Mental Health and Wellbeing through Schools
The Way Forward

Mental Health and Wellbeing through Schools brings together international experts from various disciplines to identify and address a range of current challenges in this rapidly-developing field of endeavour.

The opening chapter details lessons learned from research and practice, outlining some emerging challenges for the effective implementation of mental health initiatives in schools. Subsequent chapters take up the various issues, exploring problems and proposing solutions. Topics fall within four broad areas:

Organisational and leadership issues such as dealing with 'wicked' or ?hard-to-tame? (complex and resistant) problems and taking a broad public health approach;

Teacher-related issues, such as how to integrate programs successfully into schools, and teacher skills and professional learning;

The challenges and opportunities of new technologies, including cyberbullying and the use of online, multimedia and mobile resources for both student and teacher learning and support;

The need for a greater focus on targeted interventions for at-risk students, such as those with disabilities; also addressing ?hard-to-tame? problems such as bullying, youth suicide and depression.

Mental Health and Wellbeing through Schools will be of interest to those involved in researching, developing, evaluating and implementing mental health initiatives in schools, including academics, practitioners, educators and educational and Mental Health policy makers. It will also be of use to professionals, such as nurses and social workers, concerned with the wellbeing of children and adolescents. The book will have international appeal, with contributors from around the world, experienced in a range of contexts.

Rosalyn H. Shute is Adjunct Professor of Psychology at both Flinders and Federation Universities (Australia). Her research expertise lies broadly in clinical child psychology and paediatric psychology/child health and wellbeing. She is an experienced teacher of Developmental Psychology, educational and clinical child/paediatric psychology.

Phillip T. Slee is a Professor in Human Development in the School of Education at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. He is a trained teacher and registered psychologist. His main areas of interest include childhood bullying/aggression, mental health and wellbeing, stress and teacher education. He has a particular interest in the practical and policy implications of his research. He and Shute recently co-authored Child Development: Theories and Critical Perspectives.

PREFACE CONTRIBUTORS SECTION 1: Overview of challenges 1. Student mental health programs: Current challenges and future opportunities.Brian Graetz SECTION 2: Challenges for organisations and leaders 2. Leadership for wicked school mental health problems. Richard Beinecke 3. Supporting schools for the widespread implementation of evidence-based mental health promotion programs: What is needed? Bonnie Leadbeater and Emilie Gladstone 4. Mental health and wellbeing through schools in situations of political conflict and adversity: The Palestinian case. Salwa Massad and Umaiyeh Khammash SECTION 3: Challenges for teachers 5. Implementing for success in school-based mental health promotion:The role of quality in resolving the tension between fidelity and adaptation. Ann Lendrum, Neil Humphrey and Mark Greenberg 6. "Promotion with parents is challenging." The role of teacher communication skills and parent-teacher partnerships in school-based mental health initiatives. Rosalyn Shute 7. Professional education for teachers and early childhood educators about mental health promotion. Rosalind Murray-Harvey and Helen Askell-Williams SECTION 4. The challenges and opportunities of new technologies 8. Psychological wellbeing and the use of the Internet in adolescence. Antonella Brighi, Sandra Nicoletti and Annalisa Guarini 9. The use of technology to support young people with mental health issues in schools. Cathy Richards and Jennifer Hughes 10. Using online environments to build school staff capacity to address student wellbeing. Amy Barnes, Natasha Pearce, Donna Cross, Laura Thomas and Phillip Slee SECTION 5. Targeted interventions 11. Mental health promotion and students with disabilities: The need for targeted interventions. Jane Jarvis and Julie McMillan 12. Issues of bullying and Autism Spectrum Disorder. Alison Wotherspoon, Phillip Slee, Verity Botroff, Jon Martin and Barbara Spears 13. School-based responses to youth suicide. Rosalyn Shute 14. Prevention programs for depression among children and adolescents in Japan: Challenges and opportunities. Shin-ichi Ishikawa, Satoko Sasagawa, Junwen Chen and Cecilia Essau SECTION 6. Reflections 15. Lessons from monitoring SEL in Israel and California schools.Ron Astor, Gordon Capp, Hadass Moore and Rami Benbenishty 16. Mental health and wellbeing through schools: Thinking big, acting wisely. Rosalyn Shute and Phillip Slee

Rosalyn H. Shute is Adjunct Professor of Psychology at both Flinders and Federation Universities, Australia. Her research expertise lies broadly in clinical child psychology and paediatric psychology/child health and wellbeing. She is an experienced teacher of developmental psychology, educational and clinical child/paediatric psychology.

Phillip T. Slee is Professor in Human Development at the School of Education at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia. He is a trained teacher and registered psychologist. His main areas of interest include childhood bullying/aggression, mental health and wellbeing, stress and teacher education. He has a particular interest in the practical and policy implications of his research. He and Shute recently co-authored Child Development: Theories and Critical Perspectives.