Mental Health Promotion and Early Identification

Positive mental health is achieved through the interaction of many factors, thus efforts to promote mental health require a multi-faceted approach.  At a basic level, mental health promotion and problem prevention involve activities that both support and remove barriers to positive social and emotional development. 

Understanding developmental assets and implementing systemic strategies for supporting the development of positive behavior and healthy social and emotional development are key to the promotion of mental health in our students. Click on a mental health promotion topic in the related links column to the left to learn more about how schools can promote the mental health of all students.

Mental health concerns impact about 1 in 5 children and youth in our country.  This number suggests that in a typical Chittenden County classroom between 3 and 5 youngsters may have, be developing, or be at risk for developing a mental health disorder. 

Early identification and resulting early intervention can prevent a host of problems, such as substance abuse, school failure or drop out, delinquency, and suicide, that may occur as a result of undiagnosed mental health issues. 

While an effective early identification system requires collaboration between families, primary care, schools, and community service providers, educators are in a unique role to assist with early detection of mental health concerns because of the amount of time children spend in their care.   In some cases, schools may hold the only hope for children’s mental health needs to be identified.  Because of this, it is imperative that school personnel have effective early identification tools and know the early warning signs of mental health risks and problems and how to link students with appropriate mental health resources.

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