Rates of mental health problems and disorders in children and youth have been increasing for at least three decades, and these have escalated due to the pandemic and multiple other societal stressors. It is increasingly recognized that students and families frequently struggle to receive needed care through traditional locations such as specialty mental health centers. Upstream mental health promotion and prevention strategies are gaining support as a public health approach to supporting overall population well-being, better utilizing a limited specialty workforce, and reducing illness. Based on these recognitions, there has been a progressive and escalating movement toward the delivery of mental health support to children and youth “where they are,” with a prominent and more ecologically valid environment being schools. This paper will provide a brief review of the escalating mental health needs of children and youth, advantages of school mental health (SMH) programs in better meeting these needs, example model SMH programs from the United States and Canada, and national and international SMH centers/networks. We conclude with strategies for further propelling the global advancement of the SMH field through interconnected practice, policy, and research.

至少三十年来，儿童和青少年的心理健康问题和障碍的发生率一直在增加，并且由于大流行和其他多种社会压力因素，这些问题和障碍不断升级。人们越来越认识到，学生和家庭经常难以通过专业心理健康中心等传统地点获得所需的护理。上游心理健康促进和预防战略作为一种公共卫生方法正在获得支持，以支持总体人口福祉、更好地利用有限的专业劳动力并减少疾病。基于这些认识，已经出现了一场渐进式、不断升级的运动，向“他们所在的地方”的儿童和青少年提供心理健康支持，其中一个突出且更生态有效的环境是学校。本文将简要回顾儿童和青少年不断增长的心理健康需求、学校心理健康 (SMH) 计划在更好地满足这些需求方面的优势、美国和加拿大的示范 SMH 计划以及国家和国际 SMH 中心/网络。最后，我们提出了通过相互关联的实践、政策和研究进一步推动 SMH 领域全球进步的战略。