As student exhaustion increases, there are many resources available to students with burnout and stress among schools. However, many people debate whether these resources are effective, and if not, what will we have to change for these resources to help students in OCHS and across America, what barriers might prevent this progress?
The Current State of Mental Health Resources For Students
A report by the Center on Reinventing Education found that many students are not getting enough support after the effects COVID-19 had on student abilities to learn. CRPE stated in the 2021-2022 school year, around 40% of schools expressed “inadequate access” to “licensed mental health professionals”. Other causes such as teacher morale, funding, lack of transparency with students, and a shift in habits and behaviors due to Covid, has caused “significant challenges” that will make it difficult for students to “make more progress”. However, CRPE states that these causes shouldn’t be used as an excuse to not adapt school models and interventions in present years.
“The urgent work of improving public education for students with distinct learning needs will benefit all students” The CRPE said, “ New school models and interventions can work now. There can be no excuse for failing to adopt them on a large scale. National, state, and local leadership must step up, provide targeted support, and hold institutions accountable”.
Another more recent report by the National Library of Medicine further supports this claim. NLM shares recent data that 52% of schools “struggled” to provide effective mental health services for students in the United States. This struggle grows concern when data suggests a 10% increase of feelings of “hopelessness” within students compared to 2013, which may be correlated to a 3% increase in suicide consideration among students. The growing increase and lack of adequate services shows a disturbing correlation.
The NLM states that the mental issues among the youth are beginning to grow, and as these issues grow many schools have difficulties providing services to the increasing number of students with mental health issues. Yet many school administrators persist to “identify strategies” for these challenges regarding a heightening lack of mental health among students.
Potential Causes For a Mental Health Decline
Data from the National Center of Educational Statistics, states that there is a 69% of public schools that report an increase of students seeking mental health services, only 56% of public schools are confident in their ability to provide said services. Gracie Parker, a student at Oregon City High School, expressed her feelings of burnout regarding the workload she is given in her classes. She also stressed how difficult it is to get resources in order to help with her workload and her stress.
Gracie Parker said she feels burnt out over the “deadlines” and “heavy workloads” given to her by teachers. Gracie voiced that the resources given to help students are “stressful to understand”, stating that “learning on your own is better”, however this does not fix the issue of burnout that many students face.
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention released data that might explain a loss of motivation and enthusiasm within high schools, as well as why recently some groups have gained a sense of hope. The CDC reports a percentage decrease of “persistent feelings of sadness and/or hopelessness” overall for students, especially female, Hispanic, and Black students. However, LBTQ+ high school students have a high percentage increase for attempted suicides, which correlates to the higher violence rates against these students.
“These data show that we’ve made some progress in tackling these issues in recent years… However, there’s still much work ahead.” Kathleen Ethier said, the Division of Adolescent and School Health Director at CDC.
This depression within students may be affected by a lack of community or safety within schools. Melissa Berg, the Director of Student Services at Oregon City High School, suggests a “lack of community” among students and even with teachers causes a desensitization to school and school participation. Berg also added the effects of Covid as one of the reasons these communities aren’t as prevalent as they would be if the virus never affected schools.
Melissa Berg stated the “breaking” of communities “magnified” mental health struggles. Berg added if students don’t feel “connected” to the community, they will begin to “disconnect” from school.
Future Setbacks For Progress
Many mental health professionals are worried for the future state of mental health services and advocacy. Budget proposals have been made in the White House that “eliminate” mental health resources such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (AHA), which includes cuts of funding inside schools for youth in crisis. A 1 billion funding decrease was announced which eliminates mental health programs both of regional and national “significance”.The American Psychiatric Association provides the opinions of the CEO of the Alliance for Mental Health on the cuts to these administrations, as well as urgency directed towards the Trump Administration and Congress to “collaborate” to protect said administrations.
The CEO of the Alliance for Mental Health urges the Administration to help with continue focus addressing mental health issues, suicide prevention, and substance abuse and providing connections to people in need of these services, a mission that aligns with the Administrations policy. So, the Alliance for Mental Health requests the Administration and Congress to “avoid actions that would disrupt or slow down our progress to improve the nation’s mental health.”
Regarding the rising need of mental health services among the youth, along with the absence of resources for said youth, and now, the budget cuts for these resources has led to an uproar of professionals speaking out for the need of mental health programs and services. Behavioral Health News suggests that mental health should be taken seriously, that it is not a “luxury” or “add-on”, but a “prerequisite” for “thriving individuals”. Jorge R. Petit, founder/CEO of Quality Healthcare Solutions, states within the article his opinions of these cuts and its effects on communities in need of resources provided by SAMHSA and AHA, including the youth as well as other individuals.
“I have spent my career working in and alongside systems serving those most in need…” Petit said. “I believe in a future where mental health is a human right, where care is accessible, integrated, dignified, and culturally responsive, where no one falls through the cracks.”