Supporting Mental Health and Wellness among Private School Students: A Survey of Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools

Little systematic inquiry has focused on school-based mental health services in the Catholic education sector, which educates more than two million children annually in the United States. More than 400 Catholic elementary and secondary schools were surveyed to inform a baseline environmental scan measuring how Catholic schools nationally are serving children's mental health needs. The article sheds light on patterns of mental health staffing and resource provision, student psychosocial and mental health issues, mental health service provision, and barriers to and challenges of mental health service provision. The findings are contextualized by comparison with estimates of public school mental health service provision, consideration of funding issues pertinent to the private school sector, and the continuing need for strategic assessment and action planning to support student mental health.