health but also promote positive relationships and school functioning. Attendees will learn about how mental health literacy programs encourage empathy, openness, and social connections amongst children and adults, which are critical to positive development and facilitating recovery during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Summary
Many changes and interruptions to sources of social support occurred at K-12 schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Issues such as increasing social isolation and related mental health concerns (Loades et al., 2020) expose the critical and ever-growing need for increased mental health supports in K-12 schools. Universal supports such as mental health literacy programs, which aim to increase knowledge of mental health and mental disorders, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking behavior (Kutcher et al., 2016), are a promising approach to addressing mental health needs and promoting positive psychosocial development and recovery in the context of COVID-19.
This presentation will review the results of a qualitative study examining the impact of a classroom-based mental health literacy curriculum on school relationships. Qualitative data were collected via focus groups consisting of educators who delivered the mental health literacy curriculum in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of 13 educators, primarily middle school teachers with a few school counselors, in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic United States. Qualitative data were analyzed via inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006; Kaiger & Varpio, 2020) following Saldana’s (2021) grounded theory approach. After verifying and de-identifying the transcripts, four coders independently coded the transcripts to generate initial codes. Then, initial codes were reviewed for agreement and differences were resolved before the codes were collapsed into themes and subthemes following the same process.
The most prominent theme to emerge was enhanced empathy across all types of relationships. The mental health literacy program built understanding amongst students, between students and teachers, and between teachers and clinicians. Students gained language to talk about mental health and opened up more with peers. Teachers gained insight into stressors students face and developed deeper connections with students that extended beyond classroom content. Teachers and clinicians strengthened their relationships, better understood one another’s roles, and advocated for each other. Findings will be discussed in terms of practical applications. Presenters will facilitate a conversation with audience members surrounding how mental health literacy or similar programs can be implemented in their settings.
Evidence
Describe evidence that demonstrates the field-tested effectiveness of the proposed solution or approach. Explain how the proposal is based on known research and promising practices. Do not include any self-identifying information.
School-based mental health literacy programs have been demonstrated to improve adolescents’ knowledge of mental health and attitudes toward mental illness (Kutcher et al., 2015; McIucki et al., 2014). Similarly, mental health literacy programs have been linked to improvements in teachers’ knowledge and attitudes (Kutcher et al., 2013), as well as helping behavior and confidence addressing mental health concerns of their students (Yamaguchi et al., 2018). Mental health literacy, in turn, is highly predictive of adolescents’ mental well-being (Bjornsen et al., 2019). However, there is still relatively little research evaluating the effectiveness of school-based mental health literacy programs, particularly for outcomes beyond knowledge and attitudes. By facilitating communication and building empathy about mental health and well-being, mental health literacy programs may foster the development of positive relationships within schools. This proposal outlines the results of a qualitative study examining the impact of classroom-level mental health literacy program implementation on relationships, including student-student, student-teacher, and teacher-staff relationships.
Learning Objective 1
Attendees will be able to describe how classroom conversations about mental health promote empathy and connectedness amongst students and staff.
Learning Objective 2
Attendees will be able to articulate how universal school-based mental health programming relates to positive changes in adult working relationships and school functioning.
Learning Objective 3
Attendees will be able to list at least two ways the findings can be applied in their classroom or school context, within or beyond the confines of a formal mental health literacy program.
Recommended Citation
Chandler, Tucker; Chehoski, Brooke; Figas, Kristen; and Niles, Madison, "Improving School Relationships through Classroom Conversations about Mental Health" (2023). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 70.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2023/2023/70
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Improving School Relationships through Classroom Conversations about Mental Health
Many changes and interruptions to sources of social support occurred at K-12 schools as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Issues such as increasing social isolation and related mental health concerns (Loades et al., 2020) expose the critical and ever-growing need for increased mental health supports in K-12 schools. Universal supports such as mental health literacy programs, which aim to increase knowledge of mental health and mental disorders, reduce stigma, and encourage help-seeking behavior (Kutcher et al., 2016), are a promising approach to addressing mental health needs and promoting positive psychosocial development and recovery in the context of COVID-19.
This presentation will review the results of a qualitative study examining the impact of a classroom-based mental health literacy curriculum on school relationships. Qualitative data were collected via focus groups consisting of educators who delivered the mental health literacy curriculum in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of 13 educators, primarily middle school teachers with a few school counselors, in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic United States. Qualitative data were analyzed via inductive thematic analysis (Braun & Clark, 2006; Kaiger & Varpio, 2020) following Saldana’s (2021) grounded theory approach. After verifying and de-identifying the transcripts, four coders independently coded the transcripts to generate initial codes. Then, initial codes were reviewed for agreement and differences were resolved before the codes were collapsed into themes and subthemes following the same process.
The most prominent theme to emerge was enhanced empathy across all types of relationships. The mental health literacy program built understanding amongst students, between students and teachers, and between teachers and clinicians. Students gained language to talk about mental health and opened up more with peers. Teachers gained insight into stressors students face and developed deeper connections with students that extended beyond classroom content. Teachers and clinicians strengthened their relationships, better understood one another’s roles, and advocated for each other. Findings will be discussed in terms of practical applications. Presenters will facilitate a conversation with audience members surrounding how mental health literacy or similar programs can be implemented in their settings.
