First do no harm: Universal Mental Health Interventions in Schools
Summary In this episode Dr. Carolina Guzman Holst is a NIHR Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, discusses her recent paper titled Scoping review: potential harm from school-based group mental health interventions. Where the authors ‘examine three areas: the types of potential harms and adverse events reported in school-based mental health interventions; the subgroups of children and adolescents at heightened risk; and the proposed explanations for these potential harms.’The conversation explores the rising mental health issues among young people in schools, focusing on universal interventions like mindfulness and CBT. Carolina Guzman discusses her scoping review on the potential negative effects of these interventions, emphasising the importance of understanding their impact on vulnerable groups. The discussion highlights the need for careful implementation and monitoring of mental health programs in educational settings, advocating a tailored approach rather than a one-size-fits-all solution. Links: Guzman-Holst C, Streckfuss Davis R, Andrews JL, Foulkes L. Scoping review: potential harm from school-based group mental health interventions. Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2025 Mar 18. doi: 10.1111/camh.12760. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40101758: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40101758/ Learn more about the Myriad Trial on a universal mindfulness intervention on the Mindfulness Mini Series: https://changingstatesofmind.com/mindfulness-miniseries-1 The link to the DfE technical report mentioned is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-for-wellbeing-programme-findings Key takeaways: Mental health issues among young people are rising. Universal interventions aim to help all students, regardless of need. Mindfulness and CBT are common school interventions. Negative effects of interventions can occur, especially in vulnerable groups. High quality implementation quality is crucial for intervention success. Long-term benefits of interventions are often not well-studied. Schools should monitor the effects of mental health programs. A hybrid approach may be more effective than universal interventions alone. Teachers should consult evidence before implementing programs. Tailored support is essential for students with specific needs. Timestamps 01:45 Introduction to Mental Health in Schools 04:17 Understanding Universal Interventions 07:25 Exploring Mindfulness and CBT Interventions 09:41 Negative Effects of Universal Interventions 16:01 Identifying Vulnerable Groups 19:45 Long-term Effects and Benefits 25:07 Conclusions of the Scoping Review 27:11 Implications for Schools and Teachers
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28:53
The Process of Learning is Uncomfortable
This month Dr Katy Burgess, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Cardiff University, talks about her research into students’ learning - what they do and how effective they think this is - this is useful for us, as teachers, to understand how, what we are teaching them in school about learning and revision, is being interpreted and used by students. We discuss the best ways to revise but perhaps more importantly what we should be telling our students to get them to use more effective strategies. Plus additional thoughts on where we could slip retrieval practice when students don’t even notice (some good advice for parents!), forward testing effect and that we need to remember that learning involves an awful lot of forgetting before students actually remember everything they need to know. If you'd like to learn more about Dr Katy Burgess or read her publications you can do so here: https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/burgesskv T-FUN Network - https://t-fun.co.uk/
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36:23
Peer Support for Neurodivergent pupils
The NEurodivergent peer Support Toolkit (NEST) is a set of free resources for staff in mainstream secondary schools who wish to facilitate peer support for neurodivergent young people. The toolkit was co-created by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, neurodivergent young people and a neurodiverse group of adults who work with neurodivergent young people. The project was funded by the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre Scientific Advisory Board. In this episode Katie Cebula and Catherine Crompton talk about how the NEST came about, what it involves and how it could support pupils in your school. You can find out more and download the resources here: https://salvesen-research.ed.ac.uk/our-projects/nest-neurodivergent-peer-support-toolkit
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37:38
RE-STAR - From Emotional Dysfunction to Emotional Burden
This is the 7th podcast from the RE-STAR team and Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke and Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou share the findings from work package one. This episode explores how the RE-STAR team has collected qualitative data through innovative methods that really allow the voices of young people with ADHD and Autism to be heard. They also share the findings about the upsetting experiences of young people with ADHD and Autism, what these experiences are (and if you are a teacher you might be surprised) and the intensity of those emotional experiences and as well as how these differ for neurotypical, ADHD and Autistic groups. The team is also considering the long term impact of this emotional burden on depression and anxiety. If you would like to hear more from the RE-STAR team please do take a listen here: https://changingstatesofmind.com/re-star-project If you would like to read the paper the link is: https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcv2.12287 A second paper is also available: https://osf.io/preprints/osf/dras7 Why do attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder and/or autism traits place adolescents at risk for depression? Protocol for a longitudinal comparison of the mediating role of deficits in emotional processing and control versus emotional burden
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44:51
Improving Mental Fitness in Schools with Vi Gandhi
In this week’s episode Purvi (Vi) Gandhi shares her knowledge about implementing effective and evidence based strategies to improve mental health or mental fitness in schools. Vi has recently published a book 'A little guide for teachers: Student Mental Health' with lots of ideas of how teachers can support the mental health and fitness of the young people in schools. In this interview we discuss the language we use around mental health, why mental health is so important in school and how we can support our pupils to thrive and much more. If you would like to find out more about her book here is the link: uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/author/purvi-gandhi If you want to hear more podcasts on mental health from Psychology in the classroom here is the link: https://changingstatesofmind.com/mental-health-%26-wellbeing
The show that takes psychological research and translates it for classroom teachers so they can effectively apply it to their teaching practice to help improve outcomes for their students. Interviews with leading psychologists and other experts in the field of education, as well as deep dives into educational theory and a little bit of neuromyth busting.
Australia