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Immediately following the fatal shooting of two students and two math teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia, the predictable debate over gun laws ensued. Less prominent were calls for another remedy for school gun violence that can have an immediate impact and, surprisingly, is not politically polarizing: mental health support. 

Colt Gray, the 14-year-old shooter had been “begging for help from everyone around him,” according to his aunt Annie Brown. It appears he was unable to find it.

Unfortunately, students like Gray are not alone. As the need for students’ mental health support has grown, mental health services in schools have declined sharply in recent years.  Just 48 percent of the nation’s public schools report that they can meet their students’ mental health needs, according to a recent EdWeek report. 

My guest for this episode is Dr. Hayley Watson, a clinical psychologist with deep and personal knowledge of the mental health challenges students face. In this, the first of two episodes with Dr. Watson, she describes some of the factors, including bullying, that contribute to poor mental health, the effects it can have on student well-being and academic performance, and the skills that students can learn to better cope with emotionally challenging situations. 

Dr. Watson also shares the harrowing story from her own childhood that led to trauma that she kept secret for many years. This story ultimately instilled a passion for helping young people facing similar experiences. 

The school shooting at Apalachee High School occurred just one day after I recorded this interview. Dr. Watson joined me again for a follow-up conversation just a few days later to talk, specifically, about what educators can do to prevent gun violence and how they can help students, families, and their colleagues cope with the fear and the trauma so many across the country are feeling in the wake of this unspeakable tragedy.