Episode 28: Mental Illness in the Schools
It is estimated that 20% of school aged children suffer from mental health concerns, half of whom would be considered seriously impaired. While these numbers mirror estimates for adults, the fact that approximately 66-70% of students with mental health problems receive insufficient treatment is unacceptable. As Drs. Berney and Richard discuss, most students with mental health problems are managed in the school system.
While much of this prevalence can be explained by genetic heritability, there are many aspects of the modern-day school system that exacerbates these problems. Zero tolerance policies and high stakes testing push students to extremes and often result in worsening symptoms.
In this episode, Drs. Berney and Richard discuss several issues that should be addressed in our schools. The most important of which is the nature of the relationships between students, parents, and teachers. Drs. Berney and Richard also talk about needed changes in the ways in which we assess student achievement and respond to “inappropriate” student behavior.
We encourage you to follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/thementalbreakdown) and Twitter (@drberney). You can also follow our blog (www.thementalbreakdown.com). We also encourage you to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes (The Mental Breakdown) and write a review on iTunes to help others find us and join in on the conversation. You can also follow us on Mixlr (www.mixlr.com) and listen live when we record The Mental Breakdown podcast.
Tune in and join the conversation for change!
This episode was produced by Mr. Andrew Rasmussen.
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