Taking time out of school for mental health treatment can be the best decision for a young person. Sometimes, the stress and pressures of school life, assignments, and exams can exacerbate symptoms and prevent young people from having the mental space to recover and heal. Young people with serious or complex disorders may also, at times, require residential care with ongoing professional support to keep them safe.
When mental health treatment is effective, young people can return to school with the emotional and mental capacity to learn, develop, and thrive. But re-entry to school isn’t always easy and a young person may have to repeat a year to attend classes they have missed.
That said, with guidance and support, returning to school can be a manageable and positive experience. By balancing social, emotional, and educational factors, young people can navigate the challenges they face and re-adapt to school life.
Social Concerns
Sometimes, young people are worried about what they’ll tell other people when they return to school. It’s normal for friends, other students, and even teachers and parents to ask why someone has taken time out, and this can lead to anxiety and stress.
It can help a young person to prepare for how they might like to answer these questions. They can think about how much of their experience they want to share and what things they prefer to keep to themselves. This will probably depend on the person they are speaking to; for example, they may want to share more with close friends than other classmates.
It can be useful to come up with possible responses and rehearse them with a young person so they feel more comfortable and relaxed returning to school.
Unfortunately, the stigma attached to mental illness means that a young person may have to deal with negative comments or rumors about their experience. If this happens, it’s important to support your child emotionally and identify false ideas and misconceptions about mental health conditions. Remind them that having a mental health disorder doesn’t make them a less valuable person and that, with care and support, they can manage and recover from symptoms.
You could also speak with a member of staff at their school, particularly if you think a child is being bullied or targeted by peers. The school should create a plan of how they will handle the situation and keep you updated on the process.
Social Challenges When Repeating a Year
When a young person repeats a school year following mental health treatment, they may face different or additional challenges. It can be hard to be in classes without their friends and they may be worried about maintaining these friendships. They may also experience anxiety about getting to know the people in their new year group and forming new friendships.
It can help to remind young people that their friendships exist beyond lessons and school time. They can continue to see their friends outside of school and during breaks or after-school activities. This might help them to plan other activities or hobbies to do with their friends or set aside free time to spend with them.
Emotional Challenges
Young people returning to school after treatment may experience some of the stressors and triggers of daily life that were absent during the treatment process. This might include exams, social situations, or sensory aspects of the school environment. When returning to school, young people may need to navigate these stressors.
Effective mental health treatment gives young people skills to help them manage the challenges they face in the future, including the stressors of school life. However, at the start of the transition, these skills may still feel fairly new and take some time to use effectively. This means that young people may require additional support during the transition process by both mental health professionals and friends, family, and teachers.
Educational Factors
If a young person stays in their year group, they may feel anxious about catching up with missed work. It can help to make a clear plan with teachers about what work has been missed and a time frame for completing different modules.
If a young person misses a substantial amount of school work, it may make sense to repeat the year. In this case, a young person may feel frustrated at the thought of repeating lessons they’ve had before or covering things they already know. However, by working with teachers and school staff, they may be able to structure their learning to avoid repeating work and use their time productively.
What Are the Benefits of Repeating a Year At School?
When a young person takes time out of school for mental health treatment, it can be hard to decide whether they should repeat a year or move on to the next. This decision is often best made in conversations with the young person, teachers, and mental health professionals to understand the best way forward.
Young people can be reluctant to repeat a year at school. They may want to stay in the year group with their friends or worry about postponing further education. But repeating a year can have important benefits both at the time and in the future.
When a young person returns to school, they may already have to navigate social and emotional challenges. Feeling behind with work can create additional pressure that exacerbates stress and anxiety and disrupts their recovery process. In these circumstances, repeating a year can avoid unnecessary stress and give young people more time and energy to focus on their mental health.
Moreover, some research suggests that, in general, repeating a year at school has positive short-term and long-term effects. One study found that different groups of adolescents who repeated a year of secondary school gained better grades, experienced less anxiety, and had more positive conceptions of their own abilities. These benefits persisted through the following years.
The Wave Clinic: Combining Education with Mental Health Support
When a young person takes a break from school to attend mental health treatment, it doesn’t mean that they have to stop learning. At The Wave Clinic, we combine clinical care with personal learning programs, supporting young people to continue their education as they heal and recover. This helps to minimise stress and anxiety caused by missed work or a sense of being left behind.
Our personal learning programs use remote learning, a tailored curriculum, and online learning options to provide the best quality education for children and adolescents. We work with Pearson, an established online educational provider, alongside prestigious schools and one-to-one tutors based in the city.
We also offer vocational learning modules and qualifications for young people to broaden their interests, discover new life paths, and gain invaluable knowledge and skills for the future.
Supporting the Transition Back to School
At The Wave, we prepare for a young person’s return to school from the very start of treatment. Our programs are future-orientated and centred around building life advantage.
When a young person is ready to return to school, we may arrange a series of meetings within their year group or otherwise facilitate mediation with teachers, friends, and classmates. When it’s best for a young person to move into a different year group or take different subjects to pursue their educational interests, we provide support throughout this transition.
Every young person leaving our centre also works with a dedicated case manager who oversees ongoing psychiatric care and liaises with the school.
Contact Us
The Wave Clinic provides specialist mental health support for young people. Our expert-led programs set the global standard for child and adolescent psychiatry, guiding young people to build fulfilling futures.
If you’re interested in our programs, contact us today.
