SALT LAKE CITY — Bryant Middle School strives to be a place where students feel mentally safe at school.
When that happens, students care for one another, they engage.
“They’re not afraid of failure,” said Principal Larry Madden.
At Bryant Middle School, a partnership with the University of Utah’s College of Education is equipping teachers with the knowledge and skills to better address students’ mental health needs through the Well-Being Team initiative. Educators are often the first to notice when students are struggling and are on the front lines to intervene.
The Well-Being Team, comprised of U. graduate students studying counseling and school psychology, guide classroom and schoolwide efforts to improve and maintain a positive, safe and constructive school culture. Each therapist receives extensive training in mental health and consultation and the initiative helps cover the graduate students’ tuition.
Teacher utilize the Second Step program, which teaches them how to transform their schools into supportive, successful learning environments.
The Well-Being Team initiative also provides targeted interventions for students who are at risk for developing mental health concerns.
These include group therapy where small numbers of students meet regularly to talk, interact and discuss personal problems with each other and group therapists in supportive settings.
Therapists employ researched-based practices to help improve students’ mindfulness, decision-making, problem-solving, emotional regulation and communication.
The team also offers individual therapy for students who experience mental health issues. Therapy sessions are conducted at school.
“Increasingly, schools are becoming a place that we can provide comprehensive behavioral health, mental health services and educational supports. They should be that community resource for all things education. For me, social emotional learning and behavior, that’s just as important as reading so I think that’s great,” said Aaron Fischer, assistant professor of school psychology in the University of Utah’s College of Education, who is leading the initiative.
Youths with mental health concerns often do not receive the care they need due to limited education resources and a shortage of community mental health providers. Consequently, many Utah youths struggle with untreated or inadequately treated chronic anxiety and depression, which can result in tragic consequences.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides among youth ages 10 to 17 jumped 56% between 2007 and 2017.
At Bryant Middle School and the Salt Lake Center for Science Education, a public charter school in Utah also served by the Well-Being Team, schoolwide efforts are generally sufficient to address the mental health issues of 80% of students.
Those efforts seek to improve and maintain a positive, safe and constructive school culture based on school rules and expectations.
“If you can lower the temperature, because you have a positive environment where everyone cares for each other, student engagement increases. We know that,” Fischer said.
About 15% of students received additional supports through approaches such as group therapy and for about 5% of students with more acute mental health needs, individual therapy is warranted.
According to a university press release, 81% of students who received individualized counseling services from the Well-Being Team say their experiences were helpful or very helpful while 95% said they’d recommend it to a friend.