Recruiting and Training Kids to Spot and Get Help for Troubled Peers

        In this Education Week article, Catherine Gewertz reports on initiatives to train secondary-school students to watch for mental health struggles among their classmates and guide them to professional help. In one Ohio high school, a student who is one of dozens in the school’s “Hope Squad” said, “Some students won’t get help because they’re just afraid to ask for it. But if a peer knows, and if their struggle is seen and heard, then they’re able to say, OK, yes, I do need the help. And we can get them to an adult themselves.” Members of this squad are trained to watch for signs of social isolation or feelings of hopelessness and in how to persuade students to get help. Working with a team of adults, they’re also encouraged to monitor their own emotions and take care of themselves, seeking support when they need it. 

        This district started the Hope Squad four years ago when leaders noticed an increase in depression, anxiety, and suicides. Student trainees’ contributions have been especially helpful during the pandemic, which amplified mental health struggles and challenged schools’ counselors and psychologists. This district’s schools are referring more students to nearby children’s hospitals for psychiatric support than other nearby districts of comparable size. 

        Mental Health First Aid USA is the best-known program at a national level. It has trained hundreds of thousands of teens, teaching them to use the ALGEE protocol: 

• Assess the risk of suicide or harm. 
• Listen nonjudgmentally. 
• Give reassurance and information. 
• Encourage professional help. 
• Encourage self-help and other support strategies. 

Research on the program has mainly focused on its effects on trainees, and the results are encouraging in terms of self-awareness, stress management, and improved self-care. Less is known about its impact on other students. 

        Some K-12 educators are wary of loading these additional responsibilities on stressed-out teens. Suzanna Davis, a vice president at Grant Us Hope, which works with schools in Ohio and Indiana, was hesitant at first. “I asked students, is this too much to take on?” she said. “But I realized that they’re having these conversations with their peers on a daily basis. In the absence of formal training, they very much carry the weight on their shoulders that they have to fix their friends’ problems. If we’re not engaging them and giving them the right tools and training to engage in those conversations, we’re missing the boat.” 

        One Florida district trains elementary students to be “friendship ambassadors” to specially painted “buddy benches” on the playground for kids who look like they need a friend. Another program trains middle-school students to watch for students eating alone in the cafeteria. 

        Schools that have taught students to spot problems and work with their peers emphasize the need for good training and support, specifically: 

• Well-conceived training for all students involved; 
• Enough well-prepared adults to provide a skilled, supportive team for students to lean on;
• Partnering with a mental health provider in their community; 
• Schools adhering to the recommended ratio of one psychologist for every 500 students and one counselor for every 250 students; 
• Establishing an after-hours notification system for students to contact if troubling signs appear in conversations and social media when students aren’t in school. 

“Students Train to Spot Peers with Mental Health Struggles and Guide Them to Help” by Catherine Gewertz in Education Week, March 2, 2022 (Vol. 41, #24, pp. 8-10)

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #926 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.