Mental disorders in children and adolescents - the role of special education teachers

Mental health problems affect the social and cognitive development of children and adolescents. Although around a fifth of all students are affected, psychotherapeutic care is still inadequate. Using a questionnaire-based study, the relevance of various mental health problems in the everyday school work of special education teachers (n = 149), their subjectively perceived professional competence and pedagogical strategies for action are examined. The results show, among other things, a very high overall relevance of various mental health problems in everyday life and a subjectively limited professional competence.