The Potential Emergence of "Education as Mental Health Therapy" as a Feasible Form of Teacher-Delivered Child Mental Health Care in a Low and Middle Income Country: A Mixed Methods Pragmatic Pilot Study.

We assessed task-shifting children's mental health care to teachers as a potential approach to improving access to child mental health care. In Darjeeling, India, we conducted a single-arm, mixed-methods feasibility study with 19 teachers and 36 children in five rural primary schools to determine whether teachers can deliver transdiagnostic mental health care to select children-in-need with fidelity to protocol, to assess which therapeutic options teachers chose to use within the protocol, and to evaluate for a potential signal of efficacy. Participation rates for intervention activities were >80%.

Teacher and caregiver perceptions of family engagement in teacher-led task-shifted child mental health care in a low-and-middle-income country.

The mental health needs of children in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) often go unmet due to a lack of qualified mental health professionals. Task-shifting the provision of mental health services to teachers may facilitate access to care. Family engagement in task-shifting may support mental health outcomes but is understudied in this context.

Perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge of teachers serving as mental health lay counselors in a low and middle income country: a mixed methods pragmatic pilot study.

Background: Low and middle-income countries (LMICs) lack trained child mental health professionals. While teachers' child development experience potentially positions them to fill the gap as lay mental health counselors, they have rarely delivered indicated child mental health care in LMICs. As part of assessing the feasibility of teachers serving as lay counselors, we explored teachers' perceptions of serving as lay counselors and their mental health attitudes and knowledge.

Teacher Nomination of School-aged Children for Mental Health Services in a Low and Middle Income Country.

: Knowledgeable in child development, primary school teachers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have the potential to identify their students needing mental health care. : We evaluated whether teachers in Darjeeling, India can accurately nominate school-aged children for mental health services after training and aided by a novel tool. : In 2018, 19 primary school teachers from five low-cost private (LCP) schools in rural Darjeeling were trained to nominate children needing care.