There is a lot of talk about mental health in schools, but the essential thing is still missing: enough psychologists, with stable relationships and conditions that allow them to work effectively. It’s not a luxury. It is a basic need in an educational system that aims to be inclusive, safe and promoting development. Therefore, it is important to positively recognize the recent opening, by the Ministry of Education, of a recruitment competition for almost 1500 specialized technicians, including psychologists.
The presence of psychologists in schools is not limited to “handling cases”. Its role is, above all, preventive. It is in the proximity of everyday school life that early signs of emotional distress, relational difficulties, behavioral problems or risk situations are identified. It is there, where children and young people spend a large part of their lives, that we can intervene early, before problems worsen and the risk develops into danger.
Psychologists still have a decisive contribution to the development of social and emotional skills, which are as essential as academic skills. Learning to regulate emotions, resolve conflicts, communicate assertively, ask for help, deal with frustration or build healthy relationships is not an “extra curricular”: it is the basis for growing with security, autonomy and well-being.
Another often overlooked aspect is the potential of group interventions. In the school context, group approaches allow working on belonging, cooperation, empathy and socio-emotional skills in a natural, integrated and effective way, precisely because they happen in the context where real relationships are built and challenged.
But for all this to be possible, it is essential to guarantee secure professional relationships. Contractual instability — which is repeated year after year – prevents the continuity of interventions, weakens the relationship with children and young people and compromises the trust of families, teachers and psychologists themselves. It is not acceptable for monitoring processes to be interrupted at the end of the school year and resumed, hopefully, before Christmas. Mental health does not work according to administrative calendars.
Predictability and safety are fundamental – for psychologists, for children, for families and for the entire educational community. Without stability, there is no continuity. Without continuity, there is no effectiveness. Without effectiveness, there is no prevention.
If we want schools that truly care for mental health, then we need psychologists present, integrated, recognized and able to fully carry out their work. Everything else is patches. And tinkering is never enough when we talk about the well-being of our children and young people.
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