Social Justice as a Framework for Addressing Mental Health Disparities

This article is part of a year-long series facilitated by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Social Justice Committee (SJC) highlighting the impact of health disparities on youth through a social justice lens for school psychologists. Historical and systemic racism and instructional inequities contribute to mental health disparities for minoritized youth. This article focuses on school-based applications of utilizing social justice principles to promote the mental well-being of students. Mental health disparities in education are discussed and an advocacy framework is proposed as a mechanism for addressing mental health disparities. [For the article preceding this one in the series, "Physical Health Disparities as a Social Justice Issue: Actions School Psychologists Can Take at the Systems Level," see EJ1275729.]