RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the academic performance in, and adherence to, a postgraduate course focused on promotion, prevention, identification, and early intervention with regard to the different mental problems and pathologies affecting children and adolescents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a before-and-after intervention study involving a postgraduate course. The population of school counselors from the Colombian regions of Boyacá and Cundinamarca were invited to participate in a postgraduate course that addressed mental health. Their knowledge was evaluated before and after having received it. RESULTS: The school counselors performed well on the academic test, with 48.5 % of the population obtaining a score of 4.0/5.0 before the intervention. After the course, 61.2 % achieved the same score. It was thus considered that the course functioned as a tool for improving knowledge about promotion, prevention, recognition, and early intervention with regard to mental health in educational institutions. There was a 90.6 % adherence to the 120-hour-long postgraduate course. CONCLUSION: The postgraduate course seemed to have a positive impact in terms of the knowledge acquired about mental health, and there was good adherence to the course.