School-Based Prevention for Children at Risk : The Primary Mental Health Project

National surveys suggest that three out of ten children experience moderate to severe school adjustment problems. Failure to profit from the school experience restricts children's achievement in later life and places them at risk for personally devastating and socially costly outcomes. Unfortunately, the existing mental health system lacks the resources to deal with this major human and social problem. This book describes the evolution and daily operation of the ""Primary Mental Health Project"", an innovative school-based programme that provides a practical alternative to traditional ""after-the-fact"" intervention. This award-winning programme's longevity (it has been in operation for almost 40 years) and its continuing expansion (it now operates in over 700 school districts worldwide) are evidence of its success. Featured in this book are descriptions of how to establish, maintain, and evaluate such a programme; readable summaries of the extensive research documenting the programme's efficay; discussion of the key role of the ""child associate"", a new brand of trained school volunteer; description of the core programme's evolution and dissemination, as well as newer offshoot programmes that focus on social problem solving, helping children affected by divorce, co-operative peer learning, and enhancing resilience; realistic appraisal of the programme's accomplishments over the years; and discussion of the future role of school mental health programmes and the importance of broad-based wellness programmes.