The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of school counselors working in conjoint roles as social-emotional leaders and mental health professionals (MHPs) to address the mental health needs of students through multisystem collaboratives (MSCs) and school-based systems of mental health care…

It is important to address the concept of parental involvement in school-based mental health counseling in order to address the presence of mental health issues in students. In school-based mental health services, enlisting parent engagement in adolescent interventions can be difficult and can, therefore, inhibit positive adolescent mental health…

This research explores the systemic and structural barriers affecting the effectiveness of community schools, particularly in providing mental health services and support, with a specific focus on how principals have responded to these needs in the post-COVID-19 era. Employing qualitative methods, including focus groups with principals from…

Campus administrators and practitioners must make sense of state policy and system-level initiatives for successful implementation. This qualitative study examined campus administrators' and student health and well-being practitioners' sensemaking of the University System of Georgia's (USG) Mental Health Initiative (MHI) through interviews with…

Digital mental health interventions (DMHIs) show promise in improving access to mental health care for college students suffering from depression and anxiety symptoms. Nonetheless, the usefulness of DMHIs is limited by high user attrition. Leveraging peer support among college populations may be a feasible and cost-effective option to improve DMHI…

This study identifies the assets that principals use to support school based mental health care [SBMH] and makes several recommendations for increasing the efficacy of principals in interacting with SBMH systems and includes their recommendations for improvement in fostering, sustaining, and improving SBMH. Mental health needs are a historically…

This dissertation contains two studies that examine family therapy services within public schools related to behavioral or discipline concerns. Both studies stem from an ecological and family systems theoretical framework in examining relationships between the student, family, and school systems. The first study is a scoping review on family…

The mental health of college students continues to decline, leading to increased suicide rates among young adults. College campuses provide mental health resources; however, many college students do not effectively utilize the resources. This quantitative research study allowed for a deeper understanding of why college students are not using…

Depression and anxiety disorders are common among college students. These disorders may impact a student from being successful in various aspects of their personal and professional life; the level of support one receives matters to success. Through this qualitative phenomenological study, I explored the level of mental health services marketed to…

This study utilizes archival data from a district-based initiative aimed at improving the provision of school-based mental health services. It dives deep into the stories of adolescents who were classified and receiving special education supports, which included school-based counseling. These students endured challenging family contexts. A…

Students present with mental health needs and posttraumatic stress symptoms, yet they largely do not receive necessary services. Since schools are an ideal setting for students to receive mental health services, Mental Health Action Plans (MHAPs) were developed to define and detail the ways in which student mental health needs can be addressed at…

This generic qualitative study explored how school counselors describe their experiences providing school-based mental health services (SBMHSs) to Asian American youth to understand factors that may hinder or facilitate school counselors' work with this population (J. Kim et al., 2021). The real-life experiences of school counselors were explored…

The aim of this study is to better understand, from the perspective of Critical Race Theory, the experiences of adolescent males who are Black and living in the United States and to examine how they build resilience and survival skills. Participants were between the ages of 18 and 26 and asked to recall adolescent experiences as part of a…

Research has indicated that individuals who have died from the COVID-19 virus will likely leave behind several grieving family members. For every person who dies of COVID-19, it was estimated that they would leave behind 2.2 children and 4.1 grandchildren (Albuquerque & Santos, 2021). The death of a parent or other loved one is often noted as…

This qualitative research study consisted of nine face-to-face interviews with unaccompanied youth (UY) living in homelessness and receiving services from a New York City (NYC) based Drop-In Center. Drop-In Centers are funded by the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and designed to provide a continuum of services for youth who are…