| Sumario: | Part of a special section on mental health in children. Public health professionals must collaborate with schools to promote mental health in young people. Currently, youngsters manifesting emotional upset, misbehavior, and learning problems are routinely assigned psychiatric labels denoting severe internal disorders; however, the problems of most youngsters are not rooted in internal pathology and would not develop in different environmental circumstances. To avoid incorrect diagnoses and prescriptions, mental illness must be placed in perspective with respect to psychosocial problems and mental health must be broadly defined to encompass the promotion of social and emotional development and learning. In collaboration with schools, which already provide a wide range of health-related services, public health professionals should build a comprehensive, integrated continuum of interventions to promote healthy development and to address barriers to development and learning.
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