Symposia
Dissemination & Implementation Science
Davielle Lakind, Ph.D.
Mercer University
Atlanta, Georgia
Wendy Chu, M.A. (she/her/hers)
PhD Student
University of South Carolina
San Francisco, California
Meredith Boyd, M.A.
Graduate Student
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Kimberly D. Becker, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Associate Professor
University of South Carolina
Chapin, South Carolina
Bruce F. Chorpita, Ph.D.
Professor
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
School-based mental health services (SMH) offer a unique opportunity to embed support within a key developmental context, yet little research has examined SMH providers’ (SMHPs) fit within the complex ecologies of schools. COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions altered school ecologies and SMHPs’ relationships to schools dramatically; understanding how they navigated their pre-pandemic roles and post-pandemic shifts can highlight opportunities to strengthen schools’ and agencies’ capacity to support mental health during crises.
This qualitative study draws on 16 focus groups with SMHPs (n=65) to examine how school setting characteristics and interactions with school staff influenced their work providing SMH; and how the pandemic affected these processes. Codebook development combined inductive (transcript review) and deductive approaches (incorporating Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research constructs). Transcripts were independently coded by two coders, with discrepancies resolved through consensus and auditor input. Coded excerpts were analyzed to identify and refine themes.
Analyses revealed the importance of feeling valued by and connected to school staff, which facilitated strong ongoing communication and more effective collaboration. SMHPs described leveraging opportunities for informal conversation (e.g., in hallways or classrooms) to overcome communication barriers and boost their perceived value and connectedness. Opportunities for connectedness and communication were enhanced when SMHPs worked in fewer schools, held roles on interdisciplinary teams, spent time in common spaces, responded to schools’ emergent mental health needs; and when school staff shared SMHPs’ understanding of mental health and SMH. The transition to virtual schooling and services severely limited communication and connectedness, in part through lost opportunities for informal conversation, but led to the emergence of new strategies, and opportunities to connect with caregivers and understand clients’ home lives. Stronger pre-pandemic connectedness and communication supported ongoing communication, as did new widespread concern about children’s mental health.
This study suggests potential mechanisms on individual, school, and agency levels to strengthen SMHPs’ value and connectedness within the school ecology, and the importance of these factors to maintain strong communication and collaboration, and effectively support youth and families through times of crisis and disruption.