Increasing global knowledge exchange in school mental health

Abstract

Since its inception, Advances in School Mental Health Promotion (ASMHP) has emphasized its international focus, both in terms of manuscript solicitation and readership. This focus reflects two overarching principles: (1) innovation and progress in school mental health is occurring across the globe, with unique pockets of excellence in specific topics occurring in individual communities, countries, and continents, and (2) as a field, we will increase our efficiency and promote more meaningful, impactful, and sustainable growth if we work collectively as an international force. Since our first issue was published in January of 2008, we have continued to receive and publish manuscripts from a diverse, international cadre of leading school mental health researchers and practitioners. Before introducing the multinational collection of papers for this special issue, I will review our history of international submissions and publications, as well as highlight some promising current international endeavors in the field of school mental health. To date, our submissions reflect 21 countries. Likewise, our published papers reflect an international authorship, with 16 countries represented. Notably, the majority of submission and publications are from authors in the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK, respectively. This may reflect relative advancement of school mental health in these fields, but also likely reflects less systematic outreach by ASMHP to other countries. Thus, a goal in our strategic plan is to increase outreach to both authors and readers from a more diverse international audience, with support of our editorial board and publisher. We have been privileged to witness and participate in recent advancements in the area of global school mental health. First, our Annual Conference on Advancing School Mental Health, co-sponsored by our national Center for School Mental Health (CSMH, http:// csmh.umaryland.edu) at the University of Maryland (funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration) and the IDEA Partnership (funded by the Office of Special Education Programs), has seen a sharp increase in international attendance in recent years. Our recent conferences have included participants from several countries, including Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the USA. This, in part, reflects the work initiated by the International Alliance for Child and Adolescent Mental Health in Schools (INTERCAMHS), founded at the conference in 2003, and also just the growth in attention globally to the importance of mental health in schools. A second notable development occurred at the 2014 World Congress on Mental Health Promotion, during which the first meeting of the School