School Mental Health: Politics, Power and Practice

Progress has been made in the implementation of school mental health promotion, but there are some underlying issues that need to be recognised and addressed to ensure that the outcomes of current endeavours are maximised. These issues are politics, power and practice, and they reflect the different concerns and perspectives of some of the stakeholders, politicians, the media, mental health professionals, school personnel, parents and students. Using a mix of research and practice examples, this article demonstrates how politics and power shape practice. The issues are exemplified in discussion of collaboration, youth participation, professional positioning and quality mental health promotion implementation.