Katie Eklund appeared on PBS NewsHour recently for a report titled, “Student-led network helps address shortage of mental health professionals in schools.” The report is part of the series, “Early Warnings: America’s Youth Mental Health Crisis.”
Eklund is an associate professor with the School Psychology program in the School of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology. She also serves as co-director of the School Mental Health Collaborative, a center focused on conducting research that informs policy and practice related to the promotion of social-emotional and behavioral success for all students.
In the segment, PBS Wisconsin reporter Steven Potter highlights a student-led mental health support network at Brookfield East High School called the Hope Squad, where through weekly meetings, “60 student members discuss new strategies to help their classmates stay mentally healthy.”
Eklund comments that 20 percent of kids have a behavioral or social-emotional concern. However, due to a shortage of mental health professionals in schools, only 20 percent of those kids receive the support they need.
The segment also calls attention to a $10.4 million grant that Eklund and her UW–Madison colleagues recently received to help address this shortage. The grant will provide tools to strengthen the pipeline and training of mental health professionals and increase access to critical mental health services in high-need schools.
Listen to the full PBS NewsHour segment or read the transcript to learn more.