The Mental Health Support Team in Schools (MHST)
The Mental Health Support Team is a new NHS commissioned service working in our school. The aim of the service is to offer free early therapeutic interventions to help children and young people with mild to moderate common mental health difficulties such as anxiety, low mood and emotional dysregulation.
What MHST Can Offer
MHST provides support through:
- One to one sessions with an Education Mental Health Practitioner.
- Group work.
- Parent-led work.
- Whole school approaches to supporting mental health.
MHST Support Criteria
The support offered by the MHST is low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LI-CBT). This is a brief, structured, and goal-focused intervention designed to support specific presentations. MHST cannot support young people where:
- There are lots of contextual concerns causing the emotional wellbeing difficulties.
- The difficulties are suspected to be related to neurodiversity rather than mental health.
- The difficulties exceed the remit of a low intensity intervention and require a more specialist service.
How can I get support?
A young person or parent/carer may request support within school. A School staff member may identify a young person in need of support. These requests/ observations can then be discussed with Miss Hamblin, the Designated Mental Health Lead in School (DMHL) who can make a referral into MHST.
Support Criteria: Is this right for you?
The MHST utilises low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (LI-CBT). This is a brief, structured, and goal-focused intervention.
When MHST is Most Effective
LI-CBT is designed for specific mental health presentations including low mood, anxiety and emotional dysregulation. However, it is not the appropriate service if:
· There are significant contextual concerns (e.g., environmental factors) causing the distress.
· The difficulties are suspected to be related to neurodiversity rather than primarily a mental health need.
· The difficulties require specialist services (exceeding the remit of low-intensity intervention).
How to Access Support
Accessing the MHST is a collaborative process between the family and the school.
Who can identify a need? Next Steps...
Young People: can speak to a trusted teacher or staff member.
Parents & Carers: Can contact the school to request a discussion regarding support.
School Staff: Teachers may identify students who could benefit from intervention.
The Referral Process:
All requests and observations are discussed with the school’s Designated Mental Health Lead (DMHL), Miss Hamblin, who is responsible for making official referrals to the MHST.
bhamblin@stmaryswrithlington.co.uk