School psychologists are very important to a child’s well being; however, there is a national shortage of school psychologists, and that is a concern with school safety. Only half of children with a mental condition actually received proper mental services in the past year. Most cases of depression and anxiety are treatable, yet 80% of kids with an anxiety disorder and 60% of kids with a depression disorder are not getting treatment. The average psychiatric patient in the 1950’s has the same level of anxiety as the average high school student today. There will always be a need for school psychologists who are specifically trained to improve students’ social and emotional health.

 A large amount of high school students are dealing with either depression, anxiety or another mental illness. Violence and aggression will likely develop as a consequence of abnormal brain behaviors, such as high and low levels of anxiety or depression. If school psychologists were more accessible to these students, a lot of violence could be prevented or reduced, and there would not be as big of a need for school resource officers. The CDC states that in order to help prevent violence in schools, there needs to be available help to students who need work on their conflict resolution skills. If schools had the appropriate amount of psychologists, then kids would be able to get the right kind of help. According to the National Association Of School Psychologists, the recommended ratio is one psychologist for every 500 to 700 students. Millbrook High School has roughly 2,500 students which means that Millbrook High alone would need around four psychologists to fit these standards, yet Millbrook has to share just one with another school.

 Sophomore Cameron Mehraby said, “Teenagers go through a lot at our age. There is so much going on in our heads; we have a social life to hold, grades to maintain, and parents to roll our eyes at. We need someone to understand the complexity of our situation and for us to go to, especially for the kids that do not have the right friends and family that they can talk to.” In addition to combating mental health problems, teenagers need a trusted adult who they can talk to and feel comfortable talking to, someone who has had experience with life and who can help them with whatever is going on in their life.