Teachers' Perception of Mental Health in the School System

This study examined teachers’ perceptions of their school’s mental health system. The study was guided by three research questions: How do teachers perceive their role in identifying mental health problems within the school system? How do teachers perceive the effectiveness of the identification and treatment of mental health problems? What improvements do teachers have to address mental health problems? Six teachers from a rural high school participated in a single interview for discussion. Results indicated that teachers generally believed they were the first identifiers of mental health problems, felt somewhat prepared, and wanted more effective training in mental health.