Experiences of school teachers on participation in a brief school mental health program: a qualitative inquiry

Background: School mental health programs (SMHPs) aim to strengthen school teachers’ understanding about issues related to child and adolescent mental health and their management. Many studies have looked at outcomes of such programs quantitatively. However, there is a lack of studies on the qualitative effects of SMHPs. With this in mind, the aim was to explore and evaluate the experiences of school teachers in a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project who participated in a brief SMHP in the suburbs of Bangalore City in India. Materials and methods: Twenty-two school teachers of a CSR project participated in this brief one-day SMHP. The program aimed to orient the teachers about common child and adolescent psychiatric disorders. Data were collected through a semi-structured open-ended questionnaire and by narrative inquiry. The data analysis adopted a general inductive approach. Results: From the qualitative data analysis, five overarching themes have emerged: (i) positive experience of being participants in the program; (ii) lack of knowledge on school mental health issues; (iii) enriched understanding and new learning; (iv) expansion of SMHP to other schools; (v) suggestions for prospective SMHP. Conclusion: The positive experiences and increased knowledge of the participants supports conducting similar programs with systematic methods for people working closely with school children.