Task-shifting children's mental health treatment to classroom teachers

Michael Matergia, MD, Senior Investigator at the Center for Global Health, Colorado School of Public Health, is a co-investigator on this project. Ten to twenty percent of all children suffer from a diagnosable mental health condition, the
majority of which will remain undiagnosed and untreated. Innovative care models are urgently needed to address this challenge. We are conducting a trial to establish the feasibility of training classroom teachers to deliver evidence-based mental health care as a first step in overcoming the treatment gap and increasing access to care for children in resource-limited settings. This intervention is being  tested in rural primary schools of the Darjeeling Himalayas of India. This project will be completed in December 2018.