Optimizing School-Based Mental Health Systems: Interprofessional Collaboration and Organizational Wellness

• In Event: Competing Stressors: Examining Ways to Support K-12 Educators' Coping and Well-Being

Abstract

As mental health diagnoses among youth have significantly risen over the past two decades (Shim et al., 2022), schools have increasingly become crucial providers of mental health services and support (Weist et al., 2023). Teachers and school mental health professionals (SMHPs) serve on the frontlines in response to this heightened demand (Author et al., 2023), often at the expense of their own well-being (Author et al., 2023). Comprehensive school mental health (SMH) systems (e.g., MTSS, PBIS) have shown to mitigate stress and burnout among teachers and SMHPs (Anderson-Butcher & Ashton, 2004), using streamlined communication and coordinated services that emphasize a tiered approach to promotion, prevention and intervention (Bohnenkamp et al., 2023). Moreover, these systems serve as models for efficiently structuring services and support, leveraging the multidisciplinary expertise of school personnel (Stodden et al., 2023).

Interprofessional collaboration between teachers and SMHPs is foundational to comprehensive SMH systems (Hoover et al., 2019). These partnerships enhance resource coordination, leading to more efficient workflows (Overstreet & Mathews, 2011) that can alleviate stress and strengthen teacher and SMHP capacity. Collaborative practices facilitate information sharing, which strengthens the quality and effectiveness of mental health services across tiers (Ekornes, 2015), and establishes an integrated framework to student support. However, barriers to interprofessional collaborations exist when schools implement procedures, processes, and programs inconsistently, which thwart communication systems, team meetings, and referral protocols (Carnes, 2023). These disparities strain school personnel and compromise comprehensive student support within mental health structures across schools (Markle et al., 2014).

Grounded in ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), this study applies a mixed-methods approach (Headley & Plano-Clark, 2020) to examine how organizational factors influence interprofessional collaboration within a mid-Atlantic school district. Teachers (n=229) completed a questionnaire assessing perceptions of interprofessional collaboration (Mellin et al., 2010) and organizational systems. A nested subsample of teachers (n=13) and SMHPs (n=8) participated in semi-structured interviews to further elucidate organizational factors affecting collaboration and staff well-being.
Regression analyses showed significant organizational predictors of collaboration, including systems that engage teachers in mental health initiatives (β=0.540, p < .001), opportunities for professional learning (β=0.159, p=.008), and the presence of student mental health supports (β=0.195, p =.002). Qualitative data described how collaboration often manifests as a response to individualized student needs initiated by teachers and addressed by SMHPs, rather than through proactive, systematic approaches. The data also shared that without organizational supports, school personnel often navigate SMH systems independently, increasing stress and burden on individual school personnel rather than fostering an organizational approach to promoting staff and student wellness.

This study speaks to the importance of embedding interprofessional collaboration within supportive school-based frameworks as a systematic mechanism for organizational wellness. Integrating collaborative efforts across all tiers of mental health systems—ranging from universal support to targeted interventions—promotes a streamlined and comprehensive approach to student mental health (Hoover, 2023). This approach not only optimizes student outcomes but also alleviates the burden on teachers and SMHPs, who otherwise navigate these collaborations independently.

Authors

• Naomi Brown, George Mason University

• Elizabeth F. Levine-Brown, George Mason University

• Divya Varier, George Mason University