Mental health programs led to "increased emotional difficulties" for students in England, reports Freddie Whittaker for Schools Week. Four out of five interventions tried in the government-funded Education for Wellbeing initiative led to “adverse” or “negative” effects on some pupils.
Youth Aware Mental Health (YAM), developed in Sweden and the U.S. used "role play designed to improve pupils’ understanding of mental health and reduce suicide rates.” According to an evaluation report, YAM reduced emotional problems in the short term, but led to increased problems in the long-term follow-up.
Another program, known as The Guide," focused on training teachers to teach students about common mental disorders. In the short term, it led to some improvements, but in the follow-up students showed "increased emotional difficulties and decreased life satisfaction."
It's possible that increasing awareness of mental health problems led to increased reporting.
A mindfulness and relaxation program seemed to help some students but increase problems for others.
The analysis recommended only one program, Strategies for Safety & Wellbeing, which had a “statistically significant impact on children and young people’s intended help-seeking in primary schools.” However, it had no effect for secondary students.
It's difficult to provide high-quality mental health care in schools, and it's often done poorly. But there seems to be growing evidence that these programs don't work, and may cause harm, as I blogged last year. While some children need professional help -- by professionals, not teachers -- "universal" programs that try to serve all students don't improve mental health or academic outcomes, concludes an analysis of the research by Carolyn D. Gorman, a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute. They waste resources and class time.