Mental Health Literacy
Ms Marlene
It's so important for teachers to address mental health in our classrooms. The open discussion surrounding this topic has been shown to lead to a decrease in stigma and an increase in support for those who need it.
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There are several helpful resources for mental health literacy that help teachers to become aware of the importance of mental health in order to fight stigma and provide support. Such resources act as encouragement for teachers to actively strive for the development of mental health literacy.
I have found it useful to learn more about the different common mental illnesses in order to better address the role that we as teachers play in our classroom’s well-being. Exploring mental health resources has also inspired me to advocate mental health literacy within schools and to carefully incorporate it into my teaching practice.
I especially appreciated the message expressed by Meldrum, Venn, and Kutcher in their article Mental Health In Schools: How Teachers Have The Power To Make A Difference. The overall message in this article is for teachers to advance mental health literacy in schools. The authors explain that this should be done through support for policy reform, mental health implementation to the curriculum, support systems within schools, and through further training and education for teachers surrounding mental health.
I found that this message was echoed by Dr. Stan Kutcher in his video Dr. Kutcher Talks Mental Health Literacy. In this video, Kutcher reminds us that our roles as teachers include the ability to identify signs of mental distress and disorders and that it is important for us to be able to provide appropriate resources of support for these students.
Engaging in mental health resources reminds us that mental health literacy is essential for a healthy school environment. We know that for young people the best way to address mental health literacy is through the school. This is why it is important that Canadian teachers feel more prepared to address students’ needs. This is especially critical considering a study conducted by The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (2012), which completed a national survey on teachers’ perspectives on student mental health. They found that 68.4% of Canadian teachers do not feel prepared to address student mental health needs. We must acknowledge that well-being is a crucial aspect of the practice of teaching and that teachers should be aware of the identifiers of possible mental illnesses in their students. By doing this, we will be better prepared to fight stigma, support students, and provide them with appropriate resources.
Dr. Kutcher reminds us that while some mental distress is expected in life and can be beneficial to our development, it is important that educators are able to decipher between everyday mental stress and the signs of possible mental illnesses. We must be sensitive to the possible presence of mental illnesses and be knowledgeable of accommodating practices and resources for our students.
It is very helpful for teachers to familiarize themselves with mental disorders through the ongoing learning of mental health literacy. Importantly, teachers should be able to provide specialized resources for children who have these needs. Ideally, this would involve a specialized support team within the school environment.
Mental Health Literacy Resources:
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https://www.teachmentalhealth.org/
https://www.ctf-fce.ca/Research-Library/Issue8_Article1_EN.pdf
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References:
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Meldrum, Venn, and Kutcher (2014). Mental Health In Schools: How Teachers Have The Power To Make A Difference. Sun Life Financial, Dalhousie University and IWK Health Centre, 3-5.