The importance of prevention and early intervention
In Ontario, an estimated one in five children and youth experience a mental health disorder. Dedicated, coordinated, high-quality prevention and early intervention services have the potential to influence these rates towards more positive outcomes for young people. School is an excellent place to provide prevention services, as these supports can be offered in a low-barrier, non-stigmatizing manner in the setting where young people spend most of each day. Further, early intervention services provided at school often keep mental health concerns from escalating and may reduce the need for more intensive supports. Good mental health and well-being facilitates and supports student engagement at school, regular attendance, learning and achievement.
What the research tells us
- Early intervention can improve mental health outcomes and reduce the need for more intensive services later.
- Receiving early access to supportive interventions can contribute to better outcomes for students (e.g. educational/occupational/social outcomes).
- Early intervention may prevent substance-related disorders and suicidal behaviour.
- Early intervention promotes opportunities for professionals to nurture students’ strengths and skills, which may foster help-seeking behaviours and problem-solving skills that can contribute to healthy development and overall well-being.
- Brief, evidence-informed protocols offered within the school setting are effective.
Why this is important
When school mental health professionals intervene early using evidence-informed protocols, they help reduce the impact of mild to moderate mental health problems and prevent them from escalating.
Prevention and early intervention ensure that support begins as soon as a student starts to experience difficulties. To learn more about noticing changes that may signal a mental health concern, and supporting mental health concerns like anxiety, mood and attention in the school environment, visit Supporting mental health concerns in the school environment.
Brownlie, E., Beitchman, J. H., Chaim, G., Wolfe, D. A., Rush, B., & Henderson, J. (2018). Early adolescent substance use and mental health problems and service utilisation in a school-based sample. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 64(2), 116–125. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743718784935
Cohen, K. A., Ito, S., Ahuvia, I. L., Yang, Y., Zhang, Y., Renshaw, T. L., Larson, M., Cook, C., Hill, S., Liao, J., Rapoport, A., Smock, A., Yang, M., & Schleider, J. L. (2024). Brief School-Based Interventions Targeting Student Mental Health or Well-Being: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 27(3), 732–806. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-024-00487-2
Goodyear-Smith, F., Martel, R., Darragh, M., Warren, J., Thabrew, H., & Clark, T. C. (2017). Screening for risky behaviour and mental health in young people: the YouthCHAT programme. Public Health Reviews, 38(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-017-0068-1
Groenman, A. P., Janssen, T. W., & Oosterlaan, J. (2017). Childhood Psychiatric Disorders as Risk factor for subsequent Substance abuse: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(7), 556–569. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.05.004
McGorry, P. D., & Mei, C. (2018). Early intervention in youth mental health: progress and future directions. Evidence-Based Mental Health, 21(4), 182–184. https://doi.org/10.1136/ebmental-2018-300060
Patel, V., Flisher, A. J., Hetrick, S., & McGorry, P. (2007). Mental health of young people: a global public-health challenge. The Lancet, 369(9569), 1302–1313. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(07)60368-7
Sorgenfrei, M. (2021). Adolescent mental health: A systematic review on the effectiveness of school-based interventions. In Early Intervention Foundation. https://www.eif.org.uk/report/adolescent-mental-health-a-systematic-review-on-the-effectiveness-of-school-based-interventions
Zhang, Q., Wang, J., & Neitzel, A. (2022). School-based Mental health interventions Targeting depression or Anxiety: A meta-analysis of rigorous randomized controlled trials for school-aged children and adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 52(1), 195–217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01684-4