School welfare services become essential mental health support for children in Finland

According to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), school welfare services have evolved into a fundamental mental health service for children and youth, leaving little time for preventive work. Responsibility for addressing mental health issues among children and adolescents has largely shifted to these school welfare services, as highlighted by a new THL study.

The study reveals that during the 2023-2024 academic year, professionals in secondary education welfare services allocated 40-80% of their client working time to mental health issues. In primary education, the corresponding figure was 20-40%. This trend was also noted in a previous study conducted two years ago. The THL surveyed nearly 1,700 professionals in these services between April and May.

Professionals in these services include health nurses, doctors, psychologists, and social workers. THL’s Chief Physician, Marke Hietanen-Peltola, emphasized that while the primary role of school welfare services is to provide early support and prevent problems, they have essentially become a baseline mental health service due to the absence of other services.

Following last year’s social welfare reform, all school welfare services were transferred from municipalities to welfare regions. However, the government has contemplated moving these services back to local authorities. THL asserts that school welfare services should remain within the welfare regions, as this structure is better suited to ensure consistent service availability and quality.

To standardize services nationally, THL proposes a three-tier model where school welfare services help address mild issues and primarily focus on prevention. For moderate problems, patients would transition to basic mental health services, while severe cases would require specialized psychiatric care for children and adolescents.