Perspectives on Mental Health: Concerns in the School System
We are delighted to publish the following presentation, delivered by Mr. Hixwell Douglas at the Mental Health Forum held in Jamaica on May 27 2015. Mr. Douglas is the Head of Special Education in the Jamaican Ministry of Education.
At the Mental Health Forum, several key issues surrounding the treatment of mental health in the school system were highlighted and discussed. If you are interested in the challenges and complexities of tackling mental health in schools and the education system as a whole, we encourage you to attend the Jamaica Inclusive Education Conference and Accessibiltiy Expo in October 2015, where these topics will be discussed in depth.
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Mental health is not a destination but a process. It's about how you drive, not where you're going.
When we think of mental health to mean the state of our emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and that it affects how we think, feel, and act, we realize the serious implications of poor mental health on teaching and learning.
Over the years, teachers have and continue to report that children exhibit difficulty in their patterns of thinking, their mood and their behavior. Researchers and educators point to the fact that the school plays a critical role in fostering good mental health development and remediating mental health challenges experienced by students and their families.
The Ministry is aware that there is not the kind of coordinated interagency collaboration to deliver comprehensive services to satisfy the increasing demand for mental health services in the school system.
As a Ministry, we are cognizant that school and community-based programs can be developed for purposes of early identification and detection, to ensure early intervention.
To this end, the MOE has put in place a number of initiatives to address some of the challenges associated with thought and behaviour disorders. These include:
The engagement of social workers assigned to each educational region, to investigate and refer students for support
The employment of more guidance counsellors in the system
The implementation of a Deans of Discipline programme to address serious antisocial behaviour challenges
Capacity building in the areas of life space crisis intervention, Team Teach, applied behaviour analysis, a school wide positive behaviour support programme
A reintegration programme of intervention for teenage mothers
The engagement of regional special needs coordinators to support special needs initiatives in the general education setting
The implementation of a health and family life education programme
Provision of support to selected agencies for screening and psychosocial support
The proposed establishment of three regional diagnostic centres
The reintroduction of uniformed groups to promote self-discipline, leadership and personal development
The creation of parent places to support parenting initiatives
Clearly, some mental health related activities are taking place in our schools. Equally true however, is the fact that there is still a great deal to be done, to improve what is taking place.
Currently, some service providers seem to be competing for the same dwindling resources, to address the range of mental health challenges faced by children in the school system. Naturally, all such providers want to advance their own agenda. The Ministry recognizes that this approach may be counterproductive in that it fosters piecemeal, fragmented, and redundant practices. This can lead to duplication of services, inappropriate competition, and inadequate results and waste.
As we go forward, it is imperative that we focus on a more comprehensive approach to service delivery. Initiatives must connect in major ways with the mission of schools and the health services, and provide an integrated system of support. Systemic changes must integrate school-based and community-based resources to develop comprehensive, multifaceted, and integrated approaches in order to address mental health barriers that negatively affect teaching and learning. Someone once said that once the minds of our children, parents and teachers become tattooed with negative thinking about mental health difficulties, the chances for long-term mental health success diminish.
In closing, let me reiterate the need for greater inter-agency collaboration, cooperation and partnerships as we strive to provide a more comprehensive and integrated approach to service delivery. Not withstanding, we must recognize that we all have a role to play “The greatest healing therapy for mental health challenges in our schools and communities is unconditional friendship & love.``
