Framework for successful school reintegration after psychiatric hospitalization: A systematic synthesis of expert recommendations

• Published in: Psychology in the schools Vol. 60; no. 3; pp. 793 - 813
• Main Authors: Tougas, Anne‐Marie, Houle, Andrée‐Anne, Leduc, Karissa, Frenette‐Bergeron, Émilie, Marcil, Katherine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley 01.03.2023; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Cooperation; Expertise; Hospitalization; Mental Disorders; Mental Health; mental health practitioners; Mental health professionals; Mental Health Workers; Patients; Psychiatric Hospitals; Reentry Students; school practitioners and administrators; school reintegration; Schools; student mental health; Students; Teachers; transition practices
• ISSN: 0033-3085; 1520-6807
• DOI: 10.1002/pits.22791

This systematic synthesis aimed to identify and synthesize expert recommendations from best available clinical and scientific literature for successful school reintegration of students after psychiatric hospitalization. Following principles outlined by the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Coordinating Centre (EPPI‐Centre), we searched 15 electronic databases with all possible literature from 1985 to May 2019 and conducted both supplementary retrospective and prospective reference searches. Fifty‐three documents (37 scientific and 16 clinical) met the inclusion criteria. A thematic synthesis of identified recommendations led to the development and definition of a nine‐step framework to guide collaboration between school and mental health practitioners. This innovative framework offers clear, structured and consensus‐based prescriptive guidelines to determine what should be done, for whom, by whom, when, and how, to facilitate the school reintegration of students hospitalized for mental health issues. Additional studies are necessary to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of this step‐based framework. Practitioner points 1. School and mental health practitioners can follow a nine‐step framework to determine what should be done, for whom, by whom, when, and how, to facilitate the school reintegration of students hospitalized for mental health issues. 2. Before discharge, school practitioners and administrators can play a leading role in fostering the students', their family's, and their school's readiness for re‐entry. 3. After discharge, both teachers and school practitioners can participate actively in the implementation of a school reintegration plan to support students' psychological, social and academic outcomes.