Mental Health in Schools
How we can support our most vulnerable students
What is mental health?
What can schools do to support positive mental health?
Classroom climate...
The impact we can have:
There are many ways educators can impact the lives they teach...
We can teach students how to become aware of and regulate emotions as well as educate them on aspects of child and adolescent development. Educators can hone in on students' strengths and capabilities and help them recognize the attributes within themselves. Furthermore they can help build effective communication, coping, and problem solving skills and develop meaningful relationships. Teachers can also help connect kids with meaningful clubs, activities, and sports at school which would help them feel a sense of purpose and belonging and help school be a positive space for them. They can teach kids about diversity and respect and help de-stigmatize mental health problems. These are just a few of the countless ways schools can positively impact their students' mental health.
Adapted from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/SupportingMinds.pdf
What to look for in our students...
• Frequency: How often does the student exhibit the behaviour?
• Duration: How long does the behaviour last?
• Intensity: To what extent does the behaviour interfere with the student’s social and academic functioning?
Other general signs that a student may be struggling are when the student’s emotions and behaviour are not age appropriate, the behaviour is dramatically different from that of the student’s peers, and the duration of the behaviour appears to be excessive. [source]
Strategies educators can use to promote mental health and educate students:
- mention mental health on the course syllabus
- expose students to stress reduction exercises in class
- build an atmosphere where mental health is regularly addressed in a matter-of-fact way makes it that much easier to discuss specific issues or problems when they arise
- give them exercises where they practice breaking things down into smaller, more manageable chunks
- help students identify thoughts, feelings, and behaviours
- be caring!
- be empathetic!
- listen!