It’s no secret that student depression is impacting academic achievement, social and emotional development, and long term outcomes for young people. Adolescent depression puts students at a higher risk for suicide, substance abuse, and other health issues.
Last year, MHA reported that 11.5 percent of American youth are experiencing major depressive episodes. NIH has reported even higher numbers for adolescents aged 12-17: 14.5 percent have experienced at least one major episode with severe impairment.
That means nearly every classroom has at least one student suffering from depression.
Schools have a responsibility and an opportunity to help. But identifying students who are experiencing depression and getting them the help they need can be challenging for school staff, who are not typically trained to recognize mental health issues.
So where do we start to help students? By knowing the signs of depression in students and developing intervention protocols.
What student depression looks like
Can you identify students who may be suffering from depression? Signs of student depression can be different from the signs in adults. They can also vary at different ages, and between girls and boys.
Depression in girls vs. boys
Girls tend to retreat and isolate themselves, yet they also feel fear of missing out. They stop responding to social interactions and invitations from their friends. Eventually their friends will stop reaching out to them. And then they feel left out and retreat further. This creates a vicious cycle that can be hard to break. Girls are also more likely to show signs of self-injury.
For boys, their depression is more like anger turned inward. And it can be externalized as well;
boys can become verbally and even physically aggressive. Without the words to identify the feelings that they are experiencing, they act them out instead. Yet they don’t often make the connection between their behavior and their feelings.
Depression in younger students
We don’t tend to expect depression in young children. It often shows as inattention, and many young students with depression get diagnosed with ADHD. That’s because their executive function is affected. They can’t problem-solve, and their emotions contribute to poor reading comprehension. They often get diagnosed with learning disabilities and are inappropriately placed in classrooms where they are not challenged enough academically.
Signs of teen depression
As students go through puberty, we begin to see more emotional presentation and internalization with depression. There’s more crying and withdrawal; the typical signs that we picture when we think about depression. Self-injury is also more common in teens with depression.
When & how school staff should intervene
Maybe you see some of the signs and behaviors described above. How do you know when to intervene? These are some red flags that indicate it’s time to step in and offer help:
- Sudden withdrawal and lack of engagement with peers
- Major change in behavior and/or affect
- Unexplained marks on their bodies (signs of self-injury)
- Significant drop in grades
- Unexplained absenteeism
Here are the intervention steps teachers and schools should take when there’s a concern about student depression:
Engage with the student. Talk to the student in private, not in front of the class. Tell the student that you’re concerned about them. Ask about what’s going on with them. If you have noticed signs of self-harm, ask the student if they are hurting themselves. Some students may open up to you. If not, just let them know that they can talk to you when they are ready.
Crisis assessment. It’s also ok to ask if they are considering suicide — you don’t have to worry about putting the idea in their mind. There’s a simple tool that anyone can use to assess suicide risk if the student seems to be in danger. The Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) consists of a few questions and can be used by anyone, including teachers and classroom staff, to help identify if a student is thinking about suicide or has taken any steps toward suicide.
Give a heads up to school counselors. Whether or not the student opens up to you about their problem, go ahead and share your concern with a case manager (if the student is classified) or to their guidance counselor. Especially if you suspect self-harm, it’s important to alert others who can get involved and help.
Reach out to parents. It’s always a good idea for teachers to alert parents when concerned about a student. If the teacher isn’t comfortable, then the counselor or case manager should do that.
Provide accommodations when possible. To ease the burden on the student and give them a chance to succeed, try having them take a test verbally or provide alternative ways to complete assignments. If the student doesn’t have an IEP, it may be a good idea to look into 504.
Offer therapy. Schools that have embedded mental health clinicians can offer one-on-one counseling to students experiencing depression. This can be a huge benefit for both the student and their family, who may not have the means to get the student the help they need.
Coordinate with outside counseling providers. If a student is getting counseling or other support outside of school, it’s important to engage and work with outside professionals to coordinate care.
Ways to help with depression at school
Once a student with depression has been identified and is getting counseling, there are some additional ways that teachers can help students function better in the classroom:
Play (or allow) music. Appropriate background music in the classroom can help to soothe tension for depressed and/or anxious students. It can even lift the mood for the rest of the class, too. If that’s not possible, allow students to wear one earbud and listen to their own music (at a low volume) while also engaging in classroom activities.
Use softer lighting. The harsh fluorescent lights in schools can contribute to mood disorders, including depression and anxiety. Try turning them off and replacing them with lamps. Consider adding a sunset lamp. These give off orange and red hues that are proven to improve mood and help regulate circadian rhythms, which can be an issue with teens.
Encourage movement. Both teens and younger students with depression are often agitated and have physical symptoms. Moving around can help.
Take breaks. Let students leave the classroom for a bit and walk around in the hall, or visit a quiet, safe space designed to help them calm down.
Gum. That’s right, let the student chew gum! The sensory stimulation helps to distract them from their emotions.
These interventions are not a magic wand. But they do help to create an environment where students experiencing depression can feel more comfortable and supported, and increase their chance of succeeding at school.
Prepare your school staff to deal with student depression
Students lost two years of academic and social development due to the pandemic. Then they were thrown back into school and many are having a hard time adjusting. While student depression and anxiety have been on the rise for a decade or longer, experts are predicting that we’ll see a peak in the next year or two.
Here’s how schools can prepare.
Develop policies and procedures
Schools need to develop and promote clear policies and procedures for identifying and responding to student mental health needs.
Get clinical support
Schools need experts who have the knowledge and experience needed to help students manage mental health issues. Here’s how mental health clinicians can help:
- Provide individual and group counseling for students (and teachers, too)
- Teach social-emotional learning concepts and tools in the classroom, including meditation, yoga, and breathing exercises
- Guide classes in identifying their emotions
- Check in with teachers
- Serve as a resource for teachers who have questions and concerns
- Run support groups and provide mentoring for teachers
TIP: If you think your school or district can’t afford a clinician, read this article to learn how to find the funding.
Mental health training for school staff
Everyone working with students (including teachers, aides, guidance, and child study team members) needs to be trained to recognize student mental health issues and how to intervene effectively.
Clinicians can help provide training to staff and also to parents. And Thrive has a series of asynchronous PD presentations on some of the most pressing mental health issues schools face.
Thrive can help your district address mental health issues, create a supportive school culture, and improve student success.
Download our quick reference guide to Supporting Students With Depression.
About Jennifer Smith, LCSW
Jennifer is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25+ years experience, including Early Intervention Service Coordinator, Community Mental Health Outpatient Supervisor, and Clinical Director at a private school for students struggling with mental health issues. In her current role as Director of Community Partnerships with New Story/Thrive Alliance Group, Jennifer works to help public schools strengthen their mental health service offerings to students in need.
