School-Based Digital Information Resources on Mental Health Promotion and Depression in Youth

Abstract: In the context of the rising prevalence of mental health issues and disorders such as depression among young people, there are growing calls for greater consideration of mental health in schools. Teachers can recognize signs of mental health problems in pupils and be the first point of contact. It is therefore important to provide evidence-based information and show them how they can support pupils who are struggling. To meet this need, the “ich bin alles” project developed an information portal and asynchronous and synchronous online training courses for teachers on the topic of mental health and depression in pupils. This article presents the development, content, evaluation, and dissemination of these school-based resources and classifies them according to the current state of the literature. Current research findings indicate that such programs lead to an increase in teachers’ knowledge of, and confidence in, dealing with distressed students. However, there remains a significant need to comprehensively evaluate such programs for teachers.