From Thought to Action in School Mental Health Promotion

In the global mental health movement, school mental health (SMH) promotion is an increasingly prominent approach and emerging field. Here, we chronicle the development of three innovations in SMH in the United States, from the early idea stage through development, current status and future directions. The innovations are The Ohio Mental Health Network for School Success, a prominent state initiative that is attempting to build a cogent shared schoolfamily-community system agenda for SMH in one state, Expanded School Mental Health in Baltimore City, a prominent local initiative that has grown from involvement in four to 105 schools in 20 years, and the Mental Health Planning and Evaluation Template, an internet-based and user-friendly approach for quality assessment and improvement of mental health promotion in schools. Each example includes challenges and opportunities, and collectively they represent powerful ideas for moving school mental health promotion from thought to action.