Julianna Casella

Background: Youth mental health concerns are rising and often present as internalizing or externalizing behaviors that can lead to a host of negative academic, social, and health outcomes, especially for marginalized students. Despite the growing mental health needs, many youth face barriers to accessing traditional mental health care, highlighting the importance of school‐based mental health services. Contributions to Theory: This paper contributes to understanding Multitiered Systems of Support (MTSS), an evidence‐based framework, by reviewing its application within the school context and opportunities to increase students' equitable access to mental health supports. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: This paper provides recommendations for evidence‐based screening measures and some evidence‐based prevention and intervention services that can be utilized and delivered in schools. Implications for how workforce diversity, professional development, and supportive policies can strengthen MTSS implementation by promoting inclusive, trauma‐informed care and fostering collaboration among schools, families, and communities to enhance student well‐being and equity are also reviewed. Conclusions: School‐based mental health services that utilize MTSS and center equity are imperative for addressing the rising mental health concerns among youth.

Background: Adolescent substance use remains a significant concern for student health, well‐being, and academic outcomes, yet fewer than 4% of youth who need treatment receive it. Schools are a critical, but underutilized setting, for adolescent substance use prevention and intervention. While Multi‐Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) provide a useful framework, meaningful engagement of youth, families, schools, and communities is crucial for effective and equitable systems. Contributions to Theory: This paper asserts that youth‐family‐school‐community partnerships should serve as the core foundation of effective school‐based substance use programming. Drawing on Ecological System Theory and bridging school mental health and substance use literature, this paper proposes a framework that centers partnership, equity, and engagement within MTSS. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice and Equity: School policy should prioritize funding and infrastructure that promotes genuine youth, family, school, and community collaboration, including telehealth options, flexible scheduling, and hiring school‐based mental health staff. These efforts can help to improve equitable access to multi‐tiered school substance use services for youth and families. Conclusions: Partnerships among youth, families, schools, and communities should be central to school‐based substance use programming to support the development of effective and equitable school mental health systems.

Members of Gen Z, often described as “digital natives”, spend such a large amount of time online, directly impacting the way they interact with others. Cyberbullying, a specific subtype of bullying which occurs online, and social media are two examples of the specific ways that Gen Z interacts socially in an online context. Both are connected to the psychological construct of belongingness, the basic human need to feel connected to a social group. This chapter discusses the impact that bullying, cyberbullying and social media can have on Gen Z's mental health, using the framework of belongingness to better understand this impact. Specific examples of strategies to support Gen Z in developing digital citizenship and a healthier relationship with the online world are discussed, including considerations for online platforms, school-based interventions, and strategies for mental health professionals, parents, and Gen Z themselves.

Trauma-informed professional development (PD) equips educators with the knowledge and skills to support students affected by trauma while fostering safe and inclusive school environments. However, the variability in trauma-informed PD design, delivery, and outcomes, as well as the inconsistent integration of culturally responsive, antiracist, and equitable (CARE) content, raises questions about its capacity to prevent and address trauma effectively. In this systematic narrative review, 24 peer-reviewed studies were synthesized to examine trauma-informed PD in U.S. K-12 schools and highlight the presence and depth of CARE content in each PD. The findings of this review indicate significant variability in trauma-informed PD characteristics and inconsistent integration of CARE content. These findings underscore the need for more standardized approaches to trauma-informed PD that embed CARE content comprehensively and address the systemic and cultural dimensions of trauma. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

While schools are generally safe spaces, it is important that they be prepared to address a wide range of crises in an effort to protect students (Brock et al., 2016). A school crisis event can be ...

Introduction: School Resource Officers (SROs) are expected to serve as informal counselors for students; however, little research examines SROs’ practices in this role. This study investigates SROs’ views of their ability to support and intervene in school mental health concerns. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven SROs from one school district to assess perceptions of their roles and daily activities. Results: Thematic analysis revealed five themes related to SROs confidence, training, identification and support of student mental health concerns, and collaboration with other school professionals. Results showed SROs often rely on their police training and skills, rather than evidence-based practices when responding to students’ mental health concerns. Discussion: These results highlight the need for more mental health training for SROs and involvement of other behavioral health professionals to support the needs of students.

Social norms campaigns have been used as an intervention to address common concerns, such as bullying and sexual harassment, in high schools. While there is promise for their use, there have been mixed results in terms of creating change in students’ attitudes, and there is scant evidence about variables that may contribute to these outcomes. Based on a sample of 359 students (82% White, 53% Female) from a suburban high school in the Northeastern United Stated participating in the pilot of a social norms campaign to reduce bullying and sexual harassment, this study examined whether acceptability of, believability of, and exposure to campaign messages contributed to changes in individuals’ perceptions of their peers’ attitudes. Believability and acceptability of the campaign were significant predictors of change, with students who reported greater campaign believability and acceptability also reporting greater levels of change in their perceptions of their peers at post-test. White students and straight students showed greater change in their perceived peer norms compared with their non-White and sexual minority (SM) peers. This study highlights the importance of student input in the development of campaigns, particularly in taking measures to improve students’ perceptions of believability and acceptability of a social norms campaign.

School-aged children with disabilities face heightened rates of bullying victimization compared to their typically developing peers. This chapter emphasizes the important role that parents of children with disabilities play in bullying prevention and intervention. First, school-based interventions for reducing bullying victimization among children with disabilities, such as inclusion, social-emotional learning, and multi-component programming, are reviewed. Furthermore, this chapter reviews recommendations for how parents can engage in communication with their child regarding bullying and strategies to help children with disabilities develop skills for handling such situations. Guidelines are provided for parents who seek to report bullying incidents to school personnel. This chapter also outlines helpful responses to bullying by school personnel as perceived by parents of children with disabilities. Lastly, this chapter explores considerations for schools and parents when supporting children with disabilities who are both bullied and bully others.