7 Ways Schools Can Encourage Student Help-Seeking

Why Student Help-Seeking Matters

Young people spend a significant portion of their lives at school, making schools an important setting for mental health education, prevention and early support. The CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 40% of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, while 29% reported poor mental health.

But recognizing that students are struggling is only part of the challenge. Schools also need to consider whether students know how to seek support and feel able to take that step. 

The Erika's Lighthouse Youth Help-Seeking Around Mental Health report found an important gap: 93% of students identified a teacher as a potential trusted adult, but only 50% felt comfortable talking with a trusted adult at school about their mental health.

This suggests that schools should look beyond simply providing resources. They can also teach students what help-seeking looks like, make support pathways visible, and create repeated opportunities to practice and normalize asking for help.

1. Make Help-Seeking Part of Everyday School Culture

Students shouldn't hear about mental health only during a crisis or once-a-year awareness campaign. Schools can make help-seeking a normal part of the student experience by incorporating it into regular education, communication and activities.

This can include:

• Classroom mental health education
• Schoolwide campaigns and reminders about available support
• Advisory or homeroom discussions
• Student-led mental health initiatives
• Consistent language about asking for help
• Opportunities to discuss mental health before a student is in crisis

The goal is to make the message simple and consistent: asking for help is a healthy response when something feels difficult to manage.

2. Teach Students How to Recognize When They Need Help

Students cannot seek support if they don't recognize that something may be wrong. Mental health literacy gives students the knowledge to recognize concerns and understand what to do next.

Schools can teach students to:

• Recognize signs and symptoms of depression and other mental health challenges
• Notice significant or persistent changes in mood, behavior or functioning
• Understand when a concern may warrant talking with an adult
• Recognize warning signs in themselves and peers
• Understand that mental health concerns are common and treatable
• Identify appropriate sources of support

A systematic review published in the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing examined 53 global adolescent suicide prevention studies (Read the systematic review on PubMed). Help-seeking was measured in 67% of the studies, while knowledge and awareness were measured in 94%. The review found positive findings among studies measuring outcomes such as help-seeking, knowledge, attitudes and coping.

The takeaway is that mental health education provides an important foundation, but works best as part of a broader school mental health strategy.

3. Teach Students What to Do When They Need Help

Knowing that help is available is different from knowing how to ask for it. Schools can make help-seeking more concrete by teaching students what the process looks like.

For example, students can learn to:

• Identify a trusted adult or other appropriate source of support
• Explain what they are experiencing in their own words
• Ask directly for help when they need it
• Know where to go if their first point of contact is unavailable
• Understand that they can ask another adult if they don't feel comfortable with the first person they approach
• Know that an adult may connect them with additional support when a concern requires it

These skills can be incorporated into classroom lessons, advisory activities or schoolwide mental health education. For more on the role of supportive adults, see Erika's Lighthouse's article on How Schools Can Help Staff Become Trusted Adults.

4. Make Support Pathways Easy to Find

A student may be ready to seek help and still not know where to start. Schools can reduce this barrier by making support information easy to find and easy to understand.

Schools should clearly communicate:

• Who: Who can students talk to about a mental health concern?
• Where: Where can students go for support?
• When: When are counselors, social workers or other support staff available?
• How: Can students make an appointment, send an email or walk in?
• What happens next: What should students expect after they reach out?

This information should be posted on school websites, student handbooks, classrooms, and common areas, and made easily accessible via QR codes, emails, and text messages.

5. Give Students Multiple Ways to Ask for Help

Students differ in how comfortable they are asking for help and in the adults or settings they prefer. A single referral option may not work for every student.

Schools can provide multiple entry points, such as:

• Talking with a teacher, counselor, social worker, coach or other trusted adult
• Making an appointment with a school mental health professional
• Using a school referral or request-for-support process
• Accessing age-appropriate mental health information and resources
• Participating in student-led mental health initiatives
• Connecting with community-based resources when school-based support is not sufficient

Providing options doesn't mean creating a complicated system. It means giving students more than one reasonable way to take the first step.

6. Use Student Voice to Identify Barriers to Help-Seeking

Schools should not assume they know what prevents students from asking for help. Students can provide valuable information about what feels accessible, confusing, uncomfortable or useful.

Schools can ask students:

• Do you know where to go if you are worried about your mental health?
• Do you know how to contact a counselor or other support person?
• What makes it easier or harder to ask for help?
• What would make mental health resources feel more relevant to students?
• Do you know what happens after you ask for help?

Erika's Lighthouse Empowerment Clubs provide one way for students to take an active role in promoting mental health and help-seeking within their school. The clubs are student-led and include activities designed to reduce stigma and promote help-seeking.

7. Engage Families and the Broader Support Network

Help-seeking doesn't happen only at school. The Youth Help-Seeking report found that 96% of students identified a parent or grandparent as a trusted adult, and more than 75% felt comfortable discussing mental health at home.

Schools can support this network by sharing:

• Conversation guides
• Information about warning signs and help-seeking
• Clear information about school mental health services
• Resources in multiple languages when appropriate
• Opportunities for families to participate in school mental health initiatives

Erika's Lighthouse Family Engagement resources include family workbooks, workshops and tools designed to help families start conversations about mental health and support their children.

A Comprehensive Approach to Student Help-Seeking

There isn't one program, training or strategy that will make every student comfortable asking for help. Schools can build a stronger help-seeking environment by combining key elements into a cohesive strategy:

Mental Health Literacy Help-Seeking Skills Clear Support Pathways Multiple Access Points Student Voice & Family Engagement

A classroom lesson can introduce the knowledge and language students need. A well-designed school system makes it easier to act on that knowledge.

A Quick Evaluation Framework

Schools can periodically ask themselves the following to evaluate their culture:

Schools looking to use data to guide their approach can explore the Erika's Lighthouse Data Center.

Bring This Approach to Your School

Every student should know what to do when they or someone they care about may need mental health support.

Erika's Lighthouse provides free, evidence-informed K-12 mental health programs designed to build mental health literacy, reduce stigma and encourage help-seeking. Its school-based programs include: Classroom Education | Empowerment Clubs | Family Engagement | Policy & Staff Training.

For schools looking to get started, explore Erika's Lighthouse's free K-12 mental health programs and resources.