Adolescents' Views of Seeking Help From School-Based Adults

Epidemiological estimates indicate that up to 20% of people under the age of 20 present emotional and behavioral disorders serious enough to warrant intervention. At the same time, the current mental health/social services system for children and adolescents has been described as fragmented, inaccessible, duplicative, and often ineffectual.

This combination of adolescents' needs and a poor service delivery system, along with the recognition of the connection between adolescent health status and educational achievement, has led to a broad-based consensus for establishing health and mental health services in the schools where the majority of youth spend most of their time. However, research indicates that school personnel are among adolescents' last choices for talking about personal concerns. If school-based services are to succeed they cannot simply be dropped into schools without careful consideration of the culture and context of schools and their students. This article describes the findings from a series of focus groups that were conducted with high school students regarding preferred helper characteristics of school-based adults and barriers adolescents experience when seeking help. It concludes with some practical implications of these findings.