BRIDGING SCHOOL, HEALTH, AND FAMILY SYSTEMS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF MEDICAL FAMILY THERAPISTS IN SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
type: CreativeWork
description: School-based mental health services have expanded significantly across the United States as educators and policymakers increasingly recognize the connection between student well-being and educational success. Despite this expansion, many school-based mental health systems continue to operate within fragmented organizational structures characterized by limited interdisciplinary collaboration and inconsistent inclusion of families in care processes. These structural gaps raise important questions about how integrated behavioral health services are experienced by families and how relational processes within schools may influence the effectiveness of these services. This dissertation examines the role of relational integration and family inclusion within school-based mental health systems through a multi-part research design. The first chapters provide a historical and policy analysis of the development of school-based health services in the United States, followed by a systematic review examining levels of integrated care and family inclusion within school-based health systems. Findings from the systematic review suggest that while access to behavioral health services in schools has expanded, most programs operate at moderate levels of professional integration and low levels of family inclusion. To further explore these dynamics, the dissertation presents a phenomenological study examining caregiver experiences of Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) within school-based mental health services. Caregiver responses reveal seven themes reflecting relational processes of care, therapeutic skill development across home and school contexts, and system-level structures that shape family engagement. Participants frequently describe Medical Family Therapists as relational bridges connecting families, educators, and healthcare systems through communication, collaboration, and coordinated support. The findings suggest that relational communication, psychological safety, and interdiscip…
abstract: School-based mental health services have expanded significantly across the United States as educators and policymakers increasingly recognize the connection between student well-being and educational success. Despite this expansion, many school-based mental health systems continue to operate within fragmented organizational structures characterized by limited interdisciplinary collaboration and inconsistent inclusion of families in care processes. These structural gaps raise important questions about how integrated behavioral health services are experienced by families and how relational processes within schools may influence the effectiveness of these services. This dissertation examines the role of relational integration and family inclusion within school-based mental health systems through a multi-part research design. The first chapters provide a historical and policy analysis of the development of school-based health services in the United States, followed by a systematic review examining levels of integrated care and family inclusion within school-based health systems. Findings from the systematic review suggest that while access to behavioral health services in schools has expanded, most programs operate at moderate levels of professional integration and low levels of family inclusion. To further explore these dynamics, the dissertation presents a phenomenological study examining caregiver experiences of Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) within school-based mental health services. Caregiver responses reveal seven themes reflecting relational processes of care, therapeutic skill development across home and school contexts, and system-level structures that shape family engagement. Participants frequently describe Medical Family Therapists as relational bridges connecting families, educators, and healthcare systems through communication, collaboration, and coordinated support. The findings suggest that relational communication, psychological safety, and interdiscip…
author: Heath, Sam
keywords: Health Sciences, Mental Health
date published: 2026-05
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:13:51Z
provider: East Carolina University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: East Carolina University

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10342/14764