Concerns about a mental health crisis among young people have produced broad initiatives to improve overall mental well-being or “prevent” mental illness. But what evidence do we have that these programs are producing desirable outcomes?

This week, Naomi and Ian are joined by Carolyn Gorman, the Paulson Policy Analyst at the Manhattan Institute. In a new report to be released on September 12, Carolyn examines whether school-based mental health initiatives are useful for combatting mental health issues among kids. She explains that, in many cases, the continued effort to broadly incorporate mental health treatment, awareness, and “prevention” programs into school systems do more harm than good. In light of the recent Georgia school shooting, the current conversation around mental health continues to be a pressing one. However, as Carolyn notes, policies targeted specifically toward individuals with severe mental health disorders are more likely to affect change than broad funding for mental health awareness and prevention.

Resources

-A Better Youth Mental Health Policy | Carolyn D. Gorman and Scott Dziengelski

-Senate Gun Bill Includes Solid Mental Health Policies—But Must Focus on Serious Mental

Illness | Carolyn D. Gorman

Show Notes

• 00:40 | What were the findings of your research on the
• impact of current mental health policy initiatives on the well-being and
• educational outcomes of kids?
• 02:29 | What are the downsides of the prevailing approaches
• to mental health policy?
• 05:38 | You divide mental health approaches into three
• tiers. Can you break those down?
• 08:58 | What is considered a mental illness and what is not?
• When are services at school appropriate, and where are the areas where schools
• are attempting to treat kids when they shouldn’t?
• 11:51 | What do you mean when you say the distinct goals of
• mental health and education are often in direct conflict?
• 14:28 | What is the right role for schools to play in the
• realm of children’s mental health?
• 17:16 | How do mental health professionals view the
• encroachment of mental health treatment into schools? How can we untangle this?
• 22:49 | How do social emotional learning programs
• exacerbating mental health issues?
• 28:11 | What are the final policy recommendations from your
• report, and is there any distinction in recommendations based on the age of the
• child?